You can ask to supplement and you'll pay the same price but get an additional course.

Komi's much better IMO

Sounds like you really had a good time in NYC!

That's good to know! So how was the meal?

That's been my experience as well. Just 20-30 minutes ahead of time will be fine on a weeknight.

This is a bit late but you can add the oysters and pearls to the lunch menu for $30. I didn't ask to substitute but I imagine there would be an upcharge.

I appreciate you reading through my faux food critic writeup!

The first time we dined at Per Se I actually sent a dish back because it incredibly salty. It was a pan seared white fish (three years ago so memory is foggy) with a Mediterranean inspired sauce featuring olives but I think the fish might've been overseasoned given the saltiness of the olives in the sauce. My wife's dish was fine so it was just mine. The staff handled it really well and I received a different preparation perhaps because the kitchen was worried I wasn't a fan of that style of cuisine. I'm just mentioning it because while I love Per Se, I do understand it may not knock it out of the park every single time. I felt like this past meal was better than my first time there even though I thoroughly enjoyed both meals.

I certainly don't take any offense to your responses. Discussion boards are purely here for everyone to share their opinions.

While innovation and use of new techniques is interesting, it does not necessarily mean the food is more tasty as a result. I agree that the techniques employed at Per Se did not seem innovative but at the same time I did not feel the food was bland and boring. A few courses really stood out for me. The course of butter poached lobster with parmesan pain perdu, morels, fava beans, green garlic and bernaise mousseline stood out as one of my favorite lobster preparations I've ever had. Sweetness of perfectly cooked lobster balanced by the herbaceous watercress and tarragon sauce. The bernaise mousseline added some welcome acidity while the morels added some earthiness as contrast. I also really enjoyed the pork belly that was cooked sous vide and then wrapped in feuille pastry and crisped. The balance between the crispy pastry and tender pork belly was great and the gribiche added a mustardy counterpoint that helped prevent the dish from becoming overly rich. I also really liked the cheese course which featured a Twig Farms butterwick cheese with granny smith apples, stinging nettle cream and a yukon gold mille feuille. What stood out to me other than enjoying the flavors of the dish was the execution of the potato mille feuille. I attached a few photos for you to see these dishes.

There's a place for new techniques and flavor combinations but how much importance a diner places on those factors is in my opinion, still very subjective when deciding whether a restaurant is "the best". The importance of innovative technique obviously differs between the two of us. For me, EMP is a great meal and the place I would like to have dinner with a couple friends because we could all enjoy "the show" together. Per Se is the place I go to when I want to enjoy great food with amazing service in the company of my favorite dining companion, my wife. Per Se given my own druthers is my favorite restaurant because I enjoy it more with my wife than I would at EMP. In my mind, while a restaurant may not be cutting edge, it does not mean that it's staid and boring. A restaurant not at the cutting edge can still be the #1 restaurant depending on the diner. Look at sushi restaurants. Most people say the best sushi restaurants are the ones in Tokyo. The top rated sushi places regardless of whether you're looking at Tabelog or Michelin are places that serve pristine fish using techniques that most of the better places utilize. The difference is in sourcing and execution. One could say the sushi places in the US are more innovative because they put mango on top of a roll that contains tempura and broiled eel. It's different yes but it's not necessarily better. This sushi roll example was not meant to mock your viewpoint which I respect. I'm just trying to better illustrate my points.

I think the fact that you love EMP but didn't think much of Per Se illustrates the fact that opinions about restaurants can be very subjective and depends heavily on what you like in a restaurant. My wife and I went to EMP and Per Se on back to back lunches (we had the full menu at Per Se and have been to both in the past). While we thought EMP was great and really enjoyed our time there, we liked Per Se just a little bit more. We just enjoyed some of the ingredients and preparations at Per Se more compared to EMP. EMP on its own would be our best meal of the year most likely but due of our tastes and preferences, Per Se is that meal.

I don't think there's anything wrong with someone who disagrees with me and respect that you like EMP better. I just think people reading other peoples' opinions have to always keep that thought in mind.

If you're going to DC you could skip Szechuan in Manhattan and go to Hong Kong Palace in Falls Church. I've been to Chengdu and it's pretty close to what I had there. Not perfect but much more like what I had than other places I've been in the States. That frees you up for another meal and I think Minetta Tavern is a really good place to try. It is pricey though...

You could go to Luke's in DC. It's good but not something that I've craved when I visit NYC. Katz's on the other hand is definitely worth it. Ask for a fatty cut of the pastrami and you're good to go. Lobster rolls are a New England thing whereas a good pastrami sandwich is a New York thing. Save the lobster rolls for a trip further north in my opinion.

I've had Per Se's lunch menu and the full tasting and the full tasting in my mind is much better. You don't get oysters and pearls with the 5 course and the ingredients frankly aren't the same level as the tasting. I guess you still get to feel pampered and have all the mignardises but I really felt that the full tasting was much more memorable from a food perspective.

I live in DC so let me know if you want more suggestions and we can discuss over on that board. I travel to NYC several times a year so I try to keep up with the Manhattan board and can help compare the NYC vs DC dining scenes.

Is it $45 per person as a supplement? We've had the duck and loved it but would like to compare the beef course to compare it to the amazing steak we had in Tokyo last month. I wonder if they'd allow us to just order 1 supplement and we share at the table because we know we'll be stuffed beyond belief at the end even without the additional course...

Thanks for the suggestions! Cheap ramen would be good. Got any suggestions?

Robb S - do you have any late-night suggestions in the Ginza area?

For some reason Ray's to the Third twice now has not made the steak and cheese to the same quality as at Ray's Hellburgers. The waiters always claim the restaurant makes the sandwiches the same as how they did it in Ray's Hellburger but they definitely aren't. The meat was really clumped together and not as seared. Certainly not the juicy, tender, greasy affair I've enjoyed previously I've left Ray's to the Third disappointed both times and wonder if the delicious steak and cheese will ever come back to life.

That's too bad. I'm in Tokyo 2/15-2/18 if you do find some free time.

Thanks so much Ninisix. It'd be great to meet you for a sushi meal when I'm in Tokyo since you seem like a true sushi lover.

Ninisix - Can you confirm that Sushi Taichi does also serve the lunch menu on Sundays? I can't tell from tabelog since google translate is mixing up the last section:

［平日］
11:30～13:30
18:00～23:00
［土日］
11:30～14:30
17:00～21:00
ランチ営業、夜10時以降入店可、日曜営業

Thanks for the help FourSeasons! I'll see how we can squeeze it into our itinerary.

Do you know what days and hours they serve the lunch meal? I can't seem to get google translate to work on tabelog right now.

Also, how did you make the reservation? Would I be able to make a reservation in English?

Is that the same Shima as this one? http://www.chuckeats.com/2009/03/23/o...

Sorry - I forgot to include "another" before the 15k.

Gargle - Are they pushy about the apps, sides and wine? We honestly just want to try the steak. Does the restaurant have a snobbish attitude if you don't order those things? I can understand buying a side but I don't see any reason for an app since all accounts I've read say the steak fills you up due to its fattiness. We also plan to hit an izakaya later in the evening...

Would we be better off going somewhere else to try top quality meat? Not sure if Gorio or Ukai Tei might be better options (I know that Ukai Tei gives a piece of steak, not a large portion like Gorio and Dons).

Can someone help translate the cost of steak at dons? I know it's about Y30,000 for a 400 gram portion. What if we go with three people? Could we order a 600 gram portion and would it be Y15,000?

Is there a cost per 100 grams of steak?

Can you recommend some of these places?

Is anyone available 2/15-2/17 for dinner in Tokyo? I've enjoyed sharing a meal with fellow chowhounders on prior trips in France so I thought it'd be fun to meet people of like minds in Tokyo as well. There will be four of us total that are visiting Tokyo.

I'm open to suggestions on what to eat for this meal. I was thinking an izakaya would be a good idea but again, I'm open.

Does Yoshitake also offer a lunch menu? I've been leaning toward Sushi Taichi since you seem to like it better than Sushi Kanesaka (which we tried last year in October and thought was wonderful). I've been reading a lot of good things about Yoshitake as well so I wanted to get your opinion of Yoshitake vs Taichi. We are all English speakers and have a little bit of knowledge about the names of the neta because I bought the book from the Daisan Harumi chef.

Sounds good. How many seats are available at Sushi Taichi? I think my friends and I (4 of us) will try walking up on Saturday right when they open. They open at 11:30 am correct?

Do you recommend Sushi Ichi over Sushi Taichi?

Thanks for the information Ninisix!

Does Sushi Taichi take lunch reservations for weekends? I just called for a February 16 lunch reservation and they said no reservations for lunch but dinner was ok. I wasn't sure if he was saying they don't take reservations for lunch on weekends or if they were already booked.

On another note, is Sushi Taichi still recommended? I haven't seen anyone recommend it in a while.

We'll be arriving in Tokyo in February at 10pm and staying in an apartment that's close to the Shintomicho & Takaracho stations. Here's a link in case you want to get a better idea of where I'll be: https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/564551.

Can someone recommend a good place to get dinner near by? We're up for izakaya or ramen. We're willing to travel a little bit but don't want to deal with taking a cab to get back to the apartment after dinner in case we finish up after midnight.