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“Per Se”

Occasion:	Cuisine:	Area:	Cost:	Rating:
Night Out	New American	Upper West Side	Break the Bank	Off the Charts

PER SE

I turned 35 this week. And as the clock struck midnight, turning Monday into Tuesday June 8th, I was feasting on chef Thomas Keller’s food at Per Se. Not a bad way to break into the declining age bracket known as 35-44. In addition to being 35 for the first time in my life, I am also speechless (wordless and sentence-less), for the first time in my life. Really, I don’t know what to say. Would it be enough to say that Per Se is miraculous? The food, by chef/deity Keller (and chef de cuisine Corey Lee on the night we were there) was exquisite, thrilling, and most importantly, genuinely fun to eat; the service—super-attentive but not in your face, kind and friendly with no attitude, but with immense knowledge; the wines—who can remember the wines, but the sommelier, Paul, is definitely getting a first born named after him if I ever reproduce. Truly. I cannot even begin to describe to you what we experienced on Monday night, but if “miraculous” is not enough, in the next few paragraphs, I will try my best to detail my experience. If it is, then feel free to ignore the rest of this email and just pick up the phone and make a reservation.

We had made our reservation in March, and then the infamous fire, and our table was rescheduled for June 7th (the day before I turned 35). I was there with three friends—two other wonderful food writers (Julie Besonen and Kathy Squires) and Kathy’s husband Ronnie, a banker, who happens to love food (and Kathy) very much. They were celebrating their 11th year of marriage. Wow. Who know people broke a decade any more? In my family, it’s six years, then bust.

Anyway, leaving my family saga behind and getting back to the dinner, we began our evening by lounging out in the front living room area, a space with a cool, airy, sort of luxe hotel lobby feel, swathed in soothing earth tones with soft plush love seats, low coffee tables, and sweeping views of the Park. You do not need a reservation for dinner to relax in the lounge, but you do need to be prepared to fork over between $17 and $25 per cocktail. And while you cannot order any food off the menu, you will be served the popcorn of the day (truffle and sea salt, for example, not white cheddar nacho cheese) and usually some canapés, compliments of the kitchen. The lounge at Per Se a lovely place to meet for a quiet (and delicious) hand-crafted cocktail; it is magnificent and civilized and allows your attention to rest solely on your cockt ... [more, click below]

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Posted: June 10, 2004

Other restaurants in Upper West Side :
+ 'Cesca   + Asiate   + Blue Hill Stone Barns   + Per Se   + The Neptune Room   + Spigolo   + Telepan   + Aix Brasserie   + 'Cesca   + Bar Boulud   + Dovetail   + BarBao   + Dinosaur Bar-be-Que   + Kefi   + Bar Luna   + Ed's Chowder House   + Red Rooster, by Rachel Barbarotta   + Loi by Dara Pollak   

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