Per-se/fection

Perse - Highly Recommended ($$$$)
10 Columbus Circle
(4th Floor Time Warner Building)
New York, NY 10019

To be honest, I have been trying to avoid this place because the thought of dishing out close to 4 hundred dollars a head on a meal was just out of the question.
But a good friend flew in from Japan on business and wanted to see us the other night. He had contacted J around 5pm asking her if we could all have dinner that night.
In addition, he's quite the gourmand and asked if anyone was serving White Truffles yet.

Now (global) recession or not, places that serve fresh white truffles aren't really hurting for business. They actually are doing quite well. But these are only a handful of restaurants frequented by the wealthy. (The rest of us proletarians must save up a few months to literally taste the rich life)
So after calling Daniel, Le Cirque, Four Seasons, Le Bernardin, Jean Georges, I got the same reply, "I'm sorry sir, we are fully booked tonight."
It was now 5:25pm, and something dawned on me, while batting a big fat "Zero", why not call, "Perse". I had nothing to lose?
Since their Feb 16, 2004 opening, they have served a full dining room every night. With a 2 month reservation list, my chances were close to none. But I called and asked the receptionist, followed by the General Manager to double check as a favor.
Low and behold, I got a table for 3 at 7:30 that night.

Chef's Tasting Menu November 4, 2009

Gougeres ***
Unlike most gougeres out there, this technically crafted bite sized morsel had some cheese fondant injected inside them that immediately set the pace for the evening

Amuse Bouche ***
Salmon Cornets
Very tasty indeed. Perfectly prepared salmon tartare scooped on a semi-sweet cone filled with creme fraiche

"Oysters and Pearls" ***
Sabayon of Pearl Tapioca with Island Creek Oysters
and Sterling White Sturgeon Caviar
Rich sabayon sauce with nice creamy oysters and nestled tapiocas garnished with a healthy quenelle of caviar

"Carnaroli Risotto Biologioco" ***
Castelrosso Cheese with Shaved White Truffles from Alba
Seriously generous shavings of white Alba truffles on a bed of very moist risotto

Herb Roasted Fillet of Atlantic Halibut ***
Romaine Lettuce "Paquette," San Marzano Tomato Marmalade
and Mustard Cress with Whole Grain Mustard "Beurre Blanc"
Imagine the thickest piece of halibut poelle'd in butter, then roasted to perfection, garnished with really tasty tomato reduced to a marmalade consistancy. Sauced with rich, unctuous beurre blanc

Butter Poached Nova Scotia Lobster Mitts ***
Trumpet Royale Mushrooms, Sweet Carrots, Globe Artichoke,
Petite Onions and Field Mizuna with "Barigoule" Emulsion
If I could rank all the lobster dishes I've ever had, this one would be top on my list. How this dish is prepared is beyond words. This was the 1 dish I will think about over and over again when I think about Perse

Thomas Farm's Supreme de Pigeon ***
"Cuisse Confite," Brasied Red Cabbage, Frisee
and Sunchoke Puree with "Sauce Perigourdine"
Just a great classic. Perigourdine sauce with roasted breast of pigeon

Snake River FArms' "Calotte de Boeuf Grillee" ***
Crispy Bone Marrow, Chestnut Pierogi, Haricots Verts
and Horseradish-Scented Creme Fraiche
with Northstar Sour Cherry Jus
The calotte is the cap covering the eye of the ribeye. Accompanied with bone marrow that has been removed from the bone and roasted to make a beautiful crispy outer shell

Blue Ledge Farm's "Crottina" ***
Slow Baked Beet Tapenade, Fried Pecans and Cutting Celery
with Blood Orange Coulis
Goat cheese with eye popping condiments

Pear Sorbet ***
"Silver Dollar" Pancakes, K & J Orchard's Asian Pear,
Bosc Pear Compote and Anise "Panna Cotta" with Almond Crisp
An explosion of pears. The greatest palate cleansing dish I have ever had

Pumpkin-Chocolate ***
Mast Brothers' Chocolate "Marquise," Pumpkin "Bavarois"
and Hazelnut Marshmallow with Spiced Ice Cream
Tons of pumpkin flavor with insanely flavorful condiments. Each condiment could have been the center piece of the dish

"Peanut Butter and Jelly" ***
Peanut Butter Mousse, Concord Grape Jam, Peanut "Genoise"
and Grape Sorbet with Dried Milk Tuile
Cleaver, playful dessert

Mignardises ***
Roasted hazelnuts, chocolate truffles, fresh toffee, all delightful

The food is right up there with my Robuchon experiences. But it's perhaps unfair to compare the 2 because Perse was conceived to compete with the best of the best in the world, while L'Atelier de Joel Robuchon is a concept borrowed from a sushi bar, where you can interact with the chef, keeping things a bit more relaxed.
But if I had to give out numerical rankings, I would have to say this meal exceeded my already very high expectations and bumped my beloved L'Atelier de Joel Robuchon experience down to second place.

Every single dish was perfectly executed.
It was masterfully orchestrated and even the temperature of each dish was perfect.
I also found the servers spoke very clearly when explaining dish after dish. I truly ate like a king.
Hats go off to the Kitchen for their extraordinary execution. I can't say enough how impressed I am with everything that night. How each dish came out just the way the chef intended it to, is beyond me. There are just so many anomalies in a restaurant for a meal lose a point here and a point there. But Robuchon did it, and so does Per Se.

Finally, the price. I paid $1,616.80 for the 3 of us. I am not likely to repeat, but I'm glad I got to have experienced one of the greatest restaurants of our time.

After the meal, my guests and I were invited to take a tour of the kitchen and meet the chefs responsible for our outstanding meal.
Bravo indeed.

Fun acts :
Over 4000 square feet of kitchen and office space in the back. They even have a seperate "Chocolate Room".
With over 50 kitchen staff responsible for every meal served.