Per Se

You know the moments in everyday life where one experiences inertia? Well, mine lasted for well over 7 weeks.
My beloved and I “just” came back from an American holiday recently, to New York City. Oh, there is so much to tell, but where do I start? Well, one of the highlights in the States (especially NYC) was the opportunity to eat in some great restaurants. For the record, food in Melbourne is still the best. I think it is because we do so many things so well. And in the States, in my opinion, few things well. But the good ones are SO good. Take Per Se.
I certainly had many expectations of Per Se, being Thomas Keller’s (of The French Laundry) flagship restaurant in New York City, and receiving many accolades in all its eighteen months of operation. It’s almost as if I didn’t feel good enough to be there. I blame it on all the reviews I googled and read with intensity. After much hoo-ha on the day (like getting a suit for my beloved else he wouldn’t be admitted, because we didn’t know we had a confirmed reservation until the night before), we finally entered the beautiful space that was Per Se. My first impression of that place was that someone had drop shitloads into décor and design. Everything was cool and pristine. We were greeted by a lovely woman whose job was solely to take bookings and show us to our table (you don’t get that anymore in Melbourne, I don’t think!).
Our table faced the start of Central Park and Columbus Circle (59th Street). To be honest, I was a little blown away by the whole experience – being jet-lagged, the fact that I was in the most exciting city in the world and sitting next to my favourite person in the world, there was nothing more perfect.
I am no foodie writer, I just love to eat – so I shall spare you the details of the food. Also the fact that the greatness of food is all about personal taste/sense/smell. I do not wish to impart my views on anybody, but rather just my experience of it. It was bloody great!!! My beloved and I ended up choosing the degustation menu, all nine courses of it! We were pleasantly surprised (and that’s hard when one’s hoovered their way through a lot of food!!) when we started with an appetizer (not on the menu) of mini-tuille filled with diced salmon, dill and herbs – every bite was an explosion of taste, one cannot imagine it by just looking at it. We finished the meal with in-house made chocolates, presented on a flat silver plate (and the magic words “You may have as many as you wish” – if only they told us that at the start!), tea/coffee and macaroons. Yum! Another mention to be made was of the numerous staff that was available during the entire meal – a restaurant manager, section waiters, a section manager, a sommelier … all decked out in their Armani suits and fat ties. It was truly bizarre, and perhaps because I am still quite ‘kampung’-ish, it was slightly intimidating. My beloved informed me that it was the old French system. So I suppose it does not get its reputation for nothing.
I also got the opportunity to smell an entire box filled with fresh black truffles (wow!), which the waitress generously accommodated, visiting the kitchens (which was as large as the dining space!). The low was probably having to pay US$8 for sparkling water (a new bottle arrived when the previous was emptied (the Americano way?), and me drinking as if someone was going to leave me in the Sahara desert).
Over three hours later, satisfied and tired (from eating and trying to remember everything), a wad of dollars (actually, it was a shiny plastic), we strolled out onto the sunny streets of New York, caught the subway and made our way downtown. That was our experience of Per Se.