Per Se

After admiring Per Se from a distance for the last two years, I finally had dinner there on Wednesday evening with two colleagues and a vendor, who was paying.

I was first to arrive. Three hosts stood guard at the door to ask which party I was with. They were as friendly as could be, but their purpose was plain enough: curiosity-seekers who just want to come in and have a look aren’t welcome. They took my coat without providing a claim check; when we were ready to leave, they had our coats in hand, without even having to ask who we were. Alain Ducasse and Gilt are the only other restaurants where I’ve experienced such efficiency.

As I was early, I relaxed in the comfortable lounge and ordered a cocktail. My colleagues arrived a short while later, and we were ushered into the elegant main dining room. Some people find the Adam Tihany-designed space a little chilly, but its warm elegance grew on me. The view across Columbus Circle and Central Park’s southwest corner is wonderful at night.

Your choices at Per Se are simple: the seven-course tasting menu, the nine-course chef’s tasting menu, or the vegetable tasting—all at $210 (service included). The seven-course tasting offers a couple of options, the nine-course tasting just one option (foie gras or salad), the vegetable tasting none at all. So, while these menus do change frequently, on any given evening the kitchen’s life is a lot more predictable than at other luxury restaurants.

I was not surprised that all of us selected the chef’s tasting menu with the foie gras option ($30 supplement). The printed menu offered a foie gras terrine, but our server told us that we could substitute seared foie gras if we preferred, which two of us did. After our host selected bottled water and a red wine, we were done making decisions, and it was time for the parade of food.

At Per Se, people walk in every day asking to see a copy of the menu. At some point, the management obviously got tired of this, so they erected a stand outside of the main entrance, where copies of the three menus are there for the taking. Nowadays, curiosity-seekers need not enter Per Se’s hallowed doors just to get a copy of the menu. I had meant to take an extra copy as I left, as a memento of the evening. When I got home, I realized I’d taken a copy of the vegetable tasting menu instead. (That’s how tired I was.) So unfortunately, I don’t have a complete record of everything we had.

As it has been from the day Per Se opened, the amuse bouche was the salmon cone, and the first course was “oysters and pearls” (pearl tapioca with oysters and caviar). It’s no surprise that Per Se keeps serving these dishes, as they are superb. Meanwhile, we were offered a choice of house-made breads, along with two butters that come from a farm with just five cows that sells only to Per Se and the French Laundry.

Although foie gras is a standard second course at Per Se, it has been offered in a variety of preparations. As I mentioned above, I chose the seared foie gras, which came in a large portion that melted in the mouth. Greater perfection could not be imagined.

Third was a fish course that was very good, but I have forgotten what it was. Then came the lobster cuit sous vide that some people have found underwhelming. I had no such complaints with the preparation, but it was awkward to cut into pieces with the fish knives we were given. Serrated knives would have been the way to go.

Next came duck breast, which I found mildly uninteresting for a restaurant of this calibre. Calotte de boeuf grillée (basically a slice of ribeye steak) was beautifully done.

The cheese and dessert courses were excellent, although I have forgotten the details. We concluded with the house-made mignardises, of which I could have had many more. We were sent home with a cellophane bag of cookies. (The coffee cake that Compass leaves you with is better.)

At Alain Ducasse, which I also visited recently, I had two courses that were absolutely transcendent, and which I will remember for a long time to come: the blue foot chicken and the “baba” rum dessert. Only one dish at Per Se reached this level — the “oysters and pearls,” which was gone in about sixty seconds (it was only a taste). If Per Se deserves four stars, it is for sustained excellence over the course of such a long menu, rather than for a particular extraordinary dish.

The service was, of course, at the highest level—seamless, polished, and expert.

Per Se (10 Columbus Circle, in the Time-Warner Center, 4th floor)

Food: ****

Service: ****

Ambiance: ****

Overall: ****

Oceana on Valentine's Day

Note: This is a review at a former location. Click here for a review of the new location and chef.

I am mindful of restaurants’ tendency to over-charge and under-perform on special occasions. (Picholine on New Year’s Eve was my latest experience of that kind.) At the venerable seafood palace Oceana on Valentine’s Day I am happy to say that we were not disappointed, although I suspect it is possible to have a better meal there than we had.

For Valentine’s Day, Oceana pared its cuisine down to a six-course tasting menu priced at $125:

Smoked Cod Chowder
Virginia Ham, New Potatoes, Pepperjack Cheese

Crisp Iceberg Lettuce
Marinated Vegetables and Bacon-Buttermilk Dressing

Duck and Pistachio Terrine
Frisee, Cornichon, Mustard and an Apple-Onion Marmalade

Steamed Halibut
Spaghetti Squash, Edamame, Lotus Nuts, Kaffir Fish Tea

Loup de Mer in an Almond Tea Crust
Baby Bok Choy and a Jura Wine Emulsion
                                       or
Short Rib of Beef Braised in Red Wine
Winter Vegetables, Fingerling Potatoes Garlic-Herb Beef Jus

Valentine’s Day Dessert Sampler
Sarsaparilla Ice Cream Soda, Banana Strudel,
Warm Chocolate Tart, Blood Orange Sorbet

You’ll note that the only decision for the diner was Loup de Mer or Short Ribs for the fifth course. (Anyone who’d come to Oceana and order short ribs needs to have his head examined.) I do realize the need for restaurants to simplify on such a busy night, but I think a professional kitchen could offer more variety than that.

The smoked cod chowder, the duck & pistachio terrine, and the loup de mer—a house specialty—were all superb. I especially would have liked more of the cod chowder and the loup de mer. That’s always the drawback of a tasting menu: no matter how good a dish may be, it’s gone in a few bites.

My friend wasn’t fond of the iceberg lettuce salad, although I thought it was just fine, if unmemorable. For me, the low point was the steamed halibut, which was dry and had left all of its taste in the poaching pan.

The desserts were first-rate. I could have done without the sarsaparilla ice cream soda (basically melted ice cream that you sipped with a straw), but I can’t complain about one dud when they give you a four-item sampler.

Paired wines would have been another $100 a person. Here my rip-off alert went into high gear. For well under that figure, one can select a superb white from Oceana’s long wine list, and come home with cash to spare. Oceana also has a fine selection of half-bottles, and you could even sample a few of those without spending as much as the house wine pairing. As it was a work night for both of us, we settled for cocktails followed by a half-bottle of chardonnay ($38), with which we were delighted.

Including beverages, tax, and tip, the meal came to $398. Nobody would call that inexpensive, but for a three-star restaurant on Valentine’s Day, it was one of the better special-occasion meals I’ve had.

Oceana (55 E. 54th Street between Madison & Park Avenues, East Midtown)

Food: ***
Service: ***
Ambiance: ***
Overall: ***

Return to Café Gray

Note: Café Gray closed on June 21, 2008. A branch of A Voce will replace it, though not with its original chef, Andrew Carmellini. Click here and here for my parting thoughts on Café Gray.

Last night, I returned to Café Gray, my first visit since November 2004. My early impression remains my impression today: it is a wonderful restaurant, but not without its share of miscalculations.

Chief among these must be the boneheaded interior design, surely the most obscene waste of a great view in dining history. Instead of giving customers a priceless view of Central Park, Café Gray puts an open kitchen in the way. Walls studded with hard surfaces ensure that the noise carries—and, oh boy, does it carry.

At the table next to us, a man was delivering what sounded like a lecture in musicology to a hearing-impaired companion. The next table over had a Japanese family with two toddlers, one of them quite loud. Ninety minutes later, thanks to the din, I left Café Gray with a mild headache.

I have the Café Gray website open in another window as I write this. I’m not fond of websites with a sound track, but this is one of the dumbest ones ever. People chat and laugh, glasses clink, wine is poured, music flits in and out in the deep background. About its only merit is that, if you quintuple the volume, you have precisely the aural experience of a meal at Café Gray.

The food is an altogether happier story and deserves better surroundings. My friend was grateful to be steered towards the mushroom risotto ($22) and the braised shortribs ($36), both signature dishes that Gray Kunz made famous at Lespinasse. They are indeed special, but as I’d already had them the last time, I wanted to see what else the kitchen could do.

I started with the Seared Foie Gras and Quail ($24). Foie is pretty much infallible, but the quail was a succulent surprise. For the entrée, I chose the sautéed pork chop with housemade sauerkraut ($35). The chop was about half again as thick as one normally sees. To get the interior to the house-recommended temperature of medium, the exterior had to be slightly over-cooked. The sauerkraut was wonderful.

We didn’t have dessert, but I noted that the available choices were between $14-18, which is excessive for this type of restaurant. (My friend and I got into a long discussion about how high the rent must be.) Wine options under $50 were in short supply, but when we chose something at around $48, it was one of the better wines we’ve enjoyed at its price point.

Many restaurants in town have a disappointing bread service, but Café Gray served a loaf of homemade sourdough bread that I’d love to eat every day. The amuse bouche was a small beet in a mildly spicy sauce that I’ve now forgotten.

Overall, the kitchen at Café Gray does a first-class job, but the surroundings disappoint.

Café Gray (10 Columbus Circle, 3rd floor of the Time-Warner Center, West Midtown)

Food: ***
Service: ***
Ambiance: *½
Overall: **½

Lo Scalco

Note: A Michelin star did Lo Scalco no good. It closed in mid-2006, giving way to Dennis Foy, which also closed. A promised midtown re-opening of Lo Scalco never materialized.

*

In the 2005 Michelin Guide, Lo Scalco received an unexpected star. The restaurant had been open for less than a year, and the media had largely ignored it. To date, there is no New York Times review. New York Magazine reviewed it after the Michelin Guide came out, praising the pastas but finding fault in other dishes.

The Chef/Owner is Mauro Mafrici, who once worked as executive chef at Felidia. The restaurant’s name is taken from a renaissance Italian word (now obsolete) that is approximately equivalent to maitre d’. A photocopy of an old book that used the word is on display in the vestibule.

The dining room is beautiful, serene, and refined. Service is leisurely, if a bit lazy. We puzzled for a while over the menu. We expected a server to wander over and utter the words any diner these days should dread: “Let me explain how our menu works.” Instead, they left us to ourselves, and we had to ask how it worked.

In an earlier incarnation, apparently the menu was organized by ingredients. The version we saw last night was organized by regions of Italy, listing an antipasto, first course, and second course for each. This wasn’t explained, although one might have guessed what was going on from the prices. This pattern is repeated for four or five regions. Then, there’s a list of chef’s specialties. If all of this is too confusing, you can order a tasting menu of 4, 5, or 6 courses, priced at $54, $66, or $78 respectively. With the tasting menus, you can choose your courses or ask the chef to choose for you. Got that?

If you order à la carte, the various courses are between $12-29 each. There’s a cheese tasting at $12, $16 or $20 for three, four, or five cheeses. Desserts are $12, or $9 for sorbet and gelati. It is not easy to find a wine under $50, although we lucked out with a selection barely under that, at $48.

We chose the four-course tasting menu, selecting the courses ourselves. Coincidentally, my friend and I made identical choices. We began with the homemade sausage, which is served with canellini beans and broccoletti. This was wondeful, tender, and tasty. We then had a risotto that is not listed on the website, but I believe it came with a pumpkin sauce, which was also terrific.

Alas, the meal tanked with our third choice, duck wrapped with suckling pig—one of the chef’s specialties. The duck was tough and dry. My friend’s portion had what seemed like gristle in one of the pieces; she found it inedible. Given the culinary fireworks of the first two courses, I would like to think this was an anomaly, but it was highly unfortunate, particularly as this was claimed to be a speciality de la casa.

We diverged on the desserts. I had the apple and caramel cake with pistachio ice cream, she the chocolate hazel cake with coffee ice cream. These were both strong finishers, although my friend found her cake a bit too rich (probably not the restaurant’s fault). At the end, we weren’t at all rushed to leave the restaurant. Had we not asked for a check, I think we might still be there.

In its style, ambiance, presentation, and culinary ambitions, Lo Scalco is a three-star restaurant. The staff needs to work on the consistency of the kitchen’s output to actually reach that level.

Lo Scalco (313 Church Street between Walker & Lispenard Streets, TriBeCa)

Food: **
Service: **
Ambiance: ***
Overall: **

Return to Cookshop

There are many restaurants in New York that I want to try, so a restaurant has to be pretty damned good for me to rush back. If it is merely good, I move on to the next destination. After my girlfriend and I had paid a first visit, Cookshop had made it into that rare pantheon of places we felt we had to rush back to.

Alas, early promise wasn’t fulfilled. On our second visit, my friend ordered a “humanely-raised” veal chop. We supposed that meant that the young animal received plenty of coddling in its short life, but in the end they still slaughtered it anyway. All of that made no difference. The chop was inexpertly cooked, lacking any char or texture on its outer surface.

I ordered the suckling pig, another animal that had died young. Its final stop before my plate was a rotisserie, which is perhaps a gimmick to persuade the diner that he is getting something special, but in the end it was just bland. I had a far superior version of the same dish a few days later at the TriBeCa restaurant Dominic.

So our enthusiasm for Cookshop has dimmed somewhat. We’ll probably give it one more try one of these days, but this time we won’t be rushing back.

Cookshop (156 Tenth Avenue at 20th Street, West Chelsea)

Food: *
Service: *
Ambiance: *½
Overall: *

TriBeCa Grill

TriBeCa Grill used to be a tough reservation when it opened sixteen years ago. It was Robert DeNiro’s restaurant. Celebrities dined there. My companions last night—none of whom had been before—asked me to alert them if I saw anyone famous. We didn’t. But obviously they’d heard of the TriBeCa Grill’s reputation. The restaurant was full, and it is still doing well.

In more than half-a-dozen visits to TriBeCa Grill, most of them lunches, I’ve never had a bad meal, or even a bad course. Yet, there’s a certain je ne sais quois that’s missing. I would never suggest that anyone go out of their way to visit TriBeCa Grill. It has no unique selling proposition. It’s a very good New American restaurant that is simply solid in its category. Most neighborhoods have one like it, so there’s no reason to make the trip. But if you happen to be in TriBeCa, you won’t go wrong at the Grill.

We were seated last night in a small back dining room that I had never seen before. It has only 5 or 6 tables. The walls are studded with abstract oil paintings and charcoal drawings. There is no exposed brick to reflect the sound. It is a far more refined atmosphere than the raucous main dining room.

To start, I ordered a Charcuterie Plate ($14), which comes with a veal & foie gras ballotine, serrano ham, and chicken liver mousse. It was all excellent. The very smooth chicken liver mousse stood out. It’s essentially your grandmother’s chopped liver, but with the texture of a purée. It comes with toast points for spreading.

Then came the Grilled Long Island Duck Breast ($26) with spinach, a butternut squash & apple purée, and sundried cherry sauce. Actually, that sauce reminded me of a Chinese hoisin sauce. Anyhow, it was another excellent dish. The duck was tender, and it came in ample slices.

A pumpkin cheesecake ($9) was a bit less successful; perhaps it had been in the fridge a bit too long.

It’s no small accomplishment to continue serving such uniformly good food. After 16 years, many restaurants would take their eye off the ball. TriBeCa Grill is still dependable.

TriBeCa Grill (375 Greenwich Street at Franklin Street, TriBeCa)

Food: **
Service: **
Ambiance: *½
Overall: **