Happy Noms

Authors: Victor and Monty
Restaurant: Per Se
Exec Chef: Thomas Keller
Chef de Cuisine: Eli Kaimeh

Date: August 27, 2012

Unfortunately, the food pics are kind of bad. My iPhone doesn’t take very good pics at night :(.

Monte: This meal was ridiculously good.

Food:

Amuse-bouche 1:
Gruyere Cheese Gougeres.

Victor:
I forgot to take a pic of this :(. You can pretty much see it these in any of the other albums, though!

—

Amuse-bouche 2:
Salmon Cornets.

1.
CAVIAR AND AVOCADO
Sterling White Sturgeon Caviar, Hass Avocado Sorbet, and… I forgot :(.

Victor:
I asked Chris, our server, if I could get something new for my caviar dish, and the chef came up with this! It reminded me a lot of the Hass avocado sorbet I had during the 30-course Per Se meal. This one was very simple and delicious, and it definitely focused on taste more than complexity; the avocado mixed very well with the caviar, and it definitely was a new combination that I hadn’t encountered before. Still, I think I appreciated the other Hass avocado sorbet dish more. It was more complex, and I liked that more. (In terms of creativity, I think both dishes were really creative.) For reference, the other dish was “HASS AVOCADO SORBET” (“Ajo Blanco,” Picholine Olive, and Nasturtium Capers).

2.
WHITE TRUFFLE OIL INFUSED EGG CUSTARD
“Ragout” of Black Winter Truffles

Victor:
As mentioned before, this is a classic.

3.
SQUIRE HILL FARM’S BEETS “CUITES SOUS VIDE”
Brooks Cherries, Compressed Fennel Bulb, and Black Walnut Purée

4.
APPLEWOOD SMOKED-BACON-WRAPPED MONKFISH
Savoy Cabbage “Choucroute”, Petite Turnips, Navel Orange Confit, and Whole Grain Mustard

5.
LUBINA (MEDITERRANEAN SEA BASS)
Cauliflower, Champagne Grapes, and some other stuff that I forgot!

6.
COUNTRY PATE OF FOUR STORY HILL FARM’S RABBIT
Preserved Green Tomatoes, Collard Greens, Romano Beans, and Juliette Tomato Vinaigrette

7.
CHARCOAL-GRILLED 100-DAY DRY-AGED AMERICAN WAGYU
Toasted Cornbread, Pickled Watermelon Rind, Creamed Brentwood Corn, and Tellicherry Pepper “Mignonette”

8.
“PYRENEES BREBIS”
Slow Baked Summer Squash (basically ratatouille), Picholine Olives, and Petite Basil

Victor:
The ratatouille was amaaazing. To show how good this cheese course was, I’ll quote Monty: “I THOROUGHLY enjoyed this course.” (Monty almost never likes cheese courses hahaha.)

9.
CHAMOMILE “LEMONADE”
Lemon Purée, Shortbread Crumble, and Gooseberry Sorbet

10.
OLIVE OIL SORBET
Lime Scented Watermelon, Basil Blossoms, and Toasted Pine Nuts

Victor:
I think they were experimenting with this dish during the time of my 30-course meal. I got a slightly different version then; the previous one had real olive oil, and I don’t remember that much about the previous one other than that I REALLY FREAKING ENJOYED IT. This dish was also great, but I didn’t quite enjoy it as much :(. It wasn’t quite “I LOVE THIS!!!” level.

11.
“ANTS ON A LOG”
per se Raisins, Salted Peanuts, Lime-Celery Soda, and Concord Grape Sherbet

Mignardises:
-24 House-Made Chocolates
-Cinnamon-Sugared Brioche Doughnuts with Cappuccino Semifreddo
-Popcorn Sherbet Bonbon
-Salted Caramel; Macarons; and Meyer Lemon, Dark Chocolate, and Milk Chocolate Truffles
-Cocoa-Roasted Hazelnuts