Per Se, New York, NY

Per Se (Photo: niallkennedy)

Per Se! Finally! I can cross #1 off my list of RESTAURANTS I WILL EAT AT OR CRY. Unfortunately it was too dark for photos (there are some very lovely photos of a different tasting menu here). In any case, I was far too stupendously busy enjoying my selfish self. We had the chef’s tasting menu with a partial wine pairing and it was, as I suspected, a perfectly spectacular meal. I wouldn’t say that it was surprising, but it was done right, in every imaginable sense.

Salmon Tartare Coronets (Photo: roboppy)

The Salmon Tartare Coronets were one of two amuse-bouche.

Oysters and Pearls (Photo: roboppy)

Followed by the first course on our menu, the Oysters and Pearls (“Sabayon” of Pearl Tapioca with Island Creek Oysters and Sterling White Sturgeon Caviar).

This is the rest of our menu. For dessert my brother got the Champagne Apples while I opted for the Salted Chocolate Peanuts. They were both immaculate, but we both preferred the ones we ordered.

Coffee and Doughnuts (Photo: roboppy)

The ‘coffee’ component of the ‘Coffee and Doughnuts’ dessert (cinnamon sugar doughnuts with a cappuccino semifreddo topped with foam). I was already about to split at this point, but I still came close to eating the whole thing.

One thing I have to say is that I would have enjoyed the meal a lot more if I didn’t feel like I was going to die at the end. Half-tasting menu please?

Roberta’s, Brooklyn, NY

Roberta's (Photo: Adam Kuban)

Roberta’s, about a ten minute walk from my apartment, was always my go-to neighborhood spot when I lived in Brooklyn. It’s really one of the only decent places you can go without taking the subway plus it has the added bonus of being close to the Narrows (the only place in the neighborhood that serves up a serious cocktail). No doubt you’ve heard a thousand wonderful things about Roberta’s from the NY Times, GQ, and any food critic that matters.

The thing is, I love Roberta’s. But I don’t agree with the critics. I will defend Roberta’s as having one of the city’s best brunches. Their pancakes are irreproachable, the pork jowl with poached egg and polenta is more than noteworthy, and the fried chicken is my favorite in NYC.

Pork Jowl, Poached Egg, Polenta (Photo: star5112)

I will even defend their pizza. This wasn’t true for a long time. Their pizza has always been decent but expensive and not nearly on the level of places like Motorino. The last time I ate there, when I still lived in Brooklyn, I had the Beastmaster and was shocked to find Roberta’s pizza, suddenly on par with pretty much anywhere in NY. On my return this winter I shared the Duck Hunt (pawlet, duck prosciutto, sweet potato, leek, onion, chili flake, black pepper) with a couple of friends. While I still prefer Motorino, there is no denying this is an impeccable pizza.

Beastmaster (Photo: roboppy)

But at that time, and to this day, I will not defend their other dinner options. Let me rephrase. Their dinner options are not bad, per se. But they are small and overpriced, especially taking into account that they are hardly perfect. Let me start with my minute serving of Foie Gras (almond, black pepper, apple) for $17. I admit, the waiter warned me it was small. In general, I have no issue with this kind of portioning, especially for an ingredient like foie. And the foie was perfectly fine. But for $17 dollars (for what is really a small plate), I expect at least perfection. The dish was, unfortunately, ruined by the ‘apple’ component. Not only did it not make sense in the context of the dish but, even more reprehensibly, the apple was mealy. In my book, mealy apples are unforgivable and that bite of apple ruined my entire experience.

This brings me to the Octopus (black garlic, treviso, sea bream) and Bay Scallops (trout skin, meyer lemon), which my compatriots ordered, $16 and $17 respectively. These were well composed dishes but again, the portions were tiny. Where does Roberta’s get off serving food that, while relatively good in quality, is regularly overpriced? And I mean overpriced compared to any fine dining restaurant in the Manhattan with a similar creative aesthetic and quality.

Roberta’s gets away with it because of the novelty of being a good restaurant in an unlikely neighborhood, for being ‘hip’, and for being over-hyped by critics like Sam Sifton. People with money from Manhattan come and they think, wow I’m in some godforsaken area of Bushwick, it feels underground and undiscovered and unexpected and well, cool. This is despite the fact that these days the place is always crowded. I think people who are blown away by Roberta’s have merely lowered their standards, perhaps without consciously realizing it. Because it’s in Bushwick. Because the exterior looks abandoned.

Roberta’s has value to me for their brunch, for their pizza, as a place to hang out and have a drink, and as a neighborhood restaurant. But in the larger arena of fine dining, it simply isn’t a contender.

Duck Lunch at Ssäm Bar, NY

New York City (the only place that could ever matter!). I was fortunate enough to have a brief respite from my self-imposed exile to Hokkaido over the holidays, five days of which were spent in (and around) Brooklyn. Since my time was so limited, my meals were meticulously planned. And duck lunch at Ssam Bar, one of my favorite meals in the city, was a non-negotiable.

It was interesting to compare the rotisserie duck over rice I had last spring, about a week after they started serving, with their current offering. The good news – duck lunch is still amazing. Duck is great, I love duck. But this is duck like you’ve never had it before. The crispiness of the skin combined with the fat (which really actually melts in your mouth) is probably one of the most heavenly mouthfuls you could wish for. The meat is incredibly tender and full of ducky flavor. Part of the slice is actually composed of a duck sausage (containing pork) which has been stuffed into the duck under the skin and then cooked on a rotisserie. And trust me, it’s groundbreaking.

The rice component, however, was a slight disappointment. Under the sliced duck and on top of the rice are bits of fatty crispy duck. The first time I had the dish this was incorporated throughout the rice, making the rice unbelievably necessary. This time, with just a sparse sprinkling across the top, the rice felt like an unnecessary extra. The scallion pancake was also a little thinner than I remember, but equally buttery and delightful. I also tried the duck bun and have to say I was unimpressed. The duck had a strange texture, the seasoning was too sweet and acidic, and I absolutely despise the mayonnaise in that context. I would advise sticking with the pork buns.

Despite the slight flaws, duck lunch is still one of the best and most necessary meals NYC has to offer.