New York Eats: Per Se

Per Se

The Time Warner Center

10 Columbus Circle (at 60th Street)

4th Floor

Manhattan, New York

Tel: +1 (212) 823 9335

Website: http://www.perseny.com/perse.htm 

Getting a reservation at The French Laundry was impossible. One hour on the phone and only to get on to a waitlist for not 1 but 3 meal services. Nothing came back. A trip to Napa Valley was in the cards and how could I not visit one of Chef Keller's fine establishments? Then, we decided that it was going to be a visit to Per Se or nothing, so we grabbed the reservation when a slot opened up on the day of our arrival in New York even if it meant that we were going to be more than likely, jetlagged.

After much success with The French Laundry, Chef Thomas Keller, one of America's most lauded and well respected chef, opened Per Se in February 2004 to much anticipation (only to close shortly after for 2 months before reopening in May 2004 because a fire broke out). Considered as the urban interpretation to The French Laundry, it received the highest honour of 3 stars from the Michelin Guide in 2005 and has kept it since, making it one of the few restaurants in New York that have the same honours. Interestingly, the name for the restaurant came about because Chef Keller had been asked many times prior to its opening if the restaurant would be like The French Laundry and his answer was that it would not be like The French Laundry "per se" and from there, the name stuck.
 

New York Eats: Smorgasburg at Williamsburg, Brooklyn

Smorgasburg (Williamsburg)

East River State Park

90 Kent Avenue at N. 7th Street

Website: http://www.smorgasburg.com/ 

 

I love food markets. Whenever I'm traveling and visiting different cities, I always try to put food markets on the list of places to visit. It's always nice to visit the local markets just to get a feel of what locals eat and do. Smorgasburg is practically heaven because it's a whole big group of vendors who get together in one place to cook and they sure know how to do it well. It's all about the eating here - street food and basically casual dining under the big open skies which also means that it can be quite a downer if it rains. It was also where we found the infamous Ramen Burger which shook up the whole burger scene just like how the Cronut did to the world of doughnuts. 

New York Eats: Chef's Table at Brooklyn Fare

Chef's Table at Brooklyn Fare

200 Schermerhorn Street

Brooklyn, NY 11201

Tel: +1 (718) 243 0050

Website: http://www.brooklynfare.com/pages

I wish I had the photos to show because this was one exceptional meal. It was difficult getting a table so you could imagine how happy I was (jumping for joy, literally) when I finally managed to get through to someone some 100 over phone calls later. In fact, I lost count because my trusty iPhone could only record up to 100 on the call list. It was quite a scene as we had 3 phones dialling in at the same time but anyhow, we got there and scored ourselves a 10pm reservation. I know what you're thinking - an 18 to 20 course degustation at 10pm? What time would we finish? But we went prepared and got through the whole meal in slightly over 2 hours which I would say was possibly one of the best 2 hours well spent at a dining table. In fact, it was the most outstanding and memorable dining experience I had all trip.

New York Eats: The NoMad

The NoMad

The NoMad Hotel

1170 Broadway & 28th Street

New York, NY 10001

Tel: +1 (347) 472 5660

Website: http://www.thenomadhotel.com/#!/dining

Housed within the NoMad Hotel, The NoMad opened its doors in 2012 to much acclaim. It shouldn't have come as a surprise as the people behind The NoMad are the same who took over the 3 Michelin Star Eleven Madison Park from Danny Meyer of Union Square Hospitality Group. Like the interiors of The NoMad Hotel, the restaurant was also stylishly decked out, staff were well dressed and the crowd was mostly working professionals, although that could have been because I was there during their lunch service.

The NoMad made it to our list of restaurants to visit purely for this reason you see below.

Roast Chicken for 2

Foie Gras, Black Truffle & Brioche

New York Eats: Shake Shack

Shake Shack

New York

For the list of outlets, visit http://www.shakeshack.com/home

Shack Burger & Cheese Fries

Who doesn't love a good burger? I know I do. And if you're familiar at all with the "burger scene" in the US, you'd know Shake Shack. Some people might disagree but I'd say this is the East Coast's answer to In-N-Out Burger.

 

New York Eats: Russ & Daughters, Katz's Deli, Doughnut Plant

Russ & Daughters

179 East Houston Street

New York, NY 10002

Tel: +1 (212) 475.4880

Website: http://www.russanddaughters.com

Katz's Delicatessen

205 East Houston Street (corner of Ludlow St)

New York,  NY 10002 

Tel: +1 (212) 254-2246 

Website: http://katzsdelicatessen.com/ 

Doughnut Plant

379 Grand Street

New York, NY 10012

Tel: +1-212-505-3700 

Website: http://doughnutplant.com/ 

What happens when you're on holiday and there's never enough time to squeeze in all the things you want to eat?... You put them all in one meal!

And that's exactly what happened one morning on the Lower East Side of Manhattan.

 

 

Our first stop was to Russ & Daughters.

 

New York Eats: Le Bernardin

Le Bernardin
155 West 51st
New York, NY 10019
Tel: +1 (212) 554 1515
Website: http://le-bernardin.com/

This is the first of my posts about our US tour! And we're starting it off with an enjoyable meal we had at Le Bernardin.

I've always been intrigued with Chef Eric Ripert's food. And even more so recently as I've found myself to gravitate towards lighter seafood dishes (although I still enjoy my roast pork ever so often). R had been to Le Berdardin on a previous visit to NYC in 2008 but I guess he must have liked it enough since he insisted on bringing me there. If I were him, I probably would have been more selfish and insisted that we try some place new. I guess that's why people usually refer to their partners as their "better" half.