Per Se exceeds expectations Part 2 (food)

Moving on to the savory courses, first came the bread and butter.

House salted churned butter from a small family in Oregon on the left, unsalted sweet butter from Straus family creamery on the right. I mostly went with the sweet butter, which was soft and really creamy.

The most delightful surprise of the evening for me were these Parker House rolls. Amazingly soft with a light sprinkle of salt, these were so good with the sweet butter that I had to get two more. I'm not really a big bread guy, so it was special to get something I enjoyed so much.

There was other bread as well, but I didn't have any.

SAUTEED HUDSON VALLEY MOULARD DUCK FOIE GRAS with CORNBREAD "PAIN PERDU", GRANNY SMITH APPLES, WATERCRESS LEAVES, and WHIPPED BLIS MAPLE SYRUP with TELLICHERRY PEPPER JUS
For a $30 supplement, this is a must for anyone who likes foie gras. While many places will often serve seared foie gras with any one of these components (corn, apple, maple syrup), they made it simple by having everything you would want with foie gras all on one plate.

I think this photo is better at illustrating how big this piece of foie gras actually was. Just so good and so well done.

FILLET OF JOHN DORY "A LA GRENOBLOISE" with "PAIN DE CAMPAGNE", ARTICHOKE CHIPS, FORK-CRUSHED SUNCHOKES and PARSLEY SHOOTS, with CAPER-BROWN BUTTER PUREE
I'm not big on john dory. It is a rather mild-tasting fish after all. I thought this dish was ok. The takeaway from this dish was again the chef's impressive ability to balance components that are usually pretty strong such as artichoke, sunchoke, and capers.

PAN ROASTED DAY BOAT SEA SCALLOP with HEN EGG RAVIOLI, FENNEL BULB, WILTED ARROWLEAF SPINACH, and CRYSTALLIZED FENNEL CHIP with BOTTARGA EMULSION
This might be the best scallop dish I've ever had. The flavors were good (although I couldn't make the bottarga in the emulsion), but what made this dish was the textures coming together. I originally thought that the hen egg ravioli would ooze yolk, but instead the yolk in the ravioli was fully cooked, which was even better. With a perfectly cooked scallop, there already is a silky texture. Add to that the crisp of the fennel chip, the give of the pasta, and that middling crumbly texture of cooked egg yolk and you get just an amazing range of textures in one bite.

The scallop was pretty big.

ALL DAY BRAISED SALMON CREEK FARM'S PORK BELLY with STUFFED CIPOLLINI ONION, ROMAINE LETTUCE, PICKLED CIPOLLINI ONION SHOOTS and SAN MARZANO TOMATO MARMALADE with PORK JUS
This dish was good, but not amazing. A situation where I would have preferred less balance, and just more concentrated porcine flavor and more of the sweet and sour components.

SNAKE RIVER FARMS' "CALOTTE DE BOEUF GRILLEE" with BLACK TRUMPET MUSHROOMS, GLAZED SALSIFY, HEIRLOOM CARROTS and FIELD MIZUNA WITH "SAUCE BORDELAISE"
This was remarkable. First, the vegetables were great. When I eat a composed beef dish at a restaurant, the vegetables matter a lot to me. Otherwise, I could just go to a steakhouse. The beef itself was spectacular in the way it was cooked. I would cut a bite, it had the right texture for a good chew, and as I was chewing, more juice and flavor would come out. Take a sip of wine, continue chewing, even more flavor continued to pop out. It never went dry. This dish is my perfect answer against all those people who must have their brand name beef on the rare side.

That's it for the savory courses. Next part, cheese and sweet courses.

For Part 1, click here
For Part 3, click here