It was a wonderful meal, all seventeen courses and six hours of it, in part because its creators knew our palates all too well. Sweetbreads, seared foie gras, and carrot cake go in André’s favorite foods of all time. The presence of bone marrow on my plate did not go unnoticed. Neither did the truffles, in separate but equal portions so as not to inspire jealousy. The two caviar presentations were new to us, and both equally astounding. When we were ready to begin to move toward sweets, pastry sent the thyme ice cream, a dish that I had served so many times but never tried. It arrives with a thin disk of chocolate covering the bowl. Then, whoever is serving it puts a few grains of salt in the center of the chocolate and then drizzles hot Provençal olive oil, which melts a hole in the disk and drops the salt onto the ice cream. It was as arresting a combination of flavors as I had imagined.
I have no doubt that I will eat all over the world in my lifetime, but I have my loyalties. The evening André and I spent at Per Se, coddled by the kitchen and our colleagues, will be the memory to which I will compare the rest.
per se menu
November 13, 2005
André’s Menu
PURÉE OF BROCCOLI SOUP
Broccoli Florettes and Pickled Pearl Onions
RUSSIAN SEVRUGA CAVIAR
Red Marble Potatoes and Kendall Farm’s Crème Fraîche
GEODUCK CLAM
Heirloom Radish Ribbons and Ponzu Glaze
GRILLED FRENCH SARDINE
Saffron-Braised Cauliflower, Shaved Fennel Bulb, and Piquillo Peppers
TOAD IN THE HOLE
Brioche with Quail Egg and Black Winter Truffle Emulsion
MÉDAILLON DE RIS DE VEAU
Honey-Braised Cranberries, Glazed Sunchokes, Pissenlit, and Veal Sauce
SALAD OF GRILLED RED ONIONS
Poached Pink Lady Apples and Black Winter Truffle Vinaigrette
MASCARPONE-ENRICHED CHESTNUT AGNOLOTTI
Shaved White Truffles from Alba
HERB-ROASTED TURBOT RÔTI SUR LE DOS
Celery Root Fondant, Shaved Celery Branch, and Confit of Ruby Red Grapefruit with Burgundy Truffle Fondue
PEAS AND CARROTS
Nova Scotia Lobster Cuit Sous Vide Sweet Carrot Parisienne, Pea Shoot Salad, and Carrot Butter
PAN-ROASTED SCOTTISH RED LEG PARTRIDGE
Sautéed Hudson Valley Moulard Duck Foie Gras Matignon of Root Vegetables and Sauce Périgourdine
SNAKE RIVER FARM’S CALOTTE DE BOEUF GRILLÉE
Forty-Eight-Hour Braised Wagyu Beef Brisket, Crispy Bone Marrow, Young Leeks, Black Trumpet Mushrooms, and Salsify Root with Sauce Bordelaise
PETITE ARDI-GASNA
Flowering Quince Membrillo, Grilled Cipollini Onion Rings, Sweet Pepper Vinaigrette, and Blue Moon Acres Mezza Arugula
SORBET À L’HUILE D’OLIVE
Chocolate Pudding and Niçoise Olive Oil
MANGO SORBET
Passion Fruit Caramel Ganache, Croustillant, and White Chocolate Granité
SWEET GARDEN CARROT CAKE
Vanilla Cream Cheese Icing, Candied Walnut Crust, Black Raisin Coulis, and Indonesian Cinnamon Ice Cream
CHOCOLATE SPICED CARAMEL
Valrhona Chocolate Brownie, Milk Chocolate Ganache, Milk Chocolate Snow Flakes, Spiced Caramel Ice Cream, and Caramel Jam
MIGNARDISES
Phoebe’s Menu
PURÈE OF PARSNIP SOUP
Bosc Pear Brunoise
RUSSIAN SEVRUGA CAVIAR
Compressed English Cucumber, Kaffir Lime Gelée, and Lemon Cream
CITRUS-CURED HIRAMASA
Scallion Salad and Persimmon Aigre-Doux
ROASTED TURBOT CHEEK
Sweet Pepper Fondue and Crisp Pancetta
WHITE TRUFFLE OIL–INFUSED CUSTARD
with Ragoût of Périgord Truffles
WARM LAMB’S TONGUE
Lamb Ribette, Sweet Carrot Ribbons, and Medjool Date
SALAD OF SHAVED FENNEL BULB
Slow-Baked Heirloom Beets and Black Winter Truffle Vinaigrette
MASCARPONE-ENRICHED CHESTNUT AGNOLOTTI
Shaved White Truffles from Alba
HERB-ROASTED TURBOT RÔTI SUR LE DOS
Celery Root Fondant, Shaved Celery Branch, and Confit of Ruby Red Grapefruit with Burgundy Truffle Fondue
SWEET BUTTER–POACHED SCOTTISH LANGOUSTINES
Miso-Glazed Eggplant, Grilled Lemongrass, and Oxtail Emulsion
PAN-ROASTED SCOTTISH RED LEG PARTRIDGE
Sautéed Hudson Valley Moulard Duck Foie Gras, Matignon of Root Vegetables, and Sauce Périgourdine
SNAKE RIVER FARM’S CALOTTE DE BOEUF GRILLÉE
Forty-Eight-Hour Braised Wagyu Beef Brisket, Crispy Bone Marrow, Young Leeks, Black Trumpet Mushrooms, and Salsify Root with Sauce Bordelaise
BREBIS DES PYRÉNÉES
Belgian Endive Marmalade, Périgord Truffle Shortbread, and Red Beet Essence
GARDEN THYME–INFUSED ICE CREAM
Chocolate Tuile, Fleur de Sel, and Moulin Des Pénitents Extra Virgin Olive Oil
BANANA SORBET
Jamaican Rum Cake, Cassia Foam, and Kaffir Lime Leaf Custard
SWEET GARDEN CARROT CAKE
Vanilla Cream Cheese Icing, Candied Walnut Crust, Black Raisin Coulis, and Indonesian Cinnamon Ice Cream
PER SE SACHER TORTE
Chocolate Pain de Gênes, Apricot Marmalade, Ginger Custard, Apricot Ice Cream, and Juniper Berry Gelée with Spiced Bread Nougatine
MIGNARDISES
• acknowledgments •
Most sincerely, I want to thank Thomas Keller and Laura Cunningham for conceiving these restaurants, giving me a job, and never looking over my shoulder. Forget all about finesse; you two are finesse.
To Carolyn Marino from HarperCollins and Paul Cirone from the Friedrich Agency, I would like to quote from The Karate Kid: Wax on, wax off.
Thanks to Mutti, Dad, Sam, my two pom-pom-carrying aunts, Barbara Damrosch and Anne Williams, and my cousin Jessica MacMurray Blaine, who not only writes beautifully about food, but can actually make things like salmon cornets.
I am awaiting karmic invoices from Sarah Norris, Suzie Guillette, Katie Akana, and Marci Delozier. Preferably in manuscript form.
At Sarah Lawrence, Vijay Seshadri, JoAnn Beard, Molly Haskell, and Rachel Cohen asked me the important questions.
For talking me down from high places, I’d like to thank Thea Stone and Kim Knittel.
Thank you to Susan Convery for being classmate, roommate, boat mate, bike mate, soul mate, voice of unreason, and mistress of pronoia.
And finally, I would like to thank all those I have called “chef.” The following is a list of the opening dining room staff of Per Se, a few latecomers and important chefs (the knife-carrying variety):Sonya Adams, Nate Begonia, Jonathan Benno, Kat Beto, Susan Blank, Yannick Broto, Virginia Bulli ner, Jose Carangui, Alex Castillo, Jorge Castillo, Natalie “Mama” Cox, Zion Curiel, Raj Dagstani, Michel Darmon, Peter Downey, Kate Edwards, Jeff Eichelberger, Peter Esmond, Matt Fuhrmann, Joe Gentry, Kerry Hamilton, James Hanley, Jimmy Hayes, Alisha Hidalgo, Tim Howard, E.J., Keith Kelly, Jill Kinney, Mahmud Lasker, James Lauer, Corey Lee, Chris L’Hommedieu, Eric Lilavois, Randy Logan, Leslie Lopez, Alisa Lozano, Lisa Mesiti, Rudy Mikula, Michael Minnillo, Kathryn Mirtsopoulos, Craig Muraszewski, Larry Nadeau, Emily Newman, David Norris, Paolo Novello, Arleene Oconitrillo, Asya Ollis, Kelly Pottle-Graham, “R-dog,” Jose Reyes, Bill Rhodes, Paul Roberts, Anthony Rush, Rudy Santos, Veronica Santos, Joel Schott, Jonathan Schwartz, Joshua Schwartz, Lyndon Smith, Wayne Smith, Brendan Sodakoff, Linus Streckfus, Wilson Thomas, Carolos Tomazos, Gregory Tomicich, Daniel Toral, Met Ture, Brian Van Flandern, Aracely Warner, and Tina Zekhtser.
About the Author
PHOEBE DAMROSCH is a graduate of Barnard College at Columbia University and holds an MFA from Sarah Lawrence College. She lives in New York City and no longer waits on tables.
www.phoebedamrosch.com
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Credits
Jacket design by Chin-Yee Lai
Jacket photograph © by Betsie Van der Meer/Getty Images
Copyright
SERVICE INCLUDED. Copyright © 2007 by Phoebe Damrosch. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.
EPub Edition © AUGUST 2007 ISBN: 9780061833786
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Table of Contents
Cover
Title Page
Dedication
Contents
A Diner's Bill of Rights
Introduction
The Art of the Day Job
Food Porn
Mosquitoes on Toast
Fire!
Four-Star Mistress
Being Frank
No Bones About it
The Fault, Dear Bruni
Not in the Stars
Underlings
I Can Hear You
City Love
Service Included
A Few More Tips
Afterword: My Dinner with Andre
Per Se Menu
Acknowledgments
About the Author
Credits
Copyright
About the Publisher
Service Included Page 20