(2007-12-28) Thrilla At Perilla

Jihi had me take her cousin and cousin's-daughter to Perilla, the restaurant run by Harold Dieterle, who won Season-1 of Next Top Chef. (Restaurant Review) He was on vacation.

• I've eaten a lot of duck, but this duck was the best ever! So tender/moist, with the skin just adding a little texture, not an overly crispy taco wrapper. With pomegranate seeds, so you can vary the sweetness of each taste by varying the number of seeds.

• The hanger steak and pancetta-wrapped-tenderloin were also excellent.

• The "Hudson Valley Fois Gras" was excellent. My eating partners found it a little too rich, but I found it a perfect compromise between the overly-rich-to-me true-fois-gras and a meat-loafy-terrine. (The pine-nut sauce was far superior to the kumquat and huckleberry sauces, which I found too sweet. And the broiche toast was an awesome counterpoint.)

• The beef carpaccio was awesome, mouth-popping.

• The famous spicy duck meatballs didn't excite me much.

• The desserts were all really good.

• The wine list had a nice wide range of prices. A couple under $40, quite a few under $50.

• The staff was very efficient and friendly.

All-in-all, a great meal. (Don't recall what we paid, but looking at menu you could get through for maybe $60 plus liquor/tax/tip. Call it $100.)

Jun'2008: went back. Different menu for a different season, of course. Very good, but didn't blow my socks off like the last time.