Per Se Salon (New York, NY)

10 Columbus Circle
New York, NY 10019
(212) 823-9335

There's something distinctly springish in the air, now, in NYC. There is the rich smell of wet earth, of things beginning to come alive, again. I suppose you can always see crazy runners out in shorts, here, even in the dead of winter, but now, there are more of them bursting forth from the ground.

On a recent, almost-spring night, we felt like celebrating. We had no real excuses, really -- no birthdays, even presidents' birthdays, no anniversaries. But with the almost-springtime stirring in our veins, we wanted to do something crazy, something extravagant. I hope it is not a function of our advanced age that we chose to celebrate extravagantly by going to the Per Se Salon.

The Salon at Per Se is a relatively new creation, born in mid-2009 during the darker days of the economic recession. For many a year, Per Se had offered only its prix fixe menu, once available for a bargain $150 / diner. It has since edged up to a neat $295 / diner. Rumor has it that in 2009, even this iconic restaurant -- one of only seven restaurants in the United States with three Michelin stars -- was having difficulty filling its dining room and hence, the Salon was introduced. The Salon menu is a condensed, a la carte menu, serving some of the same dishes offered in the main dining room and prepared in the same kitchen. Unlike at many other restaurants (Bar Masa at Masa comes to mind), the food doesn't seem to be inferior to what's served in the main dining room, in any way.

Spitzer's Corner (New York, NY)

101 Rivington St., New York, NY 10002
at Ludlow St.
212-228-0027

http://www.spitzerscorner.com/

Justin and I discover a lot of places by accident, since we're not good at reservations or little details like... well, time of day. The plan was to head to Shopsin's in Essex Street Market for lunch. But by the time we arrived, the kitchen was closed and an aberrantly friendly, smiling Kenny Shopsin was lounging around at his counter. He apologized to us for not being open.

Worried there might've been some malfunction in the matrix -- Kenny Shopsin isn't supposed to be pleasant and friendly, at least not in this universe -- we wandered around the neighborhood for a while, slightly shell shocked. By and by, we stumbled upon Spitzer's Corner.

It's an attractive restaurant: sleek and industrial chic, with huge expanses of windows. The inner walls are paneled with a beautiful, rustic, smooth wood I couldn't resist running my hands over, again and again. They are petable. You have to go try it. And there are two huge, long communal tables with benches, like something you'd find in a Viking dining hall, and additional counters with plastic stools, all along the outer walls. There were only two other customers at the time, so we had our pick of seats.

Jeffrey's Grocery (New York, NY)

172 Waverly Place
NY 10014
(646) 398-7630

Diver Scallops Crudo

It was a luxuriantly warm day for February and for once, we were inspired to forage for our lunch outdoors. The sun was shining, our bellies were rumbling. What better time to finally try Jeffrey's Grocery, a little cafe/bistro-like establishment that opened nearby a few months prior?

Although the place was bustling as always, we were seated almost immediately at a two-top in front of the grocery cold case -- displaying prepared salads, cold cuts, cheeses and breads, among other things -- where the early afternoon sun warmed my back. We quickly got down to business. I started with the Diver Scallops Crudo with Szechuan peppercorn and grape. The grape was actually present only in the form of a beautiful, rose-colored juice. The slight heat of peppercorns was pretty brilliant in combination with this mild sweetness. Alas, the scallops themselves left a bit to be desired. They were not fresh -- at least not fresh enough to be served raw. Great concept, poor execution. (3/5)

The Highlands Revisited (New York, NY)

150 West 10th Street
New York, NY 10014-3117
(212) 229-2670

Beef Wellington

Why is it that there are so many Irish pubs all over the world, but not many Scottish ones? Nearly every city I've ever traveled to has had a Dubliner or a Paddy's. Yet the Scotts, for all that they enjoy and make a fine drink, and for all that they've gone forth and multiplied in faraway lands, do not seem to have propagated the important institution of the Scottish pub around the world nearly as successfully as their Irish neighbors.

Luckily, we do have one Scottish pub in the West Village -- a good one in the form of The Highlands. And we manage to keep this one-year-old pub mostly to ourselves, since it's tucked away in part of the neighborhood that many tourists have a difficult time navigating.

Brasserie au Violon (Basel, Switzerland)

Im Lohnhof 4
4051 Basle, Switzerland

http://www.au-violon.com/index.cfm/64C571E9-D7F4-4D12-BC779BCDB3838BE0&cfidx51949307&cftx54634280/

Venison with Beet Puree

On our final evening in Basel, we realized that we hadn't actually eaten at a single restaurant in Basel town proper. We'd traveled some distance to visit the stellar Restaurant Hirschen and buy cheese from Antony: Eleveur de Fromages. And we'd had a few phenomenal meals Chez Charlotte and Stefan, including Stefan's remarkably delicious saddle of roe deer with a red wine and cream sauce; Charlotte's wickedly tasty daikon radish cake, which she'd made for the Lunar New Year; and of course, lots and lots of raclette. But what were restaurants like in Basel? 

Lufthansa (Basel, Munich, Newark)

Venison Terrine with Green Bean Salad

I don't ordinarily review airline food, in part because it's usually such a miserable affair that I don't want to think about it more than I have to. Lufthansa, however, is a pearl among swine.

Unlike many other airlines, even for international flights, Lufthansa actually seems to care about serving food that is enjoyable to eat. Since much of it would pass muster in a decent to good New York City restaurant, I figured it merits a review.

The airline's current business class menu between Munich and Newark features the food of Léa Linster, a Michelin-starred chef from Luxembourg. She is the only female chef to have won a gold medal at Bocuse d'Or, one of the world's most prestigious cooking competitions. Chef Linster's menu on our recent flight provided for one dinner and one "snack". The so-called "snack" -- meal sized in many places, actually -- included a wonderful hot-smoked breast of duck with chanterelle tartare, which would be considered excellent in any major city restaurant. It also featured a fairly good medium rare roast veal with porcini mousse and a generous slice of cheesecake for dessert.

Hotel Restaurant Hirschen (Sulzburg, Germany)

Hauptstrasse 69
D-79295 Sulzburg
Germany
+49 (0) 7634 8208

http://www.douce-steiner.de/index.php?de_home-2

Steak with Oxtail Chocolate

Our Europe Correspondent's report on Hotel Restaurant Hirschen completely failed to prepare me for the experience. To be fair, as well written as it was, I'm not sure any words could have readied me for a dinner that has a strong chance of being the best restaurant meal we'll eat at this year.

Restaurant Hirschen is modestly appointed. We went after a long day of traipsing about the Black Forest and our boots were a bit muddy, our hair a bit wild, and some of our pants a bit... corduroy. The pleasant staff didn't bat an eye at our condition and made us feel at home in the comfortable, pale yellow dining room, whose painted wooden walls evoked the feel of an old country house.

Antony: Eleveur de Fromages (Vieux Ferrette, France)

5 rue de la montagne, Vieux-Ferrette
68480, France
03 89 40 42 22

http://fromagerieantony.pagesperso-orange.fr/

Jean-Francois at the Counter

About half an hour north of Basel, in the tiny Alsatian town of Vieux Ferrette, there is a remarkable fromagerie. Actually, it's much more than a cheese shop; it is the base of operations for Bernard Antony, probably the most famous affineur in France. The charming, perpetually smiling Mr. Antony carefully selects partially aged cheese from some 50 some odd small producers, picking only the ones that show the most promise, and then "elevates" or ages them to perfection in strictly temperature- and humidity-controlled environments. The resulting quality is incredible. Since I haven't spent much time tasting cheeses outside of the United States, I am a bit of a country bumpkin when it comes to cheeses -- but I can safely say that the purity and intensity of flavors is like nothing I have tasted, before.

Mr. Antony is known for supplying only very well-rated French restaurants with his wares, including a world-famous four-year old Comté. He limits his clientele to a few select chefs, including Alain Ducasse, Pierre Gagnaire, Alain Passard and Alain Senderens. The walls of his humble little shop are lined with framed letters of thanks from numerous dignitaries, including President Sarkozy and his wife, Carla, and documentation of numerous honors he's received during his three decades in this line of work. There is a rumor that the town of Vieux Ferrette (population 561) built a landing strip just so various Middle Eastern sheiks could fly in to buy their elevated cheeses, and then fly home. I don't doubt the story.

Bouchon Bakery Macarons (New York, NY)

10 Columbus Circle, Third Floor
New York, NY 10019
212.823.9366

http://www.bouchonbakery.com/

Clearly, I've been on a macaron kick recently. Ever since Mitchell whetted my appetite with his delicious gift from La Maison du Macaron, I've been having wet, drool-filled dreams about macarons. This evening, I happened to find myself near Columbus Circle and used that as an excuse to slip inside to take a peek at what Bouchon Bakery had on offer.

The first difference you'll notice about Bouchon Bakery's macarons is that they are freakin' huge. They are gargantuan by macaron standards, a whopping two inches in diameter. I think as a result of their large size, there isn't a lot of rise in the "cookie" / shell and some of the flavors I tried tended towards overdensity.

Flavors change a bit by season, but the ones that are on offer all the time include the classic (vanilla), chocolate, coffee and pistachio. Currently, they also have orange creme and peanut butter and jelly flavors.