Perilla

Tonight, in celebrating my birthday, the family went to Perilla for dinner. Opened by Chef Harold Dieterle, winner of Top Chef Season 1, it's been a to-do since it opened back in May.

Half our party was 15 minutes early but we were seated right away, which is contrary to many places in the City, but definitely a positive. The restaurant is not very large. It has a nice bar up front where diners are welcome, an ideal spot for single diners or walk-in's. Decor is simple and, in some cases as with the tables, kinda cheap. But we were there for the food. The Chef was in attendance tonight. In fact, he was sitting at another table with 2 couples. Dressed simply in jeans and a t-shirt, I wasn't sure if he was working or not. Hopefully, the food would not suffer for his not being in the kitchen.

And it didn't for the most part. We had several of the appetizers including the braised cuttlefish, the crispy Berkshire pork belly, and the spicy duck meatballs. The cuttlefish was simple, light and solid but no wow factor. The pork belly was truly amazing. Served with pea tendrils, trumpets and raisins, the flavors were powerful. The only negative (and a minor one) is that the skin wasn't really crispy as written on the menu. For me, this was the dish of the night.

The spicy duck meatballs were served with Okinawa yam gnocchi, water spinach and a quail egg. The egg was supposed to be beaten with the gnocchi and spinach. This dish was a variation on the meatballs served in the Top Chef Season 1 vs Season 2 cook-off from episode 2 of Season 3. The meatballs were extremely flavorful but the rest of the dish disappointed. The gnocchi, honestly, were pretty bland. I couldn't taste the yam in it. The rest of the spinach and quail egg mixture was fine but it seemed like there should have been more. If the meatballs were larger and more of the focal point of the dish, I would forgive the flavorless gnocchi. As it was, the dish was good but it could have been great.

For entrees, I had a chance to try the breast of lamb, the hangar steak, the roast duck, the summer truffle ravioli, and the wolfish. Since I just had a bite of each dish except for my own (the wolfish), I can only say that everything seemed solid except for the hangar steak. It was slightly overcooked to medium but that shouldn't have accounted for the toughness and lack of juices. Perhaps an off night? The rest of the entrees were fine but nothing extraordinary. I did have a glass of the Buchegger Gruner Veltliner 2006 with my meal. It was probably a little too sweet for me and a not sweet enough for Maria. I suppose if I were to buy a bottle, that would be a good compromise.

Service throughout the evening was professional and attentive. My parents did bring a cake which they probably shouldn't have done without checking with the restaurant. It turns out they would charge us $4 per person to serve the cake. This was more expensive than the cake itself and not worthwhile. It was not unexpected but it would have been a nice bonus and would have meant a larger tip for the wait staff.

Chef Dieterle was kind enough to stop by to chat and take a picture with Elissa on his way out. He's a very unassuming person and seemed a bit uncomfortable with the picture taking but he bore it well. All in all, it was a nice experience. I'd like to come back in the spring to see how the menu evolves or if the Chef makes any changes to the preparations of the dishes he has now. And I'll remember to come down if I ever find myself dining solo.