PrintPer Se's Kitchen, Still Well-Stocked and Watching the French Laundry on Flat-Screen TV
Watching Per Se from the French Laundry's kitchen in California. Photograph from pellis on Flickr
Per Se may be feeling a 10 percent drop in reservations, as the New York Times reports, but you wouldn't know it by the 5,000-square-foot steel-and-tile kitchen. It's still stocked with "a box of fresh langoustines from Scotland and 20 whole rabbits from Vermont," and per tradition, "the stations move clockwise from canapé to entremetier." We cannot forget the video screen with a real-time glimpse at Per Se’s sister restaurant, the French Laundry, in California (which can also spy on them on their own synced-up screen).
Certain restaurants just won't feel the recession that bad. They still have a steady stream of clientele who call the concierge to slip them into the reservation books, and can afford the live video/audio feed from a three hour-removed time zone.
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3 Comments:
I was able to visit the Per Se kitchen in February, and I was truly amazed by the shear size of the facility. The video screen showing the goings-on at the French Laundry was a particular marvel. Wish I could have a kitchen like that!
momstheword at 2:05PM on 05/29/09
could someone explain the purpose of the video link? obviously it is a luxury, but i'm guessing there is some intended purpose. it doesn't have the vibe of being there just to look fancy, being inside of a closed kitchen. and it's not like if the per se kitchen runs out of langoustines they can get someone to run a few over from the french laundry.
bgruber at 11:03PM on 05/29/09
i tried to get a table last march and not even our friend the sommelier could get us in on a Saturday night... recession is alive and well in NYC.
MadelynRodriguez at 12:17AM on 05/30/09