Per Se!

Okay I know you've all been anxiously awaiting this post.  Per Se was the most amazing dining experience ever - everyone who loves food should go.  The service was perfect, attentive and knowledgeable and not at all stuffy.  Their attention to detail was incredible - I mean my purse got it's own little fancy stool next to my chair!  Over the course of dinner Ron mentioned is was my birthday and a little while later the waiter asked "Sara with an A or and H"? - I replied "An A" not really thinking anything of it.  As we walked out (three hours after we arrived!) the hostess handed us printed menu and when we got home and looked at it we saw that printed on the menu was "Happy Birthday Sara".  I mean really?  How crazy is that?

We did the wine tasting in addition to the tasting menu and the wine was perfectly paired with every dish.  And the food?  Every single bite was perfect and I don't really know why.  Why is that piece of white asparagus the best asparagus I've ever eaten?  I mean it's asparagus, what could they possibly do to make it taste so good?  The bread they brought to the table was the best bread ever with the best butter ever.  

Here's what we had:

In addition to the nine courses the meal starts with two amuse-bouche - little marble size gougeres filled with warm cheese and a little salmon tartare and creme fraiche cornets.  To finish the meal we had one of each of the desserts on the menu and they brought the French Laundry signature dessert of coffee and donuts - coffee ice cream with whipped cream (and a candle!) and two little cinnamon sugar donuts because it was my birthday.  Then just when we thought we were finished they brought all these chocolates, truffles, chocolate covered peanuts, caramels and all kinds of goodies.  They boxed up the candies we couldn't finish and gave us some other wrapped up snacks to take home and we went back to our hotel - perfectly full, a little bit buzzed and very, very happy.