Ever since I moved to New York, there was one place I wanted to go: Thomas Keller’s Per Se. Shortly after I’d unpacked my bags, I found myself enrolled in a memoir course through Gotham Writers. My teacher’s one published memoir, Service Included, was about her time at none other than Per Se. I spent nights reading through her book, lost in the description of their indulgent dishes.

Not able to afford the expense at the time, years went by after the class concluded without my visiting the restaurant. Since it opened its doors in 2004, Per Se has continually been on the various lists of the most expensive restaurants in the world. I’d always known that when I finally made my way there for a meal, it would have to be lunch, based on the price tag alone. At the time, in addition to the chef’s tasting ($310), you could go with a 7 course ($245) or 5 course ($205). We went for the 5 course which, as you can see below, kept the meal to a more reasonable amount for one sitting. With some of the recent negative coverage of Per Se, I thought it was time to finally hit publish on this post.

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