Perilla: Top Chef Quality

I ate here on a very special night back on January 31, and while I know I’m backtracking, there were just too many good eats in the past that I have to mention in my food blog. Perilla is a “Seasonal American” restaurant owned by Top Chef season 1 winner Harold in the West Village (very close to school!), and the menu rotates around seasonal ingredients. Even now I’m looking at their website menu, and there are items on the menu I don’t remember being offered 9 months ago.  Variety, all the more reason to keep going back, no? :) Alas, once I can eat out more often…

The soft lighting of the restaurant made the place seem very warm and inviting, and the flickering candles on each table heightened that feeling. My date and I shared the Crispy Berkshire Pork Belly to start – the perfect way to start. The pork skin was just the right amount of crispiness and the layer of fat under the skin absolutely melted in your mouth. The rectangular piece of meat lay on top of a bed of bok choy and mushrooms (?). I have to admit, my initial reaction when it came out though was “this is it?! it looks like a piece of meat from Chinatown.” But the display and ultimately taste trumped the roasted pigs that hang in the windows in Chinatown just waiting to be chopped up and eaten.

For the main entree I just had to order my traditional red meat, the Grilled Prime Hanger Steak.

My date opted for the more classy Roasted Duckling. Both tasted good, though I remember being a bit wary of trying the duck, which was ordered medium rare. I guess I’m just too used to well-done duck at Chinese restaurants, but hey, I’m still alive and kickin’. :D

I wish I could remember more about the individual tastes of the dishes…but I do remember one thing: the bed of veggies that the meats rested on were perfect delicious complements to the dish, and you gotta have that drizzle on the plate. Har har. We split the Blood Orange Cheesecake for dessert, a recommended way to end your meal though I don’t think it’s on the menu anymore. It was something new, and I think frankly we were just amused by the “blood orange” name.

Thank you Top Chef Harold for the pieces of art! Too bad we never saw him that night, though I know other diners have spotted him bustling around the restaurant.