PER SE
10 Columbus Circle, fourth fl.
212-823-9335

MASA
10 Columbus Circle, fourth fl.
212-823-9800

Foie Gras at Per Se.   (Photo: Courtesy of Per Se)

We live, arguably, in the golden age of engorged duck liver. Never have foie gras dishes been so plentiful, so artful, so over-the-top. For a whirlwind tour of the best of the best, we’d like to suggest the following. Secure several hundred dollars from your local bank. Take your cash to Masa, in the Time Warner Center, and ask for the foie gras shabu-shabu. When they say this comes with many other delicious non–foie gras items, reply that you’ll pay for the entire meal, but please bring the shabu-shabu only. Enjoy the exceptional melting quality of the foie gras gently dipped in kombu-dashi, a Japanese seaweed stock. Pay your $350 bill. Proceed next door to Per Se. Order Thomas Keller’s “Peach Melba” (foie gras with pickled white peaches), and after that, the fine trencherman’s delicacy called “Chaud-Froid,” a delicious mix of foie gras, onions, and soft brioche croutons. Pay your bill again. Then go lie down. Was it worth it? Who knows. But tastes change quickly in the big city, and the perfect foie gras convergence may never happen again.