The Dessert Tasting at Per Se

For my actual birthday, I opted against a fancy dinner and instead we ate greasy burgers from a takeout spot on the UWS, and celebrated with lots of desserts from Per Se - I can't help that I was born with all sweet teeth !

The dessert tasting at Per Se is served in their salon on a first come, first serve basis.  Five courses for $65, seating until 11p, and jackets for the gents are required.  This one gentleman took off his jacket while drinking coffee with his silver-haired lady, and was kindly reminded to put his jacket back on.  It's a serious scene here.

The tasting begins with adorable bites of raspberry cookies

and pineapple cornets, that have been finely minced in the same effect as the salmon ones from their savory tasting.  Both are fruity and delightful.

The first dessert course was a riff off of cherry coke.

Ripe cherry halves in cola syrup and vanilla bean ice cream.

It was fun.  These wafery cookies were the lightest, crispiest and tastiest things ever.

Next, boysenberry sorbet, macerated raspberries and graham cracker macarons formed a very fancy version of an ice cream sandwich.

A strawberry tart was topped with vanilla marscapone and a cap of white chocolate dusted with strawberry dust.

The signature "coffee and doughnuts," just as good as I remembered.  The doughnuts freshly fried and airy as ever.

Deconstructed s'mores with a rustic block of dark chocolate, a charred, vanilla marshmallow slab and New Guinea chocolate and banana creme fraiche sherbet was the most interesting of the night - combining bits of everything captured the beauty of the s'more.

My favorite part of Per Se meals remain the awesome box of chocolates.  "Choose as many as you like," the server says to me, and of course I did because he told me to - and I always do as I'm told...when it involves eating lots of chocolate.

The best new find was the smoked cinnamon.  Luscious and spicy and pure joy.

But my heart still remains with the mango black sesame.  I requested multiple of these because I am a bonafide birthday brat.

And that's it!  This year's birthday was sweet indeed !

Han's Nonsensical Rating: Per Se dessert tasting is solid - nothing very surprising, but everything delicious; a couple can share one dessert tasting, which is what I'd recommend, and then order something off on the side that is not covered in the tasting to have a broader experience.

Per Se
Columbus Circle
New York, NY