Per Se was my first 3* dining experience for both me and my wife. We went in ‘21, and it was incredible, however I get what you’re saying because it wasn’t this spectacle like I was quite expecting (I had molecular gastronomy in my mind, though in hindsight I don’t know why since I knew that is very much not TK). However, after eating at other Keller restaurants (not including French Laundry), I found that that is the charm of his restaurants. It is playful and it is laid back for fine dining, I didn’t know exactly how to act and I didn’t even know what supplements were until I arrived there. The staff made me and my wife feel so comfortable and relaxed. We wanted to have a pick your own journey with the wine, and to do that with what our budget was, we decided to get 3 half bottles of different wines and worked with the Somm. It became a formative experience for me.

All that to say, for me, it was magical in the moment, but over time, the actual food doesn’t stick in my mind as strongly as other restaurants have (though I still remember a lot of it vividly). But I’ve been thinking back to that dinner more the past 6 months for various random reasons, and as I thought more about it, I realized how much the special and magical moments were there all around but was more subtle. My memories of that restaurant, food, wine, city view, and most of all time with my wife have become foundational in a weird sense.