American: Perry St

As one of many Jean-Georges V. restaurants in NYC, Perry St faces the reputation dilemma – if it’s good, that is expected.  If it’s bad, you are doubly disappointed.  Lucky for me, Perry St fell into the former category.  I recently went for its prix fixe menu – at $26 for two courses and dessert, it is a reasonable brunch option.

I started with the house mozzarella with citrus and Thai basil:

I’ve had good mozzarella, and I’ve had bad mozzarella.  At it’s worst, it’s gummy, squeaky, crunchy or even worse.  Luckily, this mozzarella was none of the above – it was soft but elastic, only lightly salted, and it absorbed the flavors of the Thai basil and olive oil.  The orange and grapefruit salad provided a pleasant, slightly sour counterpoint to the creamy cheese.

My eating buddy had the peekytoe crab salad hot mustard and granny smith apples.

I love tart flavors paired with seafood, and this dish was a perfect example.  Without relying too heavily on mayonnaise for the crab salad, the freshness of the crab and ripe apples shined.

For my second course, I ordered the slowly cooked salmon with truffle vinaigrette and steamed maitake mushroom (first picture).   I loved this dish.  I’m a fan of gravlax/lox/smoked salmon and its permutations, and this one didn’t disappoint.  It was aromatic without being overly fishy, and the mushrooms and truffle vinaigrette provided a well-rounded flavor.  The bread was toasted and buttered – mmmm.

My eating buddy had the roasted chicken sandwich with chipotle-lime mayo and avocado.

I’m always a little hesitant to order chicken – I’m a dark-meat gal, and most white meat served in restaurants is a little dry for my taste.  However, this chicken was juicy and tender, and the mayo and avocado also added a level of moisture.  The chips were quite typical, in my opinion.

We finished with the warm chocolate cake with vanilla bean gelato, and the citrus custard cake:

The cake had a rich and flavorful center – few things annoy me more than chocolatey-looking things that are actually quite flavorless. This was not the case here.  The vanilla bean ice cream was also delicious – you can see the real bean pieces, so you know they’re not faking!

The citrus cake was light and refreshing – I would have liked a little more tart-ness, but it wasn’t sickly sweet, so I still gobbled it up.

Perry St’s portions are ample but not overwhelming, and the decor is clean and minimalist.  Being right off the West Side Highway, it’s a bit of a walk from the subway, but I’d recommend trying it at least once!  Reservations recommended.

A bit of a walk, but worth it for the Prix Fixe brunch.

Perry St
176 Perry St. (at West St.)
212.352.1900