On Friday I had lunch with my friend Matt at Peristyle. We were celebrating the end of his life as an honest man (he's going from project managment at a construction company, to law). We'd tried to get into Peristyle a few weeks ago, but they were booked. The following weekend, I didn't call for reservations early enough. This time, I just lucked out. Someone had cancelled minutes before. Though the place really wasn't that busy; probably 3/4 capacity.
Lunch at Peristyle is a three course prix fixe menu, with two selections for appetizer and entree. One of the appetizers on Friday was shrimp and scallop cakes with lemon sauce, and a "confit" of shiitake mushrooms, carrot, and endive. The cakes were a loose amalgam of scallop and shrimp, and I'm honestly not sure what was binding them together. The texture reminded me of a form of dim sum filling; very light and clean. The sauce also very light, and flavored largely with zest; the smoky shiitakes were a nice balancing note.
The other appetizer was a veal terrine, which came with mustard, cornichons, and what looked like an onion jam. I had a taste, and it was similar to a very finely textured, and finely spiced meatloaf.
I didn't have the presence of mind to write down both of the entrees, and Matt and I both chose the pork medallion. The other entree was drum, and I'm sure it was good, but the pork came with a demi-glace based sauce, and polenta. It was really outstanding. When I first cut into the meat, which was a piece from the rib-chop, I think, I was afraid it was overcooked. It wasn't; in fact, it was perfect. The polenta had been cooled then pan fried before being cut into a long triangle and plated. It was crisp on the outside, and very creamy on the interior. Even the haricots vert that garnished the dish were done right; they were tender, but had retained their bright green color.
The house red wine for the day was a pinot noir; again, I didn't write down the maker, but at $14 for a half bottle, it was a pretty good deal.
It was the first time I'd been to Peristyle at lunch, and I'm very glad I got the reservation. It confirmed my belief that it's one of the best restaurants in the City.
Speaking of which, John Besh's August got a "5 bean" review in the local paper. If you've been reading this site for long, you'll know I agree with that high assessment.
Posted by Robert at June 7, 2003 08:08 AM | TrackBack