Perla is opened for lunch

We have had a few killer meals this week.  In full transparency we are investors in all of Gabe and Gina Stulmans restaurants but I am pretty good at separating one from the other.  He has managed to hire not only some unbelievable chefs but he has created a family as everyone who works in his restaurants frequent each others places. 

We had dinner at Perla on Monday night and to be honest I ate so much that I had a food coma on Tuesday.  It took me until Wednesday to recover.  On Friday night we sat at the bar of Fedora for dinner.  The meal was amazing but two of the plates we shared were honestly genius.  Sorry there are no pictures.  Squid stuffed with duck confit with the tenacles served tempura style.  The other dish was smoked mussels mixed with a lemon curd and herbs sitting on top of a sliced baguette that got soft from the dish.  Mehti is just brilliant. 

Why stop there?  We went back to  Perla on Sunday afternoon to check out their new lunch menu.  They just opened for lunch this past Friday.  Another brilliant chef, Michael Toscano.  I will say that I held myself in check at lunch only taking a few bites of everything instead of licking my plate like I did on Monday night. 

We began with foie gras pancakes.  Fluffy light flavorful pancakes stuffed with foie gras just in case you didn't get a piece of the small scoop of it on top.  Served with juicy sugary peaches and some maple syrup on the side.  Decadent and just sublime.

I have yet to try their pizzas so why not just one for the table.  Salumi with mozzarella...a classic.  Really really thin crust.  Not too heavy but a light touch.  Delicious.

Emily had proscuitto with soft scrambled eggs and whipped ricotta.  On the side a grill toasted buttery piece of bread.  This might be the lightest dish of the day. 

Crispy deep fried Branzino with a piccata aioli.  Think veal piccata.  The ingredients that go into that sans veal is boiled down to create an aioli.  Add pickled peppers and you have the perfect sandwich. 

The richest was the open faced beef sandwich.  Pulled beef cheeks that are made into a cylinder and then blackened.  Over the top are two sunny side up eggs with a porchini mustard on the side.  Decadent could be one word to describe the dish...and the meal.

I forgot how great it is to be in NYC on the weekends in the summer.  The city is empty and you can basically walk into any place and get a seat.  Grab some lunch seats before they fill up in September!