Petrossian

Petrossian was absolutely perfect Saturday afternoon – wonderful food, gracious service – over-all an “over and above” experience.

The lovely room

The 1996 Roederer Champagne was fantastic – BYO

The Chandon was nice – also BYO

Christopher Klapp, GM and Giselle Wellman, executive chef

A first for us – Giselle giving us advice and then writing up our order!

Egg Royal – Scrambled Egg, Vodka Whipped Cream, Caviar with a Chive flower on top – great as always – a favorite

Blinis with Creme Fraiche and topped with Caviar, Trout Roe and Salmon Roe

Caviar Salad – Butter Lettuce, Shaved Egg, Shallots, Chives, Parsley, Lemon Dill, Creme Fraiche

Another view of the caviar salad – we decided to forgo forks and used each butter lettuce leaf separately as a fold-up lettuce “sandwich” containing each component – another winner.

Truffle Agnolotti – the agnolotti is stuffed with fontina and truffles topped by prosciutto and baby asparagus, parmesan foam on the side  -Giselle explained that when she started as the new chef at Petrossian, she had discovered an overabundance of truffles. Not wanting to waste them, she froze them and then came up with the idea of first infusing the truffles with milk, brought to the boil and then she added the truffles to the fontina which she had made into a fondue.  The resulting “stuffing” was absolutely delicious as well as ingenious.

Live Spot Prawns had been quickly sauteed served with rich avocado mousse (not pictured as under the head), yuzu and a tiny dice of Mango and Tomato salad (not pictured as under the rear spot prawn). We ate every single bit – my favorite part being the head.

Striped Bass, Yukon Gold Potato Noodles, Vodka Creme Fraiche, Chive, Caviar – I love this dish – each component was perfectly executed

Roasted Jidori Chicken, Gnocchi, Peas, Pea Shoots, Artichokes, Thyme, Lemon – I really wanted to try this chicken dish, but I was getting very full. I was about to order this to go, but Giselle persuaded me that she would give me the components and instructions on how to make it at home the following night.

What follows is the at home version of the Jidori Chicken.

Saute the gnocchi in grapeseed oil, add the roasted artichokes and briefly saute.

At the end, add the peas to the above mixture and very, very briefly just let them warm – do not overcook.

Roast the chicken at 350 for about 4 minutes per side – you are just warming.

Put the pea tendrils in a separate bowl. Pour the warm gnocchi, artichoke mixture over the tendrils

Add to the salad according to taste.

Warm up pea sauce and serve on the side.

Now, I guess you want to know what happened ……..

It was delicious and although my plating probably isn’t up to her standards, each ingredient was just perfect and there was no way I could mess up.

Bottom line:  Petrossian is a wonderful experience with special people who are both committed and passionate about what they do. This is a must restaurant for those who truly love cuisine.