Just got back and a few brief thoughts:
Per Se - Amazing food, even more amazing setting. This is where we went post proposal, and they made it really special. Our names on the menu with a congrats, free champagne to celebrate when we arrived. Visit to the kitchen at the end of the meal to meet the chef, got to see Thomas Keller on the video monitor working at French Laundry. Just amazing.
Complaints are limited to the 18 million deserts they brought out. Champagne apples, pinnaple soda and coffee and donuts were the hilights. They could have cut about half of the deserts from the menu.. because I also had an insane chocolate ice cream thing.. a bunch of chocolates, petit fours, more chocolate, coffee and take homes.
Le Bernardin - service wasn't as nice. I should say, our captain wasn't very nice. The rest of the staff was really amazing. The sommillier was an idiot however. My fiance asked for a champagne recomendation that wasn't too dry, and she was directed to the desert wines. Awesome. The food however was really amazing. The deserts not so much, but luckily they kept them to a minimum. 10 dollars for a coffee after paying 500 dollars for a tasting menu was a bit chintzy however.. and the two couples sitting next to us both got into spats. The russian model was mad at her husband/boyfriend for getting too drunk and the rich old woman got mad at her young companion for looking at the russian model. I'm taking yelling in the dining room kind of fights.
PDT - decent drinks.. though, not as good as EMPs drinks or even the drinks we had at Le Bernardin's bar.. and certainly not as good as Violet Hour in Chicago. Getting in was fun for sure, but it loses a bit when it's clear everyone there knows what is going on and the door in the phone booth is open because people are begging to get in without reservations.
Eleven Madison Park - great location, great lobby. Great cocktails. Pedestrian food. I could name 5 places in Austin that I would rather eat at. Maybe I need to go back for a dinner service or a tasting, but at 250 bucks I shouldn't feel like I'm eating a meal I could easily have prepared myself. Not very impressed at all. View of Flatiron means I probably will come back, but probably just for drinks at the bar.
Rosa Mexicano - my fiance's aunt took us here, pretty decent food.. good guacamole.. great view. good raw tuna. Went easy on them since they were buying, so didn't have any drinks.
had some Japanese food near 52nd and Lexington that was pretty good. Just stopped in our first night for a bite, had a 4 course menu.. probably the best soba noodles I've ever had. Really great staff, owner came out and showed us photos of their buckweat farm.
