I still haven't forgiven John for getting me hooked on Top Chef, but what's done is done, and tonight John, Sunny, Jina and I head to Perilla, Harold Dieterle's new place in the Village. Really nice space, uncluttered and clean. Though quite a bit larger than I was lead to believe (and relatively quiet when we arrive), the place gets filled to capacity seemingly the moment we sit down.

For starters I get the duck meatballs. A raw quail egg in the center of the bowl adds untold layers of flavor and texture to the jus. It tastes so good I want to cry. John gets the raw hamachi, which is both meaty and refreshing. Very nice, indeed.



For main, I choose the grilled rack and breast of Colorado lamb, served over dandelion and cippolini onions with a parsley root mousseline which is so sweet, creamy, buttery, it's almost like caramel. The food-induced crying continues.



Some kind of fight.





We keep joking that we want a Harold sighting (John even lays it on pretty thick with the waitress with the whole we-flew-in-all-the-way-from-L.A.-crap), but by the time we get to dessert (chocolate and cardamom ice cream, which nobody likes but me, and the sticky coconut cake with basil-watermelon salad and a small scoop of frozen perilla yogurt, which we would gladly just sit and eat all night) we pretty much give up...when suddenly, out of nowhere, there he is. Pencil behind his ear, sitting at a table, chatting up some people he apparently knows, one of whom we joke looks a lot like Tom Colicchio. We look again. It IS Tom Colicchio!

Alright, so Colicchio has like five places in town, and obviously after the show the two would probably stay in touch (or at least maintain a professional interest in the other's career), but still, come on, what are the chances?



Drive-by photo of Colicchio on our way out.



Great night for all.