Why Thomas Keller Sucks

Thomas Keller sucks. His food is over-hyped and he is a snob. Why have a restaurant that makes people call 2 months in advance for a reservation? How many people even plan dinner 2 months in advance? And if you own a restaurant that does that, then at least serve up some amazing food, instead of the good, but not spectacular food that you can easily enjoy at other fine dining establishments in the city such as Le Bernardin, Jean Georges or Daniel, just to name a few. Is the fish served at Per Se better than the Le Bernardin? No even close. Is the dish much more imaginative than Jean Georges? No. Is the dish as tenderly, wonderfully prepared to perfection as Daniel? No. Of course Per Se has its qualities, like the fine foie gras terrain that melts away in your mouth, but it is definitely not a restaurant that deserves a lofty price with a two month reservation timeline, since the other restaurants that I just mentioned above can be easily reserved within 2 weeks. I think the buildup of the two months leading up to the time you actually dine at Per Se will just lead to further disappointment.

I talked about what I had just said in the previous paragraph in another blog before, but then, why all the sudden resentment against Thomas Keller you ask? Well, he just opened a new bakery in the AOL Time Warner Center, on the 3rd floor called Bouchon Bakery. I decided to grace the store with my presence on Saturday night around 7pm, not too late and would seem like a reasonable time that a store remains open, especially in the AOL Time Warner Center, where the stores closes a little later. But no, that stupid bakery decides to close at 7pm. That is after having the whole day thinking about going there. Then on Sunday, I decide to go there again, this time around 5pm. Hey, guess what, they don't open on Sundays. What kind of @@*&!#@ &^%@! !$ @~&# is that. How many stores in New York City close on Sunday? Especially if it is just a bakery. If it is a restaurant, yes, then I understand that sometimes it will close on Sunday and Monday, since those two days are usually slow for people eating out. But a bakery? Why close a bakery on Sunday? Why open a bakery at all if you are not going to stay open at a decent hour or open on Sunday. Why be snobby like that?

I am not sure, after the two disappointing visit, that I will try Bouchon Bakery anytime soon. I am not sure how much the bakery reflects the bread products that were served in Per Se, which, I might add, was quite disappointing. The bread served at Bouley was delicious, and the lemon loaf that they gave us at the very end as compliment was absolutely wonderful, and make me really want to visit Bouley Bakery and buy a whole bunch of pastries and bread there. However, the bread that was served to us at Per Se, and the truffles and also the macaroons they gave us at the end of the meal was disappointing. The macaroons is good, but pale in comparison to the macaroons from Fauchon or La Maison Du Chocolat. The truffles are average, even though there are various flavors, but cannot be compared with the likes of Teuscher Chocolates of Switzerland, Leonidas or La Maison Du Chocolat.

In conclusion, Thomas Keller's restaurant are average (in the ranks of high-end restaurants, since obviously, compare to McDonalds, Per Se tastes quite good, but then, McDonalds cost $6 and Per Se cost over $200) but over-hyped by the media. The power of suggestion is very influential, and can sway a person's opinion. When everyone says how good Per Se is, people who goes there after 2 months or wait and ended up spending $500 will no doubt spread the word about how wonderful their experience at Per Se are and what a genius Thomas Keller is. I guess that is the same with many other things in life. If you buy a bottle of wine that costs $200 and experts rated it as 95 points and above, you are not going to say that the wine tastes nasty and disgusting.