|
Night 8: Persimmon
After a full week of restaurant meals, I feel great.
I am the envy of everyone I meet. It's such a relief
to have a four-week dispensation from cooking and home.
I have not been shy about ordering; neither have I been
foolish. During the day, I go light, if I eat at all.
I'm warmed up and ready to rip into my second week,
so I head for one of the best: Persimmon.
When Damian and Stephanie Salvatore planned their new
restaurant and had to give it a name, it was harder
than naming their babies. They wanted something evocative,
but not overly exotic. Something easy to spell and remember,
yet nothing too generic. What to do? Luckily, Persimmon
fits the bill and suggested the lovely color for the
dining room. Frankly, had they called it "Warthog,"
I think their bistro would have still been a success.
Again, I am by myself. But, on the other hand, I'm
with someone I happen to love very much, so I'm happy.
I sit with a book. (Well, not a book. It's my friend
Beverly's new Saks catalog, but who cares?)
The menu is pleasingly brief and it speaks to me. Persimmon
serves "American" food, and, although these
days that can mean plates of preposterously architectural
entrées or precious dishes that are more punctuation
than sustenance, this place gets it just right. I have
a dreamy but down-to-earth meal of seared scallops,
salmon braised with wild mushrooms and a poached pear
and coconut cake arrangement that is satisfying without
being stupefying.
Two elderly gentlemen at the next table distract me
with their conversation. They discuss Italy — trattorias
in Venice, views in Orvieto, markets in Rome —
most of the talk is memories, but none of it is wistful.
"Barbara and I courted in San Francisco, and there
was a wonderful pizzeria in North Beach…"
Courted in San Francisco…There is erudition,
too: "Peter was moving from the Old World biochemistry
to the New World molecular biology." They are obviously
seasoned medical men, researchers probably, cancer possibly.
They are old, but they are living in the present, if
not the future. I think that is a healthy thing. They
talk about breakthroughs and papers at conferences,
and both tuck into plates of steak topped with a scribble
of frizzled onions. It's getting crowded, I hate to
leave them. I'm starting to love them.
Back to restaurant list
|
