Perilla

Perilla
9 Jones Street

Harold Dieterle, of Top Chef fame, opened Perilla in May 2007, and since then, celebrity chef followers and west village residents alike have made this one of the more popular spots in the area. Stopping in to try the Sloe Autumn fizz cocktail, I realized only as I was ordering that maybe this was an "Autumn" drink and not available during the Winter. The bartender didn't help my disappointment much by letting us know that she could make it, only to alert us that she didn't have any sloe fizz a few minutes later.

The restaurant has become famous for their spicy duck meatballs and since I was already there I wasn't going to leave without trying them. Splitting the appetizer with my friend, they were nice enough to give each of us a half order. Two duck meatballs sat atop mini cavatelli pasta and were topped with a raw quail egg. We were instructed to mix the quail egg with the rest of the dish and dug in. The meatball was certainly spicy (those with particularly low heat tolerances would do best to avoid the dish altogether), and the pasta was perfectly al dente. Who doesn't like spaghetti and meatballs? For $13, it's certainly worth getting as an appetizer before a meal at Perilla but I for meatball sliders with a drink, I think Little Owl takes the victory.