Aida at the Metropolitan Opera House

On Friday, I was able to use my Christmas present from Lou – two tickets to the Metropolitan Opera! I casually mentioned that I wanted to see the opera sometime and he remembered during the holiday season because he surprised me with tickets to Aida. Before the opera, we met up and went to the per se salon for a quick bite to eat:

It was Lou’s first time at per se and he was hoping that the food at the salon wouldn’t be that great so he wouldn’t have to eventually try the tasting menu (at $275 a person, it’s definitely not a cheap meal). We started with gougeres, the salmon canapes, and an espresso shot of soup:

It was Lou’s favorite amuse bouche (it tasted like saffron and seafood to me and I can’t remember exactly what was in it). I severly burned my tongue drinking it because I was too excited, but luckily I had a ton of seltzer to help the burn.

We ordered the foie gras:

And the agnolotti with fresh peas:

Lou thought the foie gras was overrated and actually thought he was just eating broiche toast (he couldn’t taste the foie gras at all). I thought the broiche was a little too oily but the foie gras was better than usual. The agnolotti was great, but we only had 5 pieces to share. Thomas Keller always leaves you wanting more!

For our entrees, we ordered lamb with Greek yogurt:

And butter poached lobster:

Both were delicious, especially the lamb (with a combination of Greek yogurt and the jus on the side).

I also love the salon because they have little things like pretzel bread and butter from Vermont:

And desserts like gelee and chocolates:

We also took home two bags of shortbread cookies filled with chocolate to enjoy after the opera. After dinner at per se, we walked over to Lincoln Center and rushed to the opera (we arrived for the 8pm show around 7:50!)

We had wonderful seats and during the intermissions, walked outside and took some pictures:

I really loved the chandeliers all over:

The performance was beautiful – I loved the ballet dancers, the horses (I counted five!), and of course, all of the music. Here are the main characters with the conductor:

Thank you very much for the wonderful Christmas gift (and surprise dinner at per se!) It was definitely a great evening.