Lunch at Perimeter: Rice-wrapped Seabass with Puy Lentils.
Perimeter’s bistro is amazing. The rice-wrapped seabass with Puy lentils I had yesterday at lunch was perfection. Nice, thick piece of fish, cooked perfectly. Flaky. Firm. Moist. Flavorful. Swathed in a rice wrapper and lightly browned, ending up covered in a crisp, savory golden sheath. Thin slivers of red and yellow peppers and suchlike veggies encased with the fish. The whole atop a generous bed of tiny, dark, earthy, intense Puy lentils, larded with and accompanied by more bits and slivers of veggies—carrot, more peppers, and so on. A drizzle of excellent olive oil. Karla, Steve, Frank, and the rest of the chefs and kitchen staff at PI get a big salute, or in Japanese style, a deep bow of acknowledgment, for this and many other unfussy but elegant, intense, and satisfying creations. Food like this relaxes and rejuvenates mind and body. I think we all work better—prove better theorems, achieve better philosophical insights, find more efficient ways to make the institute run or keep the building in good shape, and so forth, after a meal like this. Not that that’s the point—like a piece of music, a painting, or a good theorem, such a dish is its own best reason for being.