Perche' No Restaurant Review

Last night I took my family to a Greenlake area Seattle Italian restaurant called Perche No, on the occasion of my daughter's 18th birthday, she being the one fluent in Italian, hence the selection. Daughters judged the food very good, and he rest of us liked it too. The prices seemed quite attractive. I normally don't do restaurant reviews, but I would put this with Pink Door and Canlis as far as must-do restaurants. I like Place Pigalle as well (I dislike El Gaucho). If you ever want heavy, well prepared portions of American standards, go to 13 Coins, 2 locations, open 24/7/365 (tad pricey). Saigon in the Pike Place market is excellent food for lunch.

The reason I am reviewing the restaurant is more for the behaviour of the owners. Aside form running a good restaurant, the wife eventually gets around to every table, greeting whoever made the reservation by name, introducing herself as Lily, and asking "how did you hear about us?" She then asks about satisfaction, and later comes back with a camera and offers to take a picture of the table. Later she asks to have her guest book signed, and says if the email address is included she will email a copy of the picture.

At dessert time Lily is back to tout the selections, and when confusion arose she offered an off-menu item free , and birthday girl's came with a candle, having somehow gleaned that fact.

Lily was not done. When we were finished, she ran us upstairs past photos of celebrities on the stairwell wall, and through special rooms on the second floor, and then saw us off. (A stupefied bartender followed us out staring at my daughters, but I have gotten used to that.) And Lily was dressed as though she expected to have to jump in to clean up some mess, which no doubt she occasionally did. It was her restaurant, her lifestyle.

Now all of this no doubt sounds too much, rather annoying. But that is what is remarkable... this was maybe 4 minutes of a two hour meal. Although engaging and gregarious, this woman was sensitive enough to keep it within bounds. it is something you see in small businesses where passion is the key. The joy in solving he problem is evident in this woman's happiness and success. Two seconds into this at say an Applebee's, and I would be out the door. I usually get annoyed when the waitstaff introduces itself. But not here (or at Canlis, where a Canlis will greet you by name, having relieved you of your car and coat...)

People often note the genesis of this restaurant: a Malay of Chinese ancestry travelled in Italy delighting in the many regional dishes, and decided to learn to cook. Having some talent in this area, he and his wife opened a hole-on-the-wall, based on the unlikely combination of Chinese Malays opening an authentic Italian restaurant, in Seattle. Since they picked up Italian when people expressed skepticism of their plans, they answered "perche no?" (Why not?)

There is of course a sort of full circle here, Marco Polo travelled to China and returned to Italy with pasta. A Chinese goes to Italy and learns about pasta. Why Seattle? I'll ask on some future visit.

A couple of lessons here: Everything is wide open. Do your thing, or as the Italians say, cosa nostra. Do not copy anyone else's success. You see someone with a successful Italian restaurant, and this inspires you? Well great, grow up in Malaysia, bum around Italy for a few years, learn the language and to cook, move to Seattle, scrape together enough money to open a hole in the wall, garner rave reviews, and use your savings to build a larger restaurant. Get rich slow, over 20 years. No sweat. go ahead. (I am being droll.) My point is, if it does not have the passion/joy balance, it ain't gonna work. If it does, there is nothing that will stop you.

(The other problem of basing your idea on someone else's "success' is you really have no idea if they are making any money or not.)

If your passion is genuine people enjoy you sharing it. This is why neither I nor anyone else in the restaurant minded her attention. It was all raw marketing, but who cares. It is exciting to see someone doing well. (You'll find this especially when visiting sick people.., the elderly or the premature terminally ill, talk up what good things you are doing. It encourages people in extremis to hear others are doing well. Life is less grim.) When we left, she has our picture, email and money. I know her facilities and we have been infected with her delight. I'll pass it on.



But we are self-employed too. So not only was the occasion my daughters birthday, my wife is looking for a connection for Northwest wine into China. In China restaurateurs are not unaware of the success of Perche No! Perche No! has an extensive wine list, a remarkable selection of wine by the glass, and a novel method for matching wines to food. For a wine exporter to represent a wine to China that is on the Perche No! list is a recommendation inside China.

When self-employed, your work often relates to the work of other self-employed. People actually buying and selling things. Our work is our lifestyle, unto our meals. It is all lifestyle. Being self employed is the way out of this economic mess. if self employed, you ARE out of the economic mess.

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