Visiting Parisian Seeks Food and French People

[Cecile]

I have just relocated to New York from Paris and I am trying to replace some things I miss from home. Things I need to find.

1. Good brasserie
2. Good cafe au lait
3. Good street crepes stand
4. Good steak tartare
5. And a gathering place for people speaking French ( I do not want to forget my language)

Merci,
Cecile

[kirk]

Leon on 12th Street (between 1st and 2nd Avenues). Good soup, moules frites, omelettes. Most -- if not all -- of the bartenders are French.

[billyblancoNYC]

You should also post on the Outer Boroughs board as there are increasing numbers of French in Brooklyn...Ft. Greene, etc. Many news bistros have opened and they mostly are run by French expats.

You can look up a lot on Google, too.
For example...
**http://expatfrench.meetup.com/members/321
http://www.lehman.cuny.edu/deanhum/langlit/french/nycfranc.html
http://www.fiaf.org/
http://www.frenchculture.org/aboutus/index.html
http://www.frenchculture.org/tv/tv5/l...

Good luck and welcome to NYC! Hope you enjoy it as much as we do.

[chow chow]

I second the outer boroughs recommendation. Smith Street in Boerum Hill, Brooklyn is also very French. Notable places where French are seen/heard often:

Sherwood Cafe, 165 Smith Street - great food and atmosphere, cozy garden in back

Bar Tabac, 128 Smith Street - lively crowd, sidewalk cafe

Link: http://www.sherwoodcafe.com/

[JackS]

Not to crowd the Manhattan Board with Outer-Borough stuff, but A Table in Fort Greene, Brooklyn (Lafayette at about Adelphi or Carlton, I think) has the best steak tartare I've ever had and a decent salad frisee as well.

[tamara]

and Bacchus on Atlantic Avenue in Brooklyn, between Bond and Nevins (around the corner from BAM, which was just visited by the Comédie Française with Le Malade Imaginaire). It's owned and run by extremely friendly young French people and the bar always seems to be crowded with French speakers.

[jon]

They're not "le dernier cri" but I believe you will find french speaking people at the old, but 'sympathique' restaurants "Tout Va Bien" and "Rene Pujol" on W. 51st Street between 8th and 9th Avenue. Perfect for pre-theater dining.Downtown there is "Lucien" at 1st Street and 1st Avenue, and some of the staff at the patisserie "Ceci Cela" speak french.Bienvenue et bon appetit!

[grachan]

I frequently go to Tout Va Bien and in the evenings at the bar you will generally have a 80-20% ratio of French to English being spoken. Especially on the weeknights all of the staff from Pujol and some of the other French places in the area get together for beers.

[Fred and Wilma]

#5 - Gascgone 8th Avenue in Manhattan between 17th & 18th.

[Caitlin Wheeler]

Balthazar is the New York scene version of a Parisian Brasserie -- I think it's modeled on La Coupole? I like Les Halles on Park Avenue South -- salade frisee aux lardons, a good wine list, steak tartare, steak frites. For what it's worth, my parents, who spend a month in Paris every summer, loved both of those restaurants. Le Gamin in the Village is not a street crepe stand but has good crepes (the crepes sale are buckwheat) and terrific cafe au lait, plus good Croque Monsieurs. The owner and most of the waitresses are French.

[bob]

Provence @ 38 MacDougal. French managed, frequently French speaking customers and very good food. Casual.

[stickler]

DB Bistro Moderne seems to be 50/50 French/American at times. Pretty civilized, and not the deafening roar that prevails in so many NYC restaurants.

Ferrier, off Madison Avenue, strikes me as primarily patronized by French, as does that other sidewalk type place on Madison close by Ferrier, whose name escapes me. Their food is so mediocre, there's no need to remember.

[RGR]

dbBistro is 4-star Chef Daniel Boulud's upscale take on French bistro cuisine, and the decor is stylishly contemporary. Thus, it's very much a New York-type restaurant and so does not have the true French sensibility that I think Cecile is looking for. However, I certainly recommend it to anyone looking for excellent French cuisine.

Btw, I believe Les Halles, mentioned in another post, serves steak tartare.

[Lee K]

Cafe Gitane on Mott Street just above Prince Street always has a number of French-speakers about, makes WONDERFUL coffee, and has an impressive inexpesive wine selection and good food.

[Dave]

Hmm, let's see:

>1. Good brasserie
There really is no NYC equivalent. There are, however, many, many wonderful and inexpensive neighboorhood eateries in almost every neighborhood.

>2. Good cafe au lait
Besides aforementioned CAFE GITANE (which I second as being extremely French in style and clientele), there's a good place on the corner of 1st ave and 10th or 11th st (I forget, but it has a big red awning and lots of French people).

>3. Good street crepes stand
There's the CREPERIE at Ludlow and Rivington in the LES...pretty good, although be prepared for sticker shock as they charge NYC prices ($5 for a crepe au nutella is highway robbery).

>4. Good steak tartare
I have no idea, sorry. Let me know if you find a place. ;)

>5. And a gathering place for people speaking French ( I do not want to forget my language)
I'm sure the Alliance Francaise or the Consulate hosts events if you get really desperate.

[enrevanche]

Cecile,

Welcome to New York.

Though you didn't ask precisely about this, I urge you to check out Patisserie Claude on West 4th Street in Greenwich Village (near the corner of Jones St.) It's a tiny neighborhood patisserie that may just remind you a tiny neighborhood patisserie in Paris.

Claude makes fabulous croissants and pain au chocolat; the coffee is pretty good too, and on weekends you'll spot plenty of Francophones getting their pastry fix.

Hope this helps. After you try some of the places recommended in this thread, please post and let us know what you think!

- er

[Jon]

Oh, and don't miss "Chez Brigitte" on Greenwich Avenue in the Village. :)

[enrevanche]

>> Oh, and don't miss "Chez Brigitte" on Greenwich
>> Avenue in the Village. :)

I think/hope that Jon is joking here.

Chez Brigitte is a true Village landmark, but honestly the food isn't that great. Sending a homesick Parisian here wouldn't be a very nice thing to do.

- er

[Peter Cuce]

Yeah, I'd have to say, "Do miss Chez Brigitte." Sending anyone here wouldn't be a nice thing to do.

[Steph]

I have a number of French friends (mostly squash players) and they spend a lot of time at Flea Market on Avenue A and St. Mark's (East Village, across the street from Tompkins Square Park). The brunch is very good, but the regular food is just so-so. Good cafe au lait and not bad steak frites. All-French staff and large French clientele.

Flea Market also does many prix fixe dinners, usually on Tuesday nights. That's when the clientele appears to be ALL French (around 9:30/10pm).

If you play squash & would like an introduction to my friends, please let me know.

[epicure-us]

Musette, a bakery and take-out place near Gramercy Park is worth seeking out. It's not a braserrie--it doesn't even have a place to sit--but the owner is French. He's a biochemist (or molecular biologist??) by training but seems to really care about his 'eouvre' in his adopted profession. I haven't seen any other French-speaking individuals there. Actually I was only there once . . . but I was extremely impressed. :)

Although it's not actually French or even French-inspired, Ciao for Now a TINY cafe on east 12 street in the east village, tops my list in the joie de vivre department. It's cute, funky and easygoing. The treats are 'less super-sized' than one finds elsewhere.

I also agree with the other poster that the coffee at the Italian place on 10th street and 1st Avenue is quite good. The same owners had a French bakery, Althazar, in the same location for a year or two before they changed it to an Italian cafe. (They also have a nice selection of tisanes.)

Musette: Third Avenue on the west side of the street in the low twenties.

Ciao for Now: East 12 Street between A & B on the south side of the street.

Hope that helps!

eu

[Jerry]

L'acajou on 19th near 6th Ave. Alsatian technically, The entire staff are French speakers. Food is very good, good selection of wines. Very unpretentious.

I go for the lamb chops and mussels and frites

[Salt Peter]

I can't believe no one has mentioned these three bistros:

L'Acajou on 19th just east of 6th Avenue -- very reliable menu, great specials

Jules on St. Mark's Place between 1st and 2nd. Best ambiance.

Lucien: 1st Avenue north of Houston -- I think this is the most authentic bistro menu, but you'll know better than I.

[KDoughan]

Bienvenue Cecile.

I highly recommend 26 Seats on Avenue B between 10th and 11th. The restaurant was originally recommended to me by another home-sick Parisian and has never disappointed. It is an amazing value - a place you can afford any/every night. Bring cash.

[Icarus]

Here's a phrase to make you feel at home: "I surrender"!