French Cuisine Soon to park slope!!
Hey cowhound friends!
Yes I believe their are 3 new french restaurants opening in park slope before sept. 1 including my wife and I. We have lived here in park slope for 6 years and love it!! Heres your chance to give us your Ideas and Inputs on creating a perfect parkslope nieghborhood place!!
Shoot!!
Bill
Jun 24, 2002 01:10AM
Why oh why so many french restaurants? They are all starting to seem the same. Please don't give us another menu with steak frites and roasted chicken with mixed greens.
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ka-vetch, ka-vetch. I wish some of them would open in Ditmas Park. We're starving.
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My idea of the perfect little French every day restaurant would be like La Luncheonette.
A nice selection..skate, confit, very good chicken, sometimes cervelles (brains), trout, cassoulet, and don't forget those wonderful creamy potatoes(Lyonnais?).
Great bread. From any of the following: Amy's, Tom Cat, Sullivan St. maybe also support our local Uprising. Great butter. A good cup of coffee.
A few simple but very good deserts.
And yes, the wine.
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I don't think you should go to France. The number of French restaurants would positively bowl you over.
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Groovy!
How about some Provencal specialties? (Personally, I love anything with garlic: aigo bouido, brandade, alioli)...
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Good luck with your project! I realise French food is often expensive, but it would be nice if you also had some inexpensive appetizers/entrees ... this way my wife can get her escargot and whatever and I can go cheap!
. maybe a "Blue Plate" special each day?
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How about a prix fix menu or a special at a special price, served at a special time.
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I hope you have an interesting selection of wines, by the glass and in the bottle. Some eaux de vie and cognac would be great. How about some aperitifs that are specifically French, like Pineau des Charentes, for example? Will you have a bar? Where is the restaurant going to be?
How about some moules frites - we don't have any good ones in the 'hood now? And some specialties from Le Perigord?
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Suggestions from a Sloper of 15 years who has seen numerous restaurants come and go, most(but not all) deservedly:
Take a hint from both Minnow and Petite Crevette: concentrate on what you do best and be sure you keep the quality up. I think you have a better chance of succeeding if you become known for quality in a few culinary areas than if you become known for serving a lot of stuff that is average.
Create a reasonably priced and interesting wine list. Try to stock some Reislings, some Gewurtztraminers, some Sauvignon Blancs, some Merlots, some Pinot Noirs, some Australian Shirazes. And serve them at the proper temperature.
Please, please don't serve up warm beer. The first time I encounter warm beer in a restaurant is usually the last.
Try to keep your customers in mind all the time. If service is slow or people are waiting for tables or there is some other service problem, acknowledge it instead of ignoring it.
Pray for good luck.
My wife and I have tried practically every restaurant that has opened in Park Slope over the last 15 years, and most have departed without fanfare. We think it is because they generally have been relentlessly average (or even below average), with higher than average pricing. A big reason for this is because all the emphasis in such places is on making a profit instead of providing a really good dining experience, so corners get cut and quality suffers.
Good luck in your venture. I'm sure we will see you soon after you open.
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Please, get a good pastry chef (if you aren't one yourself). I would dearly love a real, not overly sweet French dessert.
If you are going to serve breakfast, a real, buttery croissant would make me walk the distance to Park Slope. Serve it with a thick coffee, and I'll kiss you.
When I eat in a higher-end restaurant, the bread is very important to me. Serve it with a high quality butter, and I'll follow you with a slavish devotion.
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Yes, yes, good bread and good butter!
And please, f'chrissakes, no more creme brulee.
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What in the world is the matter with Creme Brulee? It's such a simple, visceral pleasure - cracking the top with a spoon, drowning in the cream beneath - especially if there's a tart berry or two for contrast. I don't need no high flying frippery in the dessert realm, generally (though I had an eye-popping corn & rhubarb concoction at Park Avenue Cafe that would challenge that stance - damn, was that good!). At the end of the meal, Creme Brulee is often a quiet, luscious finish, so if ya would, explain your opposition.
Also what this neighborhood desperately needs - a place to get a good cocktail and a burger or oysters. The two seem to be mutually exclusive since Mike & Tony's departed. I love Blue Ribbon, but their cocktails are rarely up to par. Little hits the spot like half a dozen oysters and an Old Fashioned in a quiet-ish bar.
xxxKat
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I love a good creme brulee as much as the next guy, but I'd really prefer something a little more creative/unusual (if I have anything to say about it). There's creme brulee everywhere you turn, and it's so rare to find really good French pastry. Not that they're mutually exclusive, mind you.
Yes, please god, a nice bar. I miss M&T's so much.
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I suppose that desserts like creme brulee, peche melba, molten chocolate cake etc. - but not pastries - tend to show up in simpler neighborhood french places because they can be executed in house, without specialized staff. Also creme brulee shows up because people really, really love it.
I personally am happy to have the relatively pared down laid back style of restaurants like Al Di La and Bistro St. Marks in my nabe which I can afford to visit more than once a year. And frankly, I am more concerned that we will still have the Los Pollitos, El Viejo Yahos, Conquistadors, Los Chorros, etc. etc around when all the dust clears.
PS where have all the Park Slope mexican food experts gone? I still dont have sorted out in my mind which of the local taco stands are worth a visit (and for what)and which are not
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Have you tried Tacos Nuevo Mexico, Jen? I'd be interested to hear what you think.
I love love love Al Di La, by the way. And I'm addicted to El Conquistador in a big way.
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havent tried it yet - I havent ever been able to decide which of those places to check out when passing by - with a car full of bahn me, its easy to just drive on.
What does Tacos Nuevo Mexico do well? I will check it out next weekend
Thanks for any tips!
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Tacos, tacos, tacos! A little greasy sometimes, but authentic and delicious. I loved the tongue. And the tripe. Try a whole bunch - they're small.
Mr. Cuce - your input, please...
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Lengua, chorizo and carnitas are my major favorites at Tacos Nuevo Mexico. Adore the place, but even so, Taqueria DF is by far my favorite. At least 4 different sorts of steak, salsa bar, and tacos at $1 each - not a chance of misstep.
Made the mistake once of getting tacos downstairs from my apt. at Mezcal. Learn from my mistake - just stick to the chips and tequila.
xxxKat
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where's Taqueria DF?
(and I agree about Mezcal-- I ate there once and didn't like it at all!)
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>Where's Taqueria DF?
5th Ave. & 23rd St.
Yum.
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I always get 2 queso asado tacos from Tacos Nuevo Mexico. They're $1.50 each. Double-wrapped in steamy-soft corn tortillas (homemade?), the griddled cheese squeaky and crispy at the same time, and the whole thing livened up with a smear of avocado, onions and salsa.
MMmm. I need to make a trip this week, I think.
I also am fond of the dine-in side of La Taqueria. For good old-fashioned enchiladas, I think it's excellent. the ingredients always taste fresh, and the portions are generous.
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Oh yeah, I liked the taste of the brains tacos at Nuevo Mexico, too.
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it's about time we had some good french food in the neighborhood. i second nina's moules frites suggestion, and i also crave rilletes, bouillabaisse, croque monsieurs, confit de canard, tartatin...especially if they're reasonably priced.
miam!
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Please don't be afraid of bones and heads. One chicken breast item is really enough and instead give us coq au vin cooked on the bone, and other dishes whose calling card is flavor and not ease of eating. Offer a grilled or roasted whole fish on the days you can get them fresh. And try to stay away from Franco-American cliches like garlic mashed potatoes under everything or billing pasta dishes as Provencal.
I second the suggestion that you limit your scope and aim for quality. I'd be happy if you'd stick to one region of France and do that really well.
Think about educating your public as well as catering to them. See if you can get them to try things they haven't had. Cook from your soul and not from focus groups.
Also, if you're not French, consider opening up a restaurant that serves the food of where you're from.
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I have to object to that last sentence. Since when are the only people who should cook a certain cuisine required to be *from* that region? Most of the pizza joints in this town aren't owned by Italians, the Indian restaurants aren't owned by Indians, etc., etc. If someone cooks with knowledge and passion, that's really what counts. For example, I'm not Indian, but I am fairly confident that a home-cooked Indian meal in my house is about as authentic as you're gonna find.
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I see your point, although I think the quality of most New York pizza joints makes mine. You think it's an accident that Grimaldi's, Totonno's, Lombardi's and, dare I say it, DiFara's, are all owned by Italians? There's a French restaurant out on the Island whose "tarte tatin" is a filo-dough shell filled with poached apples. The place is owned by Italians. I can't imagine a Frenchman would countenance such a misnomer.
But I digress.
What I was really getting at is that if Bill is from Tunisia or Turkey or Greece or Azerbijan or Slovenia or Ecuador or Finland then he might consider opening a restaurant that introduces us to the wonderful foods of that country rather than open up another French (or Italian) place because he thinks that that's what the market demands. I know that Bill is rather too far along to change his menu abd and my comment was really directed at other would-be restaurateurs.
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Your point is well taken that if he's an expert in a certain cuisine, he should look to that for ideas.
At the same time it's foolish to ignore market demand if he'd like to turn a profit. Good food is just one piece of the puzzle: you've got to have the right place for the right price to the right people.
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I think you last comment was basically what EZ Pass was speaking about - cooking from passion and not from purely commercial instincts. Cooking from deep familiarity with a loved cuisine, not from a consultant's business plan for success in an upandcoming neighborhood (please, nothing youd need to pick up with fingers - and white, skinless meat only please and cook nicoise cuisine, by all means because its "light" and nobody's tried that yet in Park Slope...)
EZ Pass is not saying you (or I for that matter) cant cook delicious indian food because you are not from there - only that the probability of producing a superior or authentic (that word again) product drops if you arent. If you or I cook Indian food for long enough and with enough love and attention it becomes familiar and loved and part of a tradition,and can be delicious even if you arent Indian (my kids will attest to this). If however you are a restauranteur and decide to "go Indian" or "go mexican" in your new incarnation (a la Park Slope's ill fated, Tamarind, Nam or Cucina Cuzco to give examples) the result will not be as fortunate.
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Yes, I see your point. But just wanted to also mention that there are plenty of great chefs who turn out fantastic food that is not necessarily their "native" food. David Waltuck isn't French, for example (not that his food is "pure" French, but you know what I mean).
While we're at it, what are other examples of chefs who are cooking cuisine that is not "native" for them?
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WOW! Thanks for asking for input> That's is the best demographic study, asking CHowhounders who live in P.S.
My husband is French and we both moved to Park Slope a year ago from Manhattan. We like the neighborhood but are a bit disappointed in the lack of quality in terms of the food. Italian or French would be great! (Even Chinese since I tried 3 places and threw out my food from 2!)...
The only Italian is Al di la or that family-like crowded place on 7th . I don't know why people are complaining about French- where are the Frecnh restaurants besides Bistro St. MArks.
I think the Blue Ribbon has it right. Casual, but professional and upbeat, it can be romantic or relaxed and fun with a group,and this is the only place we can get steak frites, celery remoulade, tartare and oysters.
As the others posted already- QUALITY! The food must be worth going back as most places in Park Slope , to me, aren't memorable. The food is average and I don't savor the flavor!
Moules frites, fresh fish! Raw bar
Bon Apetit!
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There are lots more Italian places in the 'hood, not that they're good, but they're there:
Aunt Suzie's
Lento's
Tutta Pasta
Sotto Voce
El Conquistador
that place on 7th near Rite Aid
I'm sure there are others I'm not thinking of...
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Thank you, Nina!
niki
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A VERY GOOD ITALIAN IN PARK SLOPE IS SOTTO VOCE ON 7TH AVE AND 4TH ST,
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Merci Beaucoup.
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Really, I find it positively mediocore.
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Braised dishes in winter: short ribs, duck, lamb shank, and cassoulet.
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It would be great if there was a good vegetarian entree, so I could go there with my veg. boyfriend! French restaurants are always the hardest. And when I ask if they have anything vegetarian, I seem to always get a curt response like "well, I suppose we could put together a vegetable plate."
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I definitely agree. My husband is a vegetarian and most French restaurants have nothing for him to eat.
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My boyfriend and I are vegetarians, and we like the new French-Med in Brooklyn Heights called Isobel. They have a Moroccan vegetarian entree that's really hearty and delicious, especially compared with the plate of grilled vegetable that we usually have to settle for at some places. My meat-eating friends raved about the foie gras.
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Where is Isobel located?
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Isobel is where Tinto used to be... corner of Henry and Cranberry.
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When I think of the French places I go back to time and time again, they have these similarities: as stated previously, great bread and butter. Nothing is more evocative of France. I love Brasserie because of the bread and butter. Two: a great hang-out atmosphere. We used to live near Les Deux Gamins, which I know is a scene (and the food wasn't that great, admittedly), but locals were treated differently. It was a place where you could relax and watch the scenery. (Which was pretty amusing, there.) Three: (and this goes with the previous) a choice of whether you want a special or a simple meal. You could go to Les Deux and get a sandwich or a great salad, or you could have a full meal. You didn't have to commit to spending a fortune every time you went. This meant you went more often, and you could go when one person wanted the fully monty and the other wanted to have moules frites.
Oh, also, great coffee and croissants.
I also like Florent for the great simple food and the boudin noir!
Good luck. I look forward to seeing the result. (PS -- yes, I live in Park Slope now.)
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I would love it if you applied regional French technique to really good, local (when possible) ingredients. Develop relationships with local farmers and fish sources. Really put time into the food. Come up with great wines under $35, or even under $30. There's a gravitational pull toward mediocrity in the Slope, because many people accept and maybe even like bad food. But as Al Di La and a couple of other stalwarts show, restaurants that really lavish attention on food and treat their customers with respect can attain cult status in the Slope.
I think this board, which is both Slope-centric and almost eternally frustrated, indicates that there's a market for really well done food in the Slope. Do we need three new French restaurants? Well, if the food is great and the prices are reasonable, I don't see why not.
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How I long for decent french food close to home! There's a crappy french place in the city called L'Express; the food is bad but I love that I can walk into the bar and have a bowl of excellent cafe au lait and read the paper without being bothered and smoke. What would be delightful is that I could have a decent lunch. Moules frites, croque monsieur, omelettes, frisee aux lardons, isles flottante, great roast chicken, steak frites, lamb stew, etc. Dinner, too. Lovely oysters, rack of lamb, boulliabaise, etc. Good Luck, and great bread and desserts would be nice too.
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