I dined at Bistro Pierre Lapin this evening. The restaurant was 90% empty at 7:00 PM on a Friday. At the bar, there was no bartender - the receptionist and a waiter were mixing drinks. They kept saying that the bartender had 'run out'. I was there until nearly 8:00, and she had not returned. On a Friday!! A couple at the bar near me asked for a martini, and the receptionist struggled to find the ingredients. I also noticed that many of the wait staff that had been at the restaurant for the last 9 months were not to be found.
Sadly, it seems that Bistro Pierre Lapin is circling the drain. Sad because I really enjoyed the restaurant. It is a lovely place to stop for a drink or dinner. The space is beautiful. Each table is adorned with flowers. There is candlelight - a soft glow. Floral wallpaper. Vintage silverware and china.
I don't know what held the restaurant back. It is true that its location is a bit out of the way. But I can't imagine that New Yorkers wouldn't walk a few blocks for a nice bistro with warm candle glow and a great setting. The food was ultimately disappointing. Tonight, I had steak frites for $49. The fries were fine, but the steak was awful - flavorless in and of itself (no crust of salt and sear), and it was nestled on a bed of caramelized onions that were sickly sweet, and a poor accompaniment to the steak. I would have done better, for half the price, at Le Renais de Venise Entrecôte in Midtown. Such a lovely place. What a shame.
A very favorable review. As a fan of traditional bistro food from 30 years ago, I will definitely go here. One star seems low for the praise Wells gives the food.
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Hi Pete! I read a story about a new fried chic place in nyc that will have many franchises with an Asian flavor profile . Story said they beat back Ronald Mac in their homeland with a gaudy mascot of their own and are spreading around the world. I can't remember their name and could not find in the Times archives and are hoping you could help me out. Richard
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Love the name of the place.
I do miss La Petite Auberge. I believe the Times even gave it an obit when it closed back in 2011.
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@Gene Oh, yes! It was a family favorite. Classic food, nicely done, and efficiently. Lobster à l'américaine (or l'amoricaine?), and OH! those dessert soufflés!!
And going back even further, there was a similar French restaurant on the UWS, maybe West 69th Street? It was not far from the Pythian Temple that at the time was the home of the New York Institute of Technology and has since become fancy condos. Can't remember the name, but after all, it was about 55 years ago. My first encounter with classic French bistro food, but far from my last.
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“profuse helpings and sauces that settled over them like a goose-down duvet over a sleeping Saint Bernard.”
Thanks Pete. That was tasty.
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In my experience at both this place and Frenchette, there was something badly amiss with the service. Like…not a gaffe or two, but a wait staff that treated the entire meal like a sloppy Williamsburg brunch rather than a fine dining experience. For that reason they will never be in the same conversation for me as a place like Le Coucou.
I will say that the food was on point (unlike at Frenchette) and I was impressed. Mr. Wells also talks at length about the design being a throw back to the days of yore which it certainly is, but it’s also really really pretty! I was blown away with how tight the aesthetic of the place is. Take a look at their website and tell me that doesn’t get you excited to go and have dinner there!
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I'm going Friday and I will report back with a review!
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@Stephen Well?
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Ah, does anyone else remember Chez Olga, on the UES? An absolute jewel box of kitsch, overflowing in cream sauces, butter, and just about any other fat one can render, punctuated by charm you couldn’t make up. The husband wife team, Olga hand delivering the food with the mitts still on her hands, and the children’s drawings papered all over. A lost New York, for sure.
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Passion fruit Pavlova long considered a National dish of Australia and New Zealand was created in the 1920’s and called after the great ballerina, I doubt if she ever ate or saw this great dessert.
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@Ian Radnell Since Anna Pavlova, the ballerina, lived from 1881 to 1931 and visited both countries in 1926, it is indeed possible that she could have seen the dish. Provided it had been invented then -- the dates of its creation are in dispute, depending on which national source you consult, and some say that was not until 1934 or '35. It's a heavenly dish, but if one of those dates is correct, that's the only place Pavlova could have tasted pavlova.
The good news about pavlova here in the US is that it is showing up more and more in cookbooks and on menus.
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I don't understand how the discussion in the review concludes with 1 star.
Certainly issues were pointed out. But so were many positives. How then is the denouement, "fair or satisfactory?" That makes no sense.
This is a contradiction seen in NYT restaurant reviews years ago. The tendency seemed to have diminished. Maybe it never went away?
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@AJ
1 star is good, not fair. To be fair, 1 star really is good. And while not equivalent to the Michelin 1-3 star system, a 1 star Michelin rating is fairly fantastic. 1 star also gives room for improvement, expect another review in a year or so.
"What the Stars Mean Ratings range from zero to four stars. Zero is poor, fair or satisfactory. One star, good. Two stars, very good. Three stars, excellent. Four stars, extraordinary"
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@Stephen In the New Yorker's profile on Pete Wells, I believe Wells himself admitted that no restaurant wants a one-star review.
@Karen Donovan His focus was more on that readers don't want to read one-star reviews, but, looking back on the one-star reviews he issued in 2019, I'd say half of them were thrilled (e.g., Mama's Too, Kopitiam, Wokuni, La Sia, Yves, etc.) and half were disappointed or angry (e.g., The Four Seasons, Manhatta, Nobu, The Lobster Club, etc.).
In fact, I've been to restaurants in Chinatown, upscale places, that still have a one-star review from Sam Sifton or Frank Bruni plastered on their wall and the menu starred with all the recommended dishes from the review. A one-star review is nothing to sneeze at.
Must respectably, but vigorously, disagree with only 1 star. Definitely a minimum of 2.
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Sorry, but there are still a few old school French restaurants in NYC where you don’t have to pay $75 for a bottle of wine.
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It made me chuckle, then sigh, to see the phrase "nouvelle cuisine." I've been so annoyed by the high school chemistry experiments that show up on plates in expensive restaurants that I had forgotten about the real beginning of the end. But why the subtle air of kitsch around bistro dishes? Aren't they the kinds of things that Michael Pollan meant when he urged us to eat food that Great Grandmother would have recognized? You don't need to carry a jug of cream to pilates, but good grief, what's wrong with wanting a real sauce instead of an emulsion or foam or whatever they want to call what looks like the ring around the shaving basin?
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@Blair
Your post made me chuckle... out loud(!)...so on point...and a perfect analogy- "foam or whatever they want to call what looks like the ring around the shaving basin" It seems a whiff of desperation, not sophistication when a chef (or anyone) tries too hard...
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"In English, that means a nice bowl of chicken soup with a single matzo ball so densely packed that if you tossed it out of a second-story window it would probably put a dent in a car hood. This is not a bad trait in a matzo ball unless you happen to own the car."
I don't live in New York, and I rarely visit. I read all the restaurant reviews anyway, and this is why.
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Here’s another terrific sentence by Pete Wells that you don’t need to like dogs to appreciate:
Going back at least as far as his days at Commerce, Mr. Moore has seemed at home with profuse helpings and sauces that settled over them like a goose-down duvet over a sleeping Saint Bernard.
Bravo.
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That sentence made me happy and homesick for Switzerland at the same time.
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Revised!
I don't understand how the discussion in the review concludes with 1 star.
Certainly issues were pointed out. But so were many positives. How then is the denouement, 1 star? That makes little sense.
This is a contradiction seen in NYT restaurant reviews years ago. The tendency seemed to have diminished. Maybe it never went away?
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@AJ Based on his review, I could happily eat there once, maybe twice. The third time, I couldn't eat there again happily without reordering something I already had. As Pete often says, consistency is key. If they have a few good dishes, that's not enough for multiple stars if the rest of the menu is inconsistent.
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Appreciate your comment on matzo balls. Abhor the fluffy ones. As my dad used to comment, "they should sink like a stone in your stomach, just like the ones his mother made."
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This type of food is even difficult to locate in Paris. I take the train to Lyon for lunch and return late that evening. The last train to Paris usually leaves Lyon at 8. So in addition to wonderful food I get a very nice train trip across France.
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Ah, Pierre Lapin! In the original, Peter's father was made into rabbit stew by Mr. MacGregor; in the French translation, he was "mise en pate."
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Isn't it unusual that the entrees are priced (much) lower than the appetizers? Is this a misprint?
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@Mayazi Looks like. I checked the menu, he reversed the numbers.
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A la Biche au Bois. Le Gigot Fin. Chez Paul. Cremerie Polidor. Flo. Chartier. The traditional French bistro is on life support - that's in Paris: bought by entrepreneurs, filled to the rafters with Japanese one-percenters, tour groups from China lining up in front of Chartier, in every guide book, Americans clamoring for beef Bourguignon, food so tired they bring it out on crutches, a shadow of their former selves, Brasserie Flo - a greasy-spoon by the Gare du Nord, or dead and buried - Le Gigot Fin - RIP.
So, what's up in the Big Apple? Lutece was all cream and truffles, foie gras and dark chocolate. I think towards the end, they did a pretty good quick businessman's lunch.
I can remember waiting for my charter flight on Crash Airlines at Orly, drinking calvados and cognac for a franc a glass at the airport bar out by the runway with mechanics, ditch diggers, and telegraph operators. You could get steak frites, boudin noir, rillettes, pied du cochon, creme brulee, or maybe even some andouille XXX, and not blink an eye - for a song. A $75 bottle of wine? That was the take-home pay for a month!
And you should see it now. Bonsoir. Meet me down by the takeout chickens in the Monoprix...
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@Midnight Scribe
May add to your sad list the loss of "Aux Charpentiers" and its wonderful zinc bar and the model-size carpenters' masterpieces (literally; they were made to obtain the designation of "compagnon"), and the bar à vin Taverne Henri IV on the Pont-Neuf (still there but unrecognizable). To me there is no food experience as satisfying and comforting as a classic French meal served in a bistrot or brasserie setting, with a simple but delicious wine. Life just does not get better than that. Santé, mon pote!
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@Denis Pelletier
Both spots that, while there, seemed nothing less than the quintessential French experience. Loved and mourned
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"Half as long. Again."
The Reverend Maclean teaching his son to write in "A River Runs Through It."
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Applause to Mr. Tanis for his discovery of this bistro where traditions live, thanks to Mr. Moore and his partner.
Mr. Moore's appearance free of tattoos makes me feel that "I cannot keep silent" (L.N. Tolstoy, 1908) on the subject of tattoos. I promise to reader Steven M. New York, NY, and others that I am not about to renege on my promise, not to discuss tattoos.
On Monday, Feb. 18, 2019, "World Restaurant Awards" (of the 50 Best Restaurants in the World) will select in Paris "the best chef without tattoos". The three candidates are the French Alain Ducasse, Englishwoman Claire Smyth, and Australian David Thompson.
I feel humbly proud that this ceremony will vindicate my previous critique of visible tattoos on chefs and restaurant workers. What may look good on yakuza and their molls, is not suitable in a gastronomic environment.
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@Tuvw Xyz
My apologies to the author: I meant, of course, Mr. Wells.
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Might we extract another promise that you will not to comment on flatware settings? They have become absurdly tedious and predictable.
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@ Louise Oklahoma
With all respect and deference to your wish, I shall henceforth do my best to minimize my comments on flatware settings and table manners.
Thank you for your note -- I love the critique or praise of the co-leaders, who do me an honor of attention to my little thoughts.
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Oh my, this food sounds and looks delicious~
I can't wait to get in and try it- thank you for reviewing it!
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Wonderful review Pete... and one of your best ‘a single matzo ball so densely packed that if you tossed it out of a second-story window it would probably put a dent in a car hood. This is not a bad trait in a matzo ball unless you happen to own the car’
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"the snails and I never figured out what we were supposed to do with the sunny-side-up egg planted in the middle of the plate."
The answer was to slice through it and let the yolk lazily drift into the sauce. It might work a little better were the egg poached, though.
I actually thought it was one of the best dishes on the menu, it reminded me of the "oeufs de printemps" at Le Coucou, only snailier. But de gustibus non est disputandum and all that.
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I think of a brasserie as being larger, more open, and livelier. It also often specializes in beer. I think brasserie may be an old term for brewery.
A bistro is a small cozy neighborhood restaurant, often family run. The menu is usually small and relatively predictable; escargots, steak frites, boeuf bourguignon etc.
Bistro Pierre Lapin sounds great, but it differs from the lamented New York bistros of the past in at least two respects; the menu is too extensive and wines are too expensive. I still want to try it!
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I have been eating frogs legs in various renditions sine I was a kid. The photo of the legs in garlic and parsley butter are so reminiscent of the way my Alsatian grandmother made them for me. I can't understand why something that looks so good went out of favor. Deep fried and served with a white wine, butter/olive oil and parsley reduction is as good as it gets too. Fried rabbit, served hunter's style was another favorite of her's.
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@Jay Amberg I grew up in the Virginia Tidewater, too many years ago, and deep fried frog legs were a local treat. Gosh, they were good. Alas, so many species of frogs are endangered now, I would feel guilty indulging.
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@Kaleberg, don't they farm some frogs for the table?
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@Seabiscute I hope so, Seabiscute, but every time I try to convince myself of this, I flash back to the tall tale about the frog ranch in The Virginian.
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"The 'balle de matzo en consommé' ....means a nice bowl of chicken soup with a single matzo ball so densely packed that if you tossed it out of a second-story window it would probably put a dent in a car hood. This is not a bad trait in a matzo ball unless you happen to own the car." I believe I will remember and treasure these two sentences for as long as I live.
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@Christopher P Yes, wonderful writing! Pete Wells manages to write entertainingly AND get across a real sense of how food tastes. That combination is a rarity in restaurant criticism; for example, I love the way a particular British reviewer writes, but relatively few of his brilliant phrases convey what a reader might expect from the food.
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@Karen
Jay Rayner, I'm assuming. A delightful curmudgeon.
I've eaten here a dozen times since it opened. I enjoy the restaurant, and I think this review is fair. I probably dine there as much for the ambiance as for the food. Having said that, most everything is good! Though a tad more pricey than one suspects is commensurate with quality. That may just be NY Restaurant economics driving the prices to that level.
The staff are lovely people, they make a good cocktail, and I've enjoyed the wine - I am OK with most everything being from Bordeaux, Burgundy or the Rhone. It is a French Bistro after all.
The menu has hits and misses - fish has never been their strong suit. Prior to the black bass, they served a lamentable salmon. Cassoulet is very difficult to do in a restaurant setting. Probably best avoided unless one is going to serve it 'for the table'. But cooking it for individual servings is difficult to maintain the fatty, deeply flavored stew.
But if I compare this with a peer restaurant such as, say, Augustine, I think Bistro Pierre Lapin compares favorably. Food quality is similar, prices are similar, Pierre Lapin beats Augustine in ambiance.
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@David You make the same point about cassoulet that occurred to me. Even in French restaurants, it's mediocre. I've only ever had it done really well in a private home.
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@David
Does not make sense that cassoulet would be difficult to do in a restaurant. It's cooked ahead not made to order. If anything it would be easier to since it is cooked in advanced.
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@David...and what's with the "more breadcrumbs"? There shouldn't be any, it makes it's own crust if you do it right. And I agree with Blair - best I ever had was home-made.
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Can someone please explain the difference to me between a bistro and a brasserie? I know in France there's a clearly-defined distinction, but that distinction does not seem to exactly translate here, and the terms are too-often used interchangeably.
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@Steven M.
Google and 10 seconds later:
"Originally a brasserie was a brewery. Today it's also an establishment that serves beer and other low- or no-alcoholic beverages (e.g. cider; rarely wine) and usually food; pub is probably the closest term in English. ... A bistro is a small restaurant, usually with a bar and always with wine service."
So no difference, practically speaking, especially there days.
More detail:
https://www.ipreferparis.net/2011/09/definition-of-brasserie-bistro-café-and-salon-de-thé.html
Next onto the differences between osteria, trattoria, taverna, ristorante...
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@Matthew I've done the Google-Fu before, hence my comment, and never been able to come up with a satisfactory answer when applied to NYC restaurants. It applies well in France, but not here, yet this article claims a clear distinctions.
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@Matthew
Link above seems to need to be copied/pasted vs clicking on.
And typo: "there" days, read "these" days.
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