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GAVROCHE IS A NEW YORK BISTRO FOR GROWNUPSWHO LOVE CLASSIC FRENCH COUNTRY FOODBy Marian Betancourt
Each day offers a dinner special such as daube, cassoulet, or boulliabaise. Weekends are a surprise, such as rack of lamb or a baked fish. During lunch and early dinner hours a $19 cash only fixed price menu is available that includes appetizer, main course, and dessert. Naturally, drinks and tips are extra but in New York this is a bargain for very fine food. The small but good wine list is arranged by color and region for ease of selection. For example, under reds you can choose a cabernet franc from the Loire Valley, cabernet and merlot blends from Bordeaux, or a pinot noir from Burgundy.
Originally from Paris, Cassin worked as manager of Les Halles, a New York French restaurant made famous by celebrity Chef Anthony Bourdain, before she opened Gavroche in 2004, with partner Jack Gucker. She named the place Gavroche for the feisty little boy from Victor Hugo’s Les Miserables.
Chefs from some of the city’s top restaurants often stop by for a meal and glass of wine when they want to get away from their own high pressure kitchens. And because Gavroche is not a celebrity “hot spot” you will sometimes see a famous face or two who come here for just that reason—and because the food is so good. If you go: Photos courtesy of Gavroche |
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Gavroche
is a neighborhood New York bistro for grownups who love classic French country
food and wine. Despite bordering on New York’s trendy Chelsea and Meatpacking
districts, there are no noisy young professionals jockeying for attention at the
bar or gabbing for all to hear on their cell phones. Instead, there is the sound
of gentle laughter and spirited conversation among the neighborhood residents
and business people who frequent this informal, friendly 55-seat bistro where
they can enjoy a glass of wine, coq au vin, onion soup au gratin, and other
French country classics.
“When
you come in you need to feel comfortable,” says owner Camelia Cassin who greets
everyone at the door of this cozy restaurant on the ground floor or a narrow
five-story 19th century building on heavily trafficked West 14th Street. During
the spring and summer, dining is available in the stone covered and tree-shaded
garden reached through a tunnel next to the kitchen.
Dinner
is served daily and lunch is available every day except Monday and Saturday. For
starters, you can try a glass of good Cote du Rone, a plate of charcuterie or
cheese, and some bread. Other appetizers include a duck terrine made with cognac
and served with cornichons (little sweet pickles) and grilled country bread.
Frogs’ legs are sautéed with garlic, parsley and lemon juice. Mussels come with
white wine and pesto, or with basil, garlic, black olives and tomato sauce.
Snails infused with garlic, parsley, and butter sauce arrive in a fragrant puff
pastry.
In
addition to coq au vin, that humble French stew of chicken simmered in a rich
red wine sauce and served with mashed potatoes and bacon, regular entrees
include roasted fillet of salmon, served with braised lentils and lemon
vinaigrette. There are sauteed scallops with risotto, vegetables, white wine and
shallots. The hangar steak prepared with a red wine sauce is delicious and
tender and served with perfectly crisp “frites.”
In
a very unobtrusive way, the restaurant is also an art gallery and Ms. Cassin
changes the art every two months. Most artists are local, although that is not a
requirement. Any style of art shows well with the simple décor. Cassin does not
get involved in the sales, but simply refers inquiries to the artists.
“The
chef is my Gavroche,” says Cassin about Esteban Ortega, who is from Mexico and
has mastered the art of French cuisine. “Here is like a kibbutz. You have to
work together. I love my team and I love my customers,” says Cassin, an
energetic woman, whose heavy French accent adds a lilt to her voice.