<< previous review   next review >>

reviews

“Bistro du Vent-- Closed”

Occasion:	Cuisine:	Area:	Cost:	Rating:
Night Out	French	Midtown	Moderate	Great

When I left Bistro du Vent—David Pasternack and Mario Batali’s new French bistro around the corner from their crudo-shrine Esca—I decided to go on a diet. A cabbage diet. Well, actually a Cabbage Simmered with Chestnuts and Cider diet. Hmm….Does that count as a diet? Is that like going on a Kit Kat diet? Well, who cares, I am doing it anyway. Pasternak serves the tender braised cabbage leaves in a small cast iron pan, which makes the dish appear quite ordinary and gives you not the slightest inkling of what lurks beneath its humble exterior. Well, this cabbage has some might. It is hearty and almost kraut-like, with a sweet, zippy vinegary tang that is given some depth and texture from nutty nuggets of glazed chestnuts. I hoped the dish would never end.

But there’s more to Bistro du Vent—a convivial, simply dressed, garnet-accented bistro with a warm heart—than just that mild-mannered cabbage with a super hero bite.

To begin with, there’s the Kir menu at the bar. You chose sparkling (Royale) or white wine (regular old Kir), and then select a fruit syrup from a list that includes classic currant (from the Hudson Valley), peach, blackberry, and strawberry. The syrups are served in tiny little glass pitchers alongside your wine or champagne, so you can add as much or as little as you like. Adorable.

The menu of Kirs reminded me of a trip I took many years ago to visit my friend Jenny who lives in Paris. We had planned to meet at a bistro one evening after work, and I arrived early, went to the bar and ordered a glass of wine. Bad move. The bartender looked at me like I had just landed. “A glass of wine?” he said, with a tone that said “Oh these horrible Americans! When will they be banned from our country?” (I think we are sort of banned now, aren’t we?) I wasn’t quite sure what the issue was with ordering a glass of wine, and so I asked for it again. He didn’t say anything, and just turned and walked away, hoping, I am sure, that I would just shrivel up and disappear, like an unsightly wart. Jenny arrived just then, took one look at me sitting at the bar without a drink, and said, “Why don’t you have a drink? Wait! You didn’t ask for a glass of wine did you? Oh no.” She explained, in a voice used by frustrated parents to misbehaving children, that before dinner in Paris, you don’t drink wine. “Darling,” sh ... [more, click below]

Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  

 Make a reservation

<< previous review   next review >>

Posted: February 13, 2005

Other restaurants in Midtown :
+ Lever House   + Aquavit   + RM   + Joseph's (formerly Citarella The Restaurant)   + Town   + Artisanal   + The Oyster Bar   + Geisha   + David Burke and Donatella Restaurant   + Riingo   + Amma   + Cafe Sabarsky   + The Stone Rose Lounge   + BLT Steak   + V, The Steakhouse-- Closed   + Bar Masa   + Cafe Gray   + The Bar Room at The Modern   + The Cafe at Aquavit   + The Cafe at Aquavit   + Bistro du Vent-- Closed   + Shaburi   + Xing   + The Modern   + Bar Americain   + Alto   + Park Blue   + Mainland-- Closed   + Nobu 57   + Quality Meats   + Dona-- CLOSED   + Daisy May's   + 7Square-- CLOSED   + Amalia   + Fireside   + Anthos   + Patroon   + BLT Market   + Toloache   + Mia Dona   + Park Avenue Summer   + Convivio   + The Oak Room by guest reviewer Julie Besonen   + At Vermilion by guest reviewer Elaine Weiner   + Lunching at Inakaya, by guest reviewer Kathleen Squires   + Marea, by Guest Reviewer Susan Kane Walkush   + Le Bernardin   + New York Central -- A Reason To Eat at the Grand Hyatt Again   + Pampano Botaneria by Dara Pollak   

Share ! Post a comment