AUGUST

The block of Bleecker Street between Bank and West 10th Street is booming. Formerly the home of trinket shops and random stores like Condomania (still there in case you are looking to bring some variety to your collection), this stretch now includes wallet-emptying designer boutiques like Marc Jacobs, Cynthia Rowley, and soon, an Intermix. A sleepy neighborhood block that used to include only Miracle Grill (my old employer), Paris Commune (they borrowed everything from booze to tablecloths from us when I worked at Miracle) and Magnolia Bakery (I don’t get the fuss over those cupcakes, but they do make a nice Red Velvet cake) now boasts Hue, a slinky Vietnamese eatery, Westville, a seashore-themed joint, and now August, a petite little charmer in the space that was Café Picasso. In this part of town (as would be nice in Washington, DC), change is indeed good.

August feels like home in an instant. The walls are weathered, the tables are sturdy wood and close together, the bar is full, and the blaze from the wood-burning oven gives the ochre-toned room a soft, flattering glow. But it’s not only the physical space that wraps you up and makes you feel like staying until the last votive candle is blown out and the chairs are turned on top of the tables. It’s the staff. Jason Hennings, who owns the restaurant, learned hospitality at the hands of restaurateurs like Danny Meyer (he was a manager at 11 Madison) and he and his staff are there to welcome, to please, to guide, and to make dinner at August so much more than just a meal.

That being said, it doesn’t hurt that our meal itself was quite a lovely experience. The seasonal menu, created by Tony Liu, formerly of Babbo, tackles regional European dishes from Spain, France, Italy and Portugal, and succeeds in bringing them to life, far across the ocean.

We started with a terrific dish of Serrano (Spanish ham) croquettes and salt cod bolinohos ($8)—three of each fritter, served in a small deep rectangular bowl, with a richly flavored romesco sauce. The Serrano croquettes were perfect—ping pong ball sized crispy shells surrounding a creamy béchamel center, steaming hot and flecked with bits of meaty ham. The bolinohos were thick with dense amounts of salt cod, ramped up with herbs, lightly fried into soft chewy dumplings. Delish.

A Catalan salad ($11) contained an amazingly meaty selection of perfectly roasted chanterelles, oysters and hen of the woods plated with arugula, toasted hazelnuts and Serrano ham—a mixture of flavors that, like the right companion, bring out the best in each other. Soft malfatti ($7) fashioned from Swiss chard, ricotta salata and majarom cooked in a cast iron pan in the wood oven with a bit of brown butter were also lovely, though at first I thought they could use a pasta wrapper, as the texture was a tad mushy. But after they cooled down a bit, they firmed up, the outer layer sort of crisping, and the inside remaining warm and soft; the lower temperature also revealed a subtle nutmeg undertone that was a great spice note against the ricotta and chard. A refreshing bagna cauda ($7) was all about spring, assembled from al dente radishes, snow peas, and asparagus, tossed in a pleasantly pungent anchovy vinaigrette. The Tarte Flambe ($11) was also a winner, a chewy, but crispy pizza-dough, topped with sweet-tart crème fraiche, glorious caramelized onions, and nuggets of glossy bacon, served on a long-handled pizza board. The antipasti of braised and wood-oven roasted octopus was delicious as well, the tentacles chewy but tender, served in with a lemony chickpea and red onion salad, bringing the right jolt of acid to the plate.

While we didn’t get to the entrees, the right side of the menu offers tempting dishes that tables nearby seemed happy to lick clean in no time. A few dishes that grabbed my attention—Alsatian grilled rabbit with bacon and bread stuffing ($21), grilled sirloin with Yorkshire pudding ($24), and wood-roasted chicken with polenta and wild mushroom ragu ($18). I will be back, and hope to go in time to dine in the soon-to-open 35-seat glass-enclosed garden.

I liked August for many reasons. The food is reasonable and very tasty. It is not reinventing the wheel, but presenting the wheel well oiled. The staff is knowledgeable and friendly. The wine list offers great value from Spain, Italy and France. We particularly liked the Nero D’Avola and the Gigondas. The room is small and fills with a nice crowd that represents the ‘hood. There are couples, young and old; friends, lovers and those somewhere in between; effortless hipsters lounging side-by-side with those in need of the Queer Eye. The music is great—Jason remembers bands like The Pet Shop Boys, Tears for Fears, Duran Duran, and Toto. Yes, Toto! We were singing at our table and we were not alone. How fun.

August is the sort of restaurant that you want to visit, even if just to pop in and say hello. And it seems to me that it is places like these—places you drop in for a glass of wine, places you come to celebrate moments in your life, places that beckon to you to S L O W down as you rush through your day, that promise respite and warmth—that, no matter how many new shops open, are really what transform faceless sidewalks into neighborhoods.

August is at 359 Bleecker Street (b/w Charles & West 10th), 212-929-4774.

Andrea Strong