caribtraveler

Hi there. Any suggestions for a great one? Don't want Rene Peujol, Mon Ami Gabi or Les Sans Culottes. I've eaten there several times and would love to try something new. It's for my birthday (husband is taking me). It does not have to be chichi-foufou. Just looking for a nice little place with great food. I remember a post with suggestions last year but of course can't find it. Thanks!

HowardR

Try my favorite, Chez Josephine. Host Jean-Claude Baker will indeed help to make it a special birthday celebration.

Gekko

It's new, it's incredible, it earned two stars from the NY Times' Frank Bruni:

Cafe d'Alsace

caribtraveler

Thanks! By the way, I CANNOT believe I said "Mon Ami Gabi" which is in Vegas! I meant "Tout Va Bien". Maybe I need to go to bed now, I did wake up at 3am today.

grantop

The above is post re Cafe D' Alsace
is missing some information if you would like to pursue it:
It is located at 1695 2nd Ave (Corner of 88th & 2nd) the phone is (212) 722-5133. Also you might want to check out the website at www.cafedalsace.com

handmaiden

My recs:

Chanterelle
Payard
Le Zinc
Les Halles

I ate an Mon Ami Gabi in Vegas and thought it was mediocre. I had a better meal at Cheesecake Factory.

Christine

jmp

Le Refuge on 82nd b/w 2nd & 3rd is very nice.

plafield

My favorites:
Bouley (exquisite fancy)
Daniele (exquisite fancy)
Pigalle (classic feench bistro food)
Balthazar (classic french bistro food)
Jean George (a culinary adventure like no other, breaks the bank but 4 stars NYT twice over)

caribtraveler

Thanks everybody. I will give all of these to my husband. He'll look into them and I'll let him surprise me.

Christine: Same here regarding Mon Ami Gabi. Tout Va Bien is one of my favorite French places in NYC (although our recent meal was not as good as the past ones). That's part of why I can't believe I said Mon Ami Gabi in the first place! There was a Vegas thread while I was posting..maybe that's why.

djkbooks

Chez Josephine is our favorite restaurant in NYC. We go there once or twice during every visit. We went to Daniel once and left wishing we had gone to Chez Josephine instead.

Lunch at Jean Georges was absolutely spectacular, but wouldn't do it again (just too pricey versus the "experience").

We've tried about two dozen (including some of the fanciest) French restaurants in NYC.

Another of our favorites is Bistro Les Amis in SoHo.

But, Chez Josephine is our absolute favorite for the food, atmosphere, and the music! There is no warmer welcome or being taken care of at any restaurant on the planet than Jean Claude...

dina4

We have eaten at Balthazar often and have always been thrilled.

bluestar

My friends in The Village recently took me out to one of their favorite neighborhood places - Gavroche. It's really cool, esp. dining out on the back patio just after dusk. Candles, open air, good wine & food and friends. Reasonable prices too.

LoriNY1

I think Le Zinc has closed.

john127

Montrachet in Tribeca.

LoriNY1

Sadly, Montrachet is closed now to. The message on the answering machine says they are closed for the month of August and are directing people to the Tribeca Grill. When we asked at TG what the story was, they said it was closed for 'renovations', but he really wasn't sure it was going to reopen. Sad, I really liked Montrachet.

john127

Wow, that stinks.

NeoPatrick

Actually, john, since Montrachet is a rather mild goat cheese it really doesn't stink much at all!

LOL

Maggi

"A nice little place with great food", describes Fleur de Sel at 5 East 20th Street to a T. We stumbled across this little place a few years ago for a $25 prix fixe lunch and it has since become a favorite anytime. The proprietor and executive chef, Cyril Renaud, comes from France and his family is in the salt mining business, hence the name. I actually saw a documentary on his family and the French salt industry on the Food Network some time ago.

Here is a link to reviews:
http://newyork.citysearch.com/review/11408939
http://www.fleurdeselnyc.com/about_chef.html

caribtraveler

Hi guys and gals. So my birthday was last month and my husband took me to Chez Josephine. We LOVED the atmosphere, and the music (REALLY LOVED the music). We thought the food was good but not great. I chatted with Jean-Claude while waiting for my husband who was parking the car (took forever...weekend night in NYC). Jean-Claude is a hoot. My first language is French and I don't get much chance to practice with an American husband...so it was a fun conversation. At some point he had me answer the phone and I took a reservation. The bartender had disappeared and Jean-Claude said his hearing was not great. Too funny.
Anyway, THANK YOU for all the suggestions. I plan to try some of the other restaurants that were suggested on this thread.

HowardR

Glad you enjoyed Chez Josephine. As you so aptly reported, while the food is decent, that's not the main reason for going! With many, many hours of conversational experience, I can assure that Jean-Claude is the main reason for going there. PS: As you've probably guessed, his hearing is fine!