Bloom through the bardoor saw a shell held at their ears. He heard more faintly than that they heard, each for herself alone, then each for other, hearing the plash of waves, loudly, a silent roar.
Bronze by a weary gold, anear, afar, they listened….
The sea they think they hear. Singing. A roar. The blood is it. Souse in the ear sometimes. Well, it’s a sea. Corpuscle islands.
James Joyce (Ulysses-The Sirens)
La Sirene
558 Broome Street
New York, New York 10013
212-925-3061
La Sirene creates a bad impression from the street. At the entrance of the restaurant is an old, grey and ugly ATM. The menu stand is next to the ATM, and harsh lights from the restaurant expose the scratches, cracks and dirt of the plastic window panes of the temporary winter entrance. There seem to be two restaurants sharing the same space, and we were not sure that we had found La Sirene when we entered. We never did find the entrance to the other restaurant. Research reveals that it is Taureau which specializes in fondues.
The website also creates a bad impression. On the home page there is a garish banner in orange with black type that says: “BYOB allowed Sunday through Thursday…Subject to change anytime without warning $10 corkage fee within limit of 1 bottle (750ml) per 2 guests no hard liquor. Want more ? Buy from us).”
Why would you put this ugly banner above photographs of your dishes which are designed to make them attractive?
The atmosphere is strange for a French bistro. There are mosaics of Aztec gods and Spanish conquistadors on the walls. There is cheap wood paneling like you see in trailer homes, and the lighting fixtures look like they were found on the street. There is a black metal grille that separates the dining room. A Happy New Year banner hung over the kitchen opening, even though it was almost two weeks after New Year’s Eve when we were there.
There is a partial view of the kitchen from the dining room and the kitchen light casts a harsh glare into the dining room. There is little awareness of light, atmosphere or design. Some writers have said that the decor loosely supports the Sirens theme, but I did not see it, although there is a vaguely nautical feeling.
The music was a dissonant mix of jazz, Euro pop and alternative rock. It was at varying levels of loudness and sometimes there was no music at all. It sounded like someone was randomly playing with a radio dial.
In Chapter 10 of the Odyssey, Ulysses and his crew have to sail by the Sirens. The Sirens are deadly because they sing so beautifully that sailors have to go to them but when they get to the Sirens they are killed and the Sirens use their bones for instruments. Ulysses made his crew put wax in their ears so they would not be enticed by the Sirens. At times during the dinner, I could have put some of the wax to good use.
La Sirene is located on Broome Street between Sixth Avenue and Varick. It is a charmless no-man’s land between Soho and the West Village and streams of cars enter the Holland Tunnel.
La Sirene opened in 2007, and its Website says that Didier Pawlicki, the owner, had a restaurant in Paris for thirteen years. According to the New York Times, Mr. Pawlicki named the restaurant after the siren of classical mythology. He decorated the restaurant with a ship’s wheel, an anchor and French travel posters. The Times calls the restaurant “scrappy.”
La Sirene does not seem to care about design, lighting, art or atmosphere. But it does care about high quality food. La Sirene offers cuisine from the South of France and it specializes in steamed mussels in different combinations depending upon the season.
The menu has many creative dishes. There was seared wild Alaskan pollock with mixed peppercorn and brandy sauce, Rohan duck breast, topped with sweet and tart cherry sauce and filet mignon topped with foie gras.
I asked our waiter if the restaurant had a signature dish and we were told it was the “Cassaulet Toulousain de la Maison.” I quote from the Website:
Cassoulet Toulouse’s Style ( My personal recipe: Cannellini Beans, Carrots, Tomato, Garlic Duck Confit, Slab Bacon and Pork Sausage all Braised with Noble Duck fat, White Stock and Foie Gras Jus ) This is a Very Rich Dish which was served for Warriors to defend their Village ! Don’t take it if you can’t bear it 🙂
Evidently, you should only order this dish if you are looking for very rich food on a very cold day and are contemplating very important battles after dinner! Although it was intriguing, we were not able to meet any of the conditions necessary to order the dish.
The waiter told us that they sourced the bread from Grandaisy Bakery on West Broadway in Tribeca. It was served with olive oil.
The staff was casual, friendly and French speaking. They do not wear white aprons or starched shirts. They wore blue jeans. We enjoyed our conversations with the staff about the food and the bread. They were confident in their explanations.
We had onion soup, and the cod and mussels which were the daily special.
The onion soup was hot and in the traditional brown pottery bowls. Cheese ran down the side of the bowls and the broth was a light brown. It was of average quality but onions quickly lost their character, the croutons became soggy and the elements disintegrated into a brown mush.
Onion soup was eaten by ancient Romans and Greeks. French onion soup (with the bread and cheese topping) arose during the Middle Ages. The recipe we know today is a descendant of modern French bouillon which originated in the 17th century.
The gold standard of onion soup is at Odeon. The broth is almost black, the onions retain their flavor, the crouton on top of the soup is crispy and the cheese is of the highest quality. (Note that Julia Child’s recipe for French soup uses a combination of Swiss and parmesan cheeses.)
The cod and mussels were excellent. They were served in a reddish-brown broth with hints of saffron. They came with a plate of vegetables on the side. They were carrots, spinach, Mexican squash and sweet potatoes. They were perfectly cooked and crunchy. They were a perfect compliment to the mussels.
For dessert we split a bowl of chocolate ice cream. It was rich and creamy, almost black in color. It was very good. We finished with an espresso.
We really liked the staff. They were friendly, conversational and they knew the food.
Ratings:
Service: 7 (The service was friendly and knowledgeable and made the evening special)
Archetype: 3 (La Sirene is not inspired by the bistro Archetype)
Food: 6 (Ranges from average to quite good; recommend trying one of the mussels dishes)
Energy: 5 (Strange space, odd art and decoration and unpleasant light but the staff bought a positive energy to the evening)
Resources:
Reviews of La Sirene
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/19/dining/reviews/19rest.html?_r=0
http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2010/05/03/la-sirene
http://www.theinfatuation.com/new-york/reviews/la-sirene
Grandaisy Bakery
http://www.grandaisybakery.com/
James Joyce