Artisanal Fromagerie, Bistro and Wine Bar

2 Park Avenue (32nd Street between Park Avenue and Madison Avenue

New York, New York 10016

212.725.8585

The territory no longer precedes the map, nor survives it. Henceforth, it is the map that precedes the territory – precession of simulacra – it is the map that engenders the territory and if we were to revive the fable today, it would be the territory whose shreds are slowly rotting across the map. It is the real, and not the map, whose vestiges subsist here and there, in the deserts which are no longer those of the Empire, but our own. The desert of the real itself.

Baudrillard

At Artisanal we are greeted by the hostess, our coats are checked and we are shown to a table next to the windows with a view across the outside terrace to the street which is now deserted because of the winter and cold and darkness. Artisanal is a Grand Cafe with high ceilings, old rich brown-red mahogany wood, and art deco lighting fixtures on the columns and ceilings. There are red banquettes along the walls and Thonet No. 14 chairs at the tables. They are beat up and old and time has made them well-worn and comfortable. The tables have white tablecloths. The floor has geometric op-art tiles that suggest Victor Vasarely. Palm trees down the center of the room divide the space. At the far end above our table is a grand mural of a country scene. It reminds me of Seurat’s A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jette. Vintage French posters are on the side wall. At the back of the restaurant is a fromagerie and a bakery.

The bar is long, the wood is rich, the wood is old, candle light is reflected yellow and soft by the wood and the Thonet bar stools wait for their customers. Behind the bar is an antique clock and rainbow bottles of liquors. One of the bartenders told me that, in the center of the bar beneath the clock, is a 100 year old bottle of cognac by Remy Martin Louis XIII Le Jeroboam. “It’s one century in a glass,” Louis XIII cellar master Pierrette Trichet once said, holding a crystal glass filled with amber liquid. “The idea is to be very humble in front of this glass and pay respect because it represents the effort and the know-how of one century.” The cost of the “decanters” is around $16,000 and a glass is $2400.

Artisanal is owned by Sarid Drory (who also owns Spitzer’s Corner, Fat Baby, Los Feliz and The Derby). Artisanal is about upmarket French bistro cooking, and has 250 cheeses and a wine cellar with over 600 bottles. Every Monday night there is jazz.

This Fall, Artisanal will be moving to 387 Park Avenue South. The new Artisanal will be a huge restaurant with11,000 square feet. (The current restaurant is 3,000 square feet). It will have a cheese store, bakery, and lounge in addition to the restaurant.

My first impression of the Artisanal was that it met most of the elements of the Archetype. It has the Thonet chairs, the tiled mosaic floors, the brass railing at the bottom of the bar, the French country mural, the waiters in white and black, the French posters on the wall, the Musee d’Orsay clock on over the bar, and the art deco lighting fixtures.

However, it does not quite ring true. The map is too perfect. Artisanal is a simulacra of a bistro. In his work Simulacra and Simulation, Baudrillard wrote about the relationship among reality, symbols and society. Artisanal may be a collection of signs that point to an authentic bistro but have no inherent bistro reality itself. The map of the territory of the bistro is perfect. But the map is not the territory. Magritte considered the problem of reality and the representation of reality in his famous painting of a pipe in which he wrote: “Ceci n’est pas une pipe (“This is not a pipe.”).

If we make the bistro map more and more perfect, as we increase the resolution to greater and greater levels of acuity, do we get closer to the reality of the territory as described by the map? The map itself becomes more and more unreal, perhaps surreal. Baudrillard would call it hyperreal or pure simulation. The more of the territory that the map shows, the less it reflects the reality of the territory.

Although the design of Artisanal is beautiful, it feels just a little bit too beautiful and perfect. It is the imperfections that make something truly beautiful.

The waiters are dressed in white shirts and white aprons. The male waiters wore suspenders and black flat caps that remind me of London cab drivers or old guys that hang out in the pubs arguing about their football teams.

Our waiter was happy to oblige my request to exchange my seat for a vintage Thonet 14 chair from a nearby table. The traditional bistro uses a chalk board for a menu so that it can easily be changed as dishes are sold or ingredients change. Rather than a chalkboard the waiter used an iPad to show us photos of the specials. This is an American innovation to the bistro Archetype.

I prefer the chalkboard. The words are more descriptive of a dish because they stir the imagination rather than a photograph which reduces the attractiveness of the dish to the skill of the photographer and the display device.

Our service was good; it was timely, friendly and professional.

While we were considering our wine the sommelier visited our table. He spent time with us talking about his search for a 100% French grenache wine. Apparently, most grenache wines are blended with syrah and he wanted pure grenache. He brought us a taste of pure grenache which was extraordinary. It had red fruit flavors (raspberry and strawberry) and a subtle, white pepper spice note.

We chose the 2012 Merlot from Oberon in Napa Valley. This wine tasted of black currant, cherry, plum, and blackberry. It was round and full-bodied, and the finish lingered with a note of cassis.

Philosophy aside, the food was not a simulacra it was quite real and quite well done. The menu is a mixture of traditional bistro dishes, cheese oriented dishes and some experiments. I had the Dover sole which was perfectly cooked and was served with asparagus and morels. The French onion soup was good, although not up to Odeon’s standards.

The current menu has a $42 prix fixe. Interesting dishes are soupoe au pistou (with basil, sheep cheese and croutons), sea bass (with fennel, tomatoe, and provencale sauce) and sorbet (yuzu, orange chai and raspberry).

After our dinner we visited the cheese shop. There was a vast collection of cheeses. You can also order cheese online. The staff at the fromogerie was friendly and helpful and we sampled several cheeses.

We bought a robiola; it was irresistible. Robiola is an unusual cheese in that it is made by mixing three milks: cow sheep and goat. Here is some history:

Robiola is an Italian soft-ripened cheese hailing from the Langhe region, situated in the provinces of Cuneo and Asti, in the southern part of Piedmont, an area particularly popoular among the lovers of specialty food.

Although we do not know exactly when the production of Robiola cheese in the Langhe region began, we have documents that prove its existence already in the fifteenth century. There, each producer of Robiola cheese has his own recipe and production methods. In fact, Robiola can be made of one milk, two milks or three milks, meaning that it is produced by mixing cow’s milk, sheep’s milk and goat’s milk.

The current space is gorgeous and I look forward to visiting Artisinal after they move to their new space. I will publish and update to this review then!

Ratings:

Service: 8. Professional, good timing and friendly.

Archetype: 10 or 5. Depending upon how you feel about Baudrillaud.

Food: 7 Good but not inspired.

Energy: 8. Big bustling bistro-like restaurant. In-house bakery and fromagerie support the Parisian vibes. Note too noisy or croweded; the scale of the space helps. Watch Midnight in Paris before you go.

Resources

Reviews of Artisanal Fromagerie, Bistro and Wine Bar

http://bellanyc.com/artisanal-fromagerie-bistro-wine-bar-under-new-ownership/

http://ny.eater.com/2015/11/3/9666020/artisanal-move

http://resident.com/artisanal-fromagerie-bistro-wine-bar-under-new-ownership/

Artisanal Fromagerie

http://www.artisanalcheese.com/

Baudrillard

http://web.stanford.edu/class/history34q/readings/Baudrillard/Baudrillard_Simulacra.html

Riobiola Cheese

https://www.sensibus.com/deli/flavor-journeys/robiola-cheese-and-medieval-piedmont

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