Le Parisien Bistrot

Le Parisien Bistrot

163 East 33rd St

New York, NY 10016-4644

(212) 889-5489

http://www.leparisiennyc.com/

One thought can produce millions of vibrations

and they all go back to God … everything does.

Thank you God.

Have no fear … believe … thank you God.

The universe has many wonders. God is all. His way … it is so wonderful.

Thoughts – deeds – vibrations, etc.

They all go back to God and He cleanses all.

He is gracious and merciful…thank you God.

Glory to God … God is so alive.

God is.

God loves.

John Coltrane, A Love Supreme

My love of John Coltrane’s music has been lifelong. I first heard The Gentle Side of John Coltrane in Encinitas, California. We listened to it over and over again all night long as the waves foamed and crashed on the cliffs at Moonlight Beach and we entered the dream and did not come out again until the sun rose and the beach sand glittered and the heat came and we were not the same for days afterward. It was only later that I discovered the spiritual side of life and sacred music and understood that it can help us experience unity with the divine that I found A Love Supreme.

Ravi Coltrane is the son of John and Alice Coltrane. In 1970 Alice Coltrane met Sri Swami Satchidananda who became her guru. Swamiji established the Integral Yoga Institute in New York. If you go to Alice Coltrane’s website you can see a beautiful picture of her with Swami Satchidananda. Her fourth solo album is called Journey Into Satchidananda and was inspired by her relationship with Swamiji.

The Integral Yoga Institute of New York is still thriving and is located on West 13th Street. I practice yoga there and also sit on the Board of Directors of the Integral Yoga Institute in San Francisco. Synchronicity is everywhere.

When I discovered that Ravi Coltrane was playing at The Jazz Standard, I reserved a ticket for late show. Le Parisien Bistrot is in the same neighborhood and I had dinner before the show.

According to its website:

Le Parisien is the go-to neighborhood bistrot for Murray Hill, offering classic French food like steak frites, escargots and moules marinieres, paired with a well-edited list of french wines. Chef Johnathan Masse brings his expert knowledge of comfort food, having most recently served as sous chef at the Waverly Inn, and also for Chef Jonathan Waxman of Barbuto. Along with owner Christian Merand, formerly of Jean-Claude in Soho, they have created a restaurant that focuses on serving consistently great traditional food with a lively and unmistakably French atmosphere.

Le Parisien Bistrot is small and comfortable. It is a single room. There is a large chalkboard with the wines of the day and a hostess area with shelves of wine bottles and an espresso machine. There is no bar where you can have a glass of wine. A collection of old French posters cover the walls. Air France, Presse, Suze Bitters and Martini. Most are unframed and tacked to the walls.  Beneath the posters written in white chalk is: “Liberte, Egalite, Bien Manger!” (Liberty, Equality and Eat Well!)

There is a large American flag draped over the mirror in the back of the room and you can see into the kitchen past the mirror.

As I entered, I was immediately greeted by the hostess who smiled and said: “And you must be Gary!” She is both the hostess and the waitress and she directs the flow of the diners, the staff and the kitchen with effortless French grace and charm.

The chairs and tables are made of old wood. Brown butcher block paper covers the tables. The chairs are Thonet inspired. On the tables are knife and fork, a candle, glasses, a paper napkin with a single red rose.

The dinner menu is limited but is full of bistro classics. The appetizers are such offerings as Roasted Beet Salad (with goat cheese and apple walnut vinaigrette), French Onion Soup, Escargots (with herbs and garlic butter), Endive Salad (with roasted pears, roquefort cheese, walnuts and port vinaigrette) and Duck County Pate.

Le Parisien offers PEI (Prince Edward Island) mussels and pommes frites made in four different ways: Marinieres (with garlic and white wine), Thai (with coconut milk, lemon grass and kaffir lime leaf), Parisienne (with saffron and mustard cream) and Espagnole (with chorizo and tomato confit). Large black pots of steaming, aromatic mussels were brought to several tables of diners to much excitement and delight.

The mains are Pan Roasted Pork Piccata (with garlic spinach and lemon rosemary sauce), Grilled Atlantic Salmon (with fresh herb quinoa and cucumber mint dressing), Sauteed Calf’s Liver (with caramelized onions and sherry thyme jus), Bistrot Steak Frites (with red wine thyme sauce and glazzed shallots), Duck Confit (with crispy potatoes, wild mushrooms and frisee salad) and Le Parisien Steak Tartare.

The wine menu is limited but well chosen. I had two glasses of

Bordeaux, Chateau Le Bergey 2013.  There were notes of black cherry and cassis and dry minerals. It was good for only $10 per glass. The most expensive bottle of red was the Chateauneuf-du-Pape, Guigal, 2009 at $81. The whites featured a Chablis, a Bordeaux Blanc, a Pouilly Fuisse and a Vouvray. The Chassagne-Montrachet 2012 was tempting at $61.

The bread comes from the Grandaisy which is located in Tribeca.

The bread tasted faintly of nuts, had good chewy texture but overall was without distinction. The hostess did not know the source of the bread.  It was somewhat enjoyable but still nothing very exciting. It is better than Amy’s Bread which I find in many bistros in New York.

My starter was the soup du jour-potato soup with garlic and chive oil. It came in a large bowl, very hot and paste-white with foam at the edges of the bowl. The chive oil made little globules of green islands in the paste white background of the potato soup. The oil brought intense flavors of onions and herbs. The garlic in the soup combined with the chive oil made a deep and rich and lovely combination of color and flavor. This is not your bland potato soup that plagues so many restaurants.

My main was char on a bed of Brussel sprouts and parsley root puree. The fish was lightly breaded. It was not greasy or heavy nor did it obscure the flavor of the fish. The fish was placed on top of the Brussel sprouts which placed on top of the puree. Around the perimeter of the plate was a circle of purple balsamic vinegar and the nuts.

Here we have the dreaded food tower. Food towers are a pointless exercise; a culinary throwback. The aesthetics are dubious, the diner must deconstruct the tower to get at the food, and the colors and flavors of the ingredients end up in demolition zone. It would be better if the three components of the dish had been tastefully arranged on the plate, so their flavors could be experienced individually, rather than as a mash-up. Even so, it was a high quality and enjoyable main.

I had the creme brulee for dessert. It was the standard version of the dish. The creme did not have any flavorings such as citrus, liquors, or lavender. The caramelized sugar did not have any liquors added.

It was like every other creme brulee  I have ever had. They all creme seem to fall within a narrow range of quality. Perhaps all the creme brulee’s in the world are made in a single factory and restaurants buy them from a single source?

What is the history of the creme brulee? There is a dispute between the French and the British as to who invented the dish. The British say that the dish was created at Trinity College in Cambridge. Apparently, the crest of the school was burnt into the sugar on top of the custard. It was known as “Trinity Burnt Cream.” The French, on the other hand, point to the year 1691 which is the first record of the dish. However, Trinity College was established in 1546 so the British may have a more credible claim.

Ratings:

Service: 8.  Casual, friendly and efficient.

Archetype: 7. A mom and pop bistro squarely in the tradition. Middle class French living room decor.

Food: 7 Good overall with a few misses.

Energy: 7. It is small and crowded. The noise level was not bad. Charming and eclectic.

Resources

Ravi Coltrane

http://www.ravicoltrane.com/

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/06/arts/music/ravi-coltrane-and-company-perform-at-jazz-standard.html?_r=0

John Coltrane

http://genius.com/albums/John-coltrane/A-love-supreme

Alice Coltrane

http://www.alicecoltrane.org/divinity.html

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/15/arts/music/15colt.html

The Jazz Standard

http://www.jazzstandard.com/

Integral Yoga Institute

https://iyiny.org/

Bread

http://www.grandaisybakery.com/

Infused Oils

http://www.nytimes.com/1989/08/16/garden/new-tool-for-chefs-oils-with-extras.html?pagewanted=all

Food Towers

http://www.fastcodesign.com/3033912/food-week/the-rise-and-fall-of-the-american-food-tower

Creme Brulee

http://gourmet.lovetoknow.com/Creme_Brulee_History

http://www.essentialingredient.com.au/featured/the-history-of-creme-brulee/