Sometimes I think of Paris not as a city but as a home. Enclosed, curtained, sheltered, intimate. The sound of rain outside the window, the spirit and the body turned towards intimacy, to friendships and loves. One more enclosed and intimate day of friendship and love, an alcove. Paris intimate like a room. Everything designed for intimacy. Five to seven was the magic hour of the lovers’ rendezvous. Here it is the cocktail hour.
Anais Nin
Buvette Gastrotheque
42 Grove Street (Bleecker Street)
West Village, New York City
212-255-3590
http://newyork.ilovebuvette.com/
Buvette
28 Rue Henry Monnier
South Pigalle, Paris
01-44-63-41-71
http://paris.ilovebuvette.com/
I Love Buvette
I fell in love last week. I feel in love with Buvette. It all started as we walked down Grove Street as the sun began to set and we stood in front of the bicycle with the basket full of wine corks and the setting sun set sunsparkles across the plate glass window and you could not tell them from the tiny white lights strung across the glass like diamonds. It all started when we were seated at the tiny table with the tiny chairs and we handed the menu booklets with the sweet design and helpful stories. It all started when I looked down the stairs and could see baskets of onions and lemons and a wall of wine bottles and the shaft of sunlight a yellow diagonal down the stairs. It all started when I saw the still life of sunflowers and old milk pitchers on top of the bar and I wanted to take out my oils and start painting it right then and there. It all started when I saw the map of France on a chalkboard with the wines of the day located in the regions of France. It all started when I discovered that Buvette has a sister restaurant located in the Pigalle and I had visions of Anais Nin as she wrote about Paris in her first diary in 1931.
The Menu
The menu presents a limited selection of basic dishes on small plates. Buvette does not offer traditional main courses. Rather, it is up to you to select complementary dishes. The categories are tartinettes (small sandwiches), legumes (vegetables), poissons (fishes) and viandes (meats). Standouts include salted butter and anchovies, artichokes (chevre, tomatoes and thyme), mussels (herbs and bread crumbs), and a classic coq au vin (chicken with red wine and mushrooms). The tartinettes are $10.00, the legumes are $12.00, the poissons are $17.00, and the viandes are $18.00.
There is a selection of charcuterie including chicken liver mousse, cured pork sausage, and rabbit and duck confit. All of these dishes are $10.00.
There is an interesting collection of cheeses from New England and France.
The Food
We had the Poulpes aux Olives (octopus salad with celery and olives), the Pistou de Noix (walnut pesto with parmesan and thyme), and the Brandade de Moure (house salt cod, with olive oil, milk and garlic). Our waiter mentioned they had just finished making their special melon with sage and prosciutto, so we ordered that too! Our wines were by the glass-Gigondas, St. Emilion and Brandade. We finished with espresso and the mousse.
My cod was served in a small mason jar with three pieces of toasted bread. It was presented as bread and spread. It was rich, salty and delicious. The octopus was crisp and each flavor stood out distinctly and clearly. The walnut pesto was a disappointment because the flavors were too earthy and heavy; it was like a low-key painting in all black and brown.
The mousse was a dark cake with a mountain of fresh whipped cream on top. It was not too sugary or sweet. It was good but did not lead to ecstasy.
The Service
There was a leisurely wait before our waiter arrived. We admired the restaurant. There is a lot to look at but it does not feel overstuffed or kitschy.
The service was Gallic, slightly gruff, casual. Our waiter was very knowledgeable about the food, its ingredients and its preparation. We were given sound advice about the wines.
Buvette has the feeling of a neighborhood snack bar. It does not have the formality and ritual of a bistro.
After we ordered, the food came very fast.
Every beloved has imperfections. Sometimes a small blemish on a beautiful face makes it that much more beautiful. After we finished our dinner, our plates were not cleared so there was no room on the table for dessert. We had to ask. Even so, this did not annoy us and the service worked with the overall concept of the restaurant.
The Space
Buvette is small. The tables, chairs and plates are small. But there are large windows that look out onto Greenwich Village life, the light is good and there is a still life composition everywhere you look. The ceiling has old stamped tin tiles, the floors are old wood. There was a lively scene at the bar; it would be delightful to sit and eat at the bar; the small plates lend themselves to bar dining. The music was New Orleans Dixieland jazz with some be bop in the mix.
There is a sister restaurant in Paris in the Pigalle which we will try the next time we are there.
Service: 7 (A few flaws but friendly, charming and knowledgeable.)
Archetype: 6 ( Buvette’s menu does not follow the bistro Archetype but it does have many of the elements such as the chalkboard, the bar, and the atmosphere. )
Food: 8 (Creative and well-prepared small plates with a few misses. Wines by the glass (the Gigondas!) were outstanding. )
Energy: 9 (I love Buvette.)
Resources
http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2011/11/21/buvette
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/04/dining/reviews/04dinbriefs.html?_r=0
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/07/t-magazine/jody-williams-rita-sodi-via-carota-buvette-i-sodi.html