Epicerie Boulud

Daniel Boulud opened Epicerie Boulud this past summer. I am very happy about this addition to my neighborhood. Basically this is a restaurant that only serves take away--they have bar height tables inside and outside under a breeze way, but no chairs. It is, like all of Daniel Boulud's restaurants, French food done right. Epicerie Boulud boasts an oyster bar, the DBGB dog from his midtown restaurant named for the famous comedy club CBGB's, some staple French pastries and bread, sandwiches, soups, salads and other vegetable dishes, a daily hot meal, some charcuterie, coffee, and gelato.

I don't particularly enjoy oysters so I can't comment on the oyster bar, but I have sampled a bit of everything else!

The DBGB dog is excellent. It's more of a beef sausage than a hot dog, but that's really not the point. The point is the toppings and the roll. The dog/sausage sits in a brioche roll and is topped with a zingy but not spicy mustard/mayo/ketchup sauce, pickled relish of a variety of vegetables, and sauteed onions. I always get a bag of the gaufrette potato chips on the side. 

The other sandwiches are more along the lines of traditional French fare. They include a wonderful ham and butter on baguette, a delicious turkey BLT club with avocado and fried egg, and an excellent lobster roll. The one problem with all their sandwiches--including the numerous other ones which I have not tried--is that they are quite expensive for the size. I know that they are pricey because they are made with high-quality ingredients, but the mark-up is a bit on the steep side. 

Their salads and cold vegetable dishes are again overpriced for the quantity, but delicious and made with quality ingredients. Their beet and blue cheese salad is one of my favorites.

The hot meal is very good, although I've only tried it once, so I can't comment on how consistent it is. The soups are delicious, both the hot ones in the winter and the chilled ones in the summer. They recently started serving quiche, which is delicious.

The coffee is excellent; their iced tea is so-so. They serve wine as well. I've only tried one or two of their reds and I was quite impressed.

Their baked goods, such as macarons and various tarts, look delicious but I've never tried them. Honestly they are very pricey and I can make fancy French bakery items at home. Their gelato, on the other hand, is completely worth the price. Firstly, it isn't much more expensive than any other ice cream place in the city and, secondly, it's delicious. I've liked every flavor I've tried, unfortunately they keep rotating out my favorites (such as mint chip). The only real problem with the gelato is that some of the staff give tiny scoops and leave off the free wafer cookie (and give you a nasty look when you ask for it) that are barely worth the price while others give nice, substantial scoops. You have to know who is at the counter and only go when the stingy people aren't there.

Speaking of the staff, some of them are wonderful, some are not. The manager (at least I think he's the manager) is snooty and unhelpful. My biggest problem is that I go very frequently and most of the staff never recognize me. I don't expect them to know my name or my usual order (especially because I don't have a usual order) but I'd like a glimmer of recognition--at least they are typically nice. Of course a few people there are very nice and not only know I'm a regular but also as about my mother (she frequents it as well, often with me) and my dog (who comes with me sometimes since they have outdoor tables.)

All in all, it's well worth a visit, just be prepared to spend quite a bit, especially for a place without chairs. 

Cafe Luxembourg

Cafe Luxembourg is an Upper West Side bistro that actually approximates a real French bistro. Their food is excellent. I've tried a number of different things, and loved everything. Their "Luxemburger" is my favorite thing on the menu, but is their fish and chips with minted peas (the peas are amazing!) is a close second. They have a nice, traditional French onion soup and good salads for appetizers. I've never tried their omelets but I've been with people who have and they all raved about them.

One of the best things about Cafe Luxembourg is their desserts. Their homemade ice cream is wonderful: a perfect texture and great flavors. I also have enjoyed every plated dessert I've had there as well. For more on their desserts see my post, Dessert at Cafe Luxembourg, on my other blog.

The atmosphere is nice, very French bistro-esque. It is often crowded and can be quite noisy--the tables are on top of each other--so probably not a place for a business dinner. Then again how many business dinners do you have on the Upper West Side?

The restaurant is almost always busy for dinner---I highly recommend making a reservation. But if you are like me, you won't think that far in advance and you'll just show up, hoping for the best. Usually they can squeeze you in at the bar if you do that. They serve the full menu at the bar and the bartenders are very nice, so I recommend that option. The table service is reliably decent. It is often better than that, but not always. Luckily the reliably excellent food makes up for any shoddy service.