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Free Williamsburg

The Williamsburg Brooklyn-based culture guide to New York and beyond.

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Chez Ma Tante

May 25, 2017 By Free Williamsburg

Chez Ma Tante

A bistro in Greenpoint “inspired by unassuming eateries that dot the content – pubs, cafes, bistros and trattorias.” The decor and menu are simple and unassuming, which is precisely why we love this place. Nothing is overly-precious, but everything is done simply and with great care. Whether enjoying a few snacks like Chicken Liver Pate, Pig’s Head Terrine, or Steak Tartare with a glass of wine or a full meal — we love their Pork Shoulder and their Half Chicken with Romesco Sauce — you will assuredly be delighted. Brunch is offered on the weekends and if you go, be sure to try their amazing pancakes. The word is out about Chez Ma Tante which opened quietly in 2017, so definitely make a reservation.

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  • The restaurant is the work of two Cafe Altro Paradiso alums, Aidan O’Neal and Jake Leiber, and the menu reflects some of the old Estela zaniness. In its emphasis on organ meat pates and terrines, it’s also reminiscent of Montreal’s Au Pied de Cochon. O’Neal once toiled at M. Wells Dinette in P.S. One, and that experience undoubtedly provided further inspiration. The chicken liver pate ($9) might be at home on any bistro menu in town, artfully smeared across the plate and accompanied by grilled toasts and pickled chiles.

    Other dishes are on another level, offal-wise, particularly with the pig head terrine. This patchwork comes in helter skelter slices, composed of ragged chunks of sinew, fat, and deeply red swatches of meat. It’s about the richest thing you’ve ever tasted and might remind you of the work of U.K. chef Fergus Henderson. I loved it, even though it came with the same toasts and chiles as the chicken liver pate.

  • It is hard to say exactly what kind of food Chez Ma Tante serves, apart from the consistently good kind. The website calls it “food that can only be described as European.” This isn’t particularly helpful or specific; I’ve never eaten anything there that seemed Finnish, say, or Bulgarian. If the menu has a theme, you won’t guess it from the dining room. A collection of brown chairs and black tables on a black floor in an undecorated white room, it is as austere as a Shaker chapel, although one with a long, well-populated bar against the wall.

    No hints are forthcoming from the cocktail list, either, which plays it close to the vest with daiquiris, Negronis, Cosmopolitans and so on. It is the first cocktail list I’ve seen in a long time on which I recognized every drink. Other writers have described Chez Ma Tante as a neighborhood spot, a homage to certain well-known London restaurants, a gastro pub and a “French-Canadian bistro.” 

    The name Chez Ma Tante was borrowed from a stainless-steel slot of a place in Montreal known for its steamé, a steamed hot dog in a steamed bun. An “all dressed” steamé, meaning it’s loaded up with mustard and coleslaw, is a new feature on the brunch menu in Greenpoint. Apart from that and a recurring maple motif — the jugs of syrup on a shelf outside the kitchen are not just for show — the Québécois influence is minimal.

     
  • Boasting a strong Canadian influence, this American bistro (named for a Montreal hot dog joint) in Greenpoint offers raw-bar items, charcuterie and seasonal veggies and mains by alums of Café Altro Paradiso. Dark woods and white walls lend a simple, unassuming feel to the dining room and bar.

  • Restaurateur, Josh Cohen (who previously owned the hit spot, Jimmy’s Diner) has enlisted the help of Aidan O’Neal and Jake Leiber, who have both served significant time at the celebrated, Café Altro Paradiso, to head up this new addition to the area… A native of Vancouver, O’Neal spent five years in Montreal before moving to NYC and pays homage to a restaurant he loved there, which also inspired the name, Chez Ma Tante (‘at my aunt’s’)…  The menu is broken into categories for raw & cooked selfish, charcuterie, salads & vegetables and mains. There’s dishes like marinated mussels and clams, country pâté and skate wing. Dessert offers up items like rhubarb custard tart and a sorbet with Polish vodka.

  • “There’s a little bit of maple syrup everywhere,” says Chef Aidan O’Neal, whose new restaurant Chez Ma Tante opened in the former Jimmy’s space on Greenpoint’s Calyer Street… That a Vancouver native who spent five years in Montreal prior to moving to NYC would employ Canada’s sweet liquid gold wherever possible is not surprising, but O’Neal’s employing a nuanced, measured hand. He and chef de cuisine Jake Leiber—who met working at Cafe Altro Paradiso—lacquer salmon gravlax with gin and maple syrup while it’s drying to build up its texture, combine it with chardonnay vinegar to finish a falafel dish, and there’s a little bit of it on the rhubarb custard tart, too.

  • Considering the moniker means “At My Aunt’s,” the atmosphere is suitably non-pretentious, though the fare in no way could be considered especially homespun. Well befitting a French boite, you’ll find pebbled salmon tartare cured with maple syrup and gin, grilled veal steaks paired with creamy, corpulent butter beans, fans of skate wing over sabayon and leeks, and wagyu short rib steak, teamed with wedge-style frites and prune-anchovy ketchup.

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Filed Under: American (New), French, Gastropub, Greenpoint Biz, Oysters, Rave, Recently Opened, Restaurants Tagged With: Chez Ma Tante

Falansai

January 3, 2017 By Free Williamsburg

Falansai

Street-food Hanoi and Saigon style, with a subtle french twist. An eclectic blend of dishes with just enough French influence to make them decadent. We recommend the Clay Pot Catfish and the Lemongrass Pork Chop.

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  • In a dark, industrial corner of Bushwick, the son of a Chinese refugee has opened a Vietnamese eatery and cheekily named it after his father’s mispronunciation of “français.” As you enter, you’ll see a lightbulb hanging in a pagoda-shaped birdcage and hear loungey French music that quietly fills the sparsely decorated interior. At lunch, you can slurp up beef-noodle pho and munch on Dad’s shrimp roll, which tastes like a crab cake and has a crispy tofu skin wrapping. At dinner, tender little cubes of filet mignon come to your table fresh from the wok.

  • New York’s roster of fancified Vietnamese restaurants is growing, from Nightingale 9 in Carroll Gardens to Bún-Ker in Ridgewood and Falansai in North Brooklyn. They’re a change-up—if not always successful—from the city’s more casual restaurants, many of which in Chinatown, that hunker down with classic dishes like banh mi or pho. Falansai offers both of those things, but plenty more with a sophisticated edge, and they do so in an equally classed-up setting that has plenty for vegetarians.

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Filed Under: Bushwick Biz, Chinese, East Williamsburg, Eclectic, French, Rave, Restaurants, Vietnamese, Wine Bar

Juliette

February 23, 2017 By Free Williamsburg

Juliette

A popular French bistro just blocks from the Bedford Ave L stop. The space is large and good for groups with a spacious rooftop dining space.

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  • Juliette is a quaint French bistro that serves unfussy but elegant food in a large, romantic space. The multi-room restaurant includes a bar area, an indoor garden room with plants hanging from the ceiling, and a large rooftop patio. The dinner and brunch menus stick to classic French dishes like croque monsieur, steak tartare, and crispy duck confit, but you’ll always find a burger with pomme frites.

  • The large space comprises a bar area with floor-to-ceiling glass windows, a banquette-lined back room, a glass-ceilinged indoor patio, and a large roof garden with its own bar. Throughout is a romantic mix of French country, deco, and Art Nouveau—warmly lit by antique light fixtures. The menu is equally classic, with an assortment of salads followed by favorites like moules and steak frites.

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Filed Under: Bedford, Breakfast, Brunch, Burgers, French, Good for Groups, Restaurants, Smile, Williamsburg Biz

Le Barricou

March 3, 2017 By Free Williamsburg

Le Barricou

An American cafe on the quieter end of Bedford Ave great for a casual, low-key meal. Rabbithole is not a “destination” restaurant and that’s a good thing when you want a reliably good brunch or an unpretentious dinner spot. The Lamb Burger is popular as is the Homemade Potato Gnocci with Wild Mushrooms. They have a small garden for outdoor dining in the warmer months.

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  • “A local favorite” known for its “great brunch experience”, this “old-school” East Williamsburg bistro offers “more-than-solid” French staples at “cost-effective” rates; just “expect to wait” when weekends roll around (“it’s totally worth it”).

  • Le Barricou is famous for its weekend brunch—though you’ll have to put up with a long wait, your patience is rewarded with dishes like supersize berry-covered pancakes ($10), a stellar apple frittata ($10) made with bacon and gruyere cheese or a classic croque madame ($13), a French grilled cheese sandwich made with ham and topped with a dribbling sunnyside-up egg… But dinner at Le Barricou is no wash, either. Fill up on flavorful hors d’oeuvres like escargot ($9) and mussels mariniere served with frites ($16); the Le Barricou house salad ($10), made with tomato, bacon, parmesan cheese and croutons, is a decadent treat. For entrees, the burger ($13) is a juicy hunk of grass fed Pat la Frieda beef, served with housemade pickles on a buttery brioche roll and paired with a side of frites. And the Coq au van is a delight, chicken cooked in rich red wine with lardon, baby carrots, pearl onions and a creamy potato puree.

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Filed Under: Brunch, Burgers, French, Good for Groups, Graham, Restaurants, Smile, Williamsburg Biz

Le Garage

December 14, 2016 By Free Williamsburg

Le Garage

The dining room, like the food, puts on few airs. And we mean that in a good way. The menu is French and the food is simple, traditional and, well, delicious. Stand-outs include the chicken for two and the braised pork shoulder in milk with roasted fennel and chestnut.

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Featured Reviews

  • The food is French fancy-casual, with an airiness befitting Bushwick; that is, there is space between tables. (“I feel like I’m out of town,” chirped a recent patron, having arrived from distant Williamsburg.) The chicken for two is an ode to bird and butter. Presented before it’s carved, the dish is a sculpture to behold under the massive skylight—you might pause a moment before digging in. But chicken this crispy and juicy, served alongside lemongrass-sweet-potato purée, has a way of disappearing fast. The foie gras and steak satisfy, but it’s the sea bass that surprises, its skin like lattice, heaped with lightly charred ramps. Try it after the fried panisse: falafel batons of ineffable daintiness. The confit charlotte potatoes, stuffed with hazelnuts and snails, show the kitchen’s skill at keeping classic French ingredients on the delicate side of robust. Dessert’s a mille-feuille deconstructed, because who can bother with fussy layers when fluffy lemon custard’s involved? But nothing beats the simple chocolate cake: the menu’s exquisite last word.

  • [The] menu is full of familiar and unexpected pleasures: a simple starter of radishes and sesame salt sits side-by-side an elegant plate of homemade foie gras, served here with baby beets and winter radish.Everything on the menu is meant for sharing and encourages diners to mix and match. For heartier fare, you really must try the braised pork shoulder in milk with roasted fennel and chestnut. A classic French dish, the tough cut of meat is roasted then slow cooked in milk until it is achingly tender.

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Filed Under: Bushwick Biz, French, Good for Groups, Jefferson, Rave, Restaurants, Special Occassions



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