Cafe Charmant rocks Bleecker Street with a double-dose of scene and cuisine.
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Charmant → rock → scene
Catch Hospitality Group’s latest restaurant is the biggest West Village sensation since an unknown Bob Dylan first played the coffeehouses.
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Dylan → play → coffeehouses
The owners call the menu a “sun-kissed interpretation of the classic French brasserie” with a “seaside-driven point of view” by executive chef Jake Tyler Brodsky, who spent seven years in the Cayman Islands after time at Eleven Madison Park.
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who → call → Park
With nods to Italy as well, it’s all over the map.
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it → ’ → map
But when dishes — especially starters — taste as good as many do at Cafe Charmant, nobody minds.
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nobody → taste → Charmant
The 70-seater on the throbbing corner of West 10th Street — gateway to Bleecker’s boutique-lined fashion district — has neither exotic motifs like Or’esh nor the speakeasy pastiche of The Eighty Six.
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seater → throb → Six
Instead, the Rockwell Group design strikes a warm-and-fuzzy chord.
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design → strike → chord
Velvet curtains offer refuge from the sidewalk teeming with boozed-up revelers.
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curtains → offer → revelers
White linen-covered tables are spaced closely enough for a private club but not uncomfortably on top of each other.
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tables → cover → other
Gleaming beveled mirrors reflect pretty dishes and smiling faces.
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mirrors → reflect → dishes
The owners say they spent a fortune on sound-absorbing materials, and the investment was worth every cent.
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investment → say → materials
Charmant is the rare new buzz-fest where you don’t have to shout to be heard.
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you → have → ?
The mature mood draws the likes of Paul McCartney, who was spotted early on.
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who → draw → McCartney
The crowd last Saturday included Daniel Boulud, taking time off from his giant new Brasserie near Lincoln Center, together with Jean-Georges Vongerichten.
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crowd → include → Vongerichten
Starters and raw dishes best reveal Brodsky’s cuisine-mingling creativity.
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Starters → reveal → creativity
Nardello peppers, olives and saffron aioli lent multiple flavor complexions to buttery raw bluefin tuna belly “Charmant” ($29.95).
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peppers → lend → Charmant
A vanilla undertone from acacia honey came through as well.
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undertone → come → honey
King crab croque — crab stuffed inside tramezzini bread, baked with Manchego cheese and topped with golden Osetra caviar — is a sensuous if miniscule indulgence worth its $19.95-per-piece price tag.
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crab → stuff → tag
Instead, luscious baked shrimp are tucked into a fried squash blossom and sprinkled with Japanese spices and fennel pollen.
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shrimp → bake → spices
Brodsky calls it “Vietnam meets Capri.”
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Vietnam → call → Capri
Curry duck pastel ($12.95 each) drew oohs around the table.
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pastel → draw → table
Duck braised in Trinidad-style curry is wrapped in triangular, Brazilian-style turnovers and served with sweet-and-tangy tamarind chutney.
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Duck → braise → chutney
I devoured two and wanted two more.
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I → devour → two
Entrees were well-executed if less novel.
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Entrees → execute → ?
Steak frites can be ordered with strip or center-cut filet mignon.
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frites → order → mignon
The latter ($59.95) emerged juicy, perfectly medium-rare-plus, pink inside and gently charred.
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latter → emerge → ?
They’re wonderfully salty, crunchy and pleasing on the tongue.
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They → ’re → tongue
The dessert to have is the dreamily silken chocolate mousse.
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dessert → have → ?
Served out of a giant goblet wheeled table-side, it comes with Chantilly cream, brown sugar and an array of other toppings.
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it → serve → toppings
It’s the perfect way to finish before braving the rowdy Bleecker Street night.
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It → ’ → night
The Aporia
