Archive for the ‘French’ Category

The French Roast


2010
03.21
78 West 11th Street, NY, NY 10011

Rating: ★★☆☆☆

What used to be a a place to frequent for decent food is no more. I have been going to this place on and off for roughly eight or nine years. For the most part it WAS consistent and satisfying. Now I can only speak for the late night cooks and crew, but the only thing getting “roasted” here is the customers. On one occasion I was inquiring about the cheese selection, to which the waiter knew nothing about (not that big of a deal). We were there with a party of six and the place was relatively busy, but the service was mediocre  and I was already turned off by the lack of experience and knowledge the staff had. More over the staff seems to carry about with a level of self importance, as if they did have a clue. I was in good company so I proceeded to play along. Until I ordered my desert. How one can screw up creme bruleé in a French restaurant of all places is beyond me. This simple dish was transformed into a hot soupy mess before it was brought to me. For some reason it was put in the broiler, I didn’t even bother to send it back. Check please.

Round 2:

I actually went back figuring it was just an off night. My friend and I decided to stop in for a bite, late night. It was a saturday night the place was desolate. The host was not very accommodating, the dinning room was empty and we were forced to sit by the front door (it was winter). There was one other table in the place and we still had to wait 30 minutes for a chicken dish with what seemed to be three day old mashed potatoes. All the while the porter is sloshing a disgusting ammonia soaked mop around us while we are eating. We asked nicely if he could do that after we finished eating to no avail. Rule no.1 for running a restaurant: Never use strong chemicals to clean in the dinning room during business hours. This place has fallen off hard. I have no intentions of returning and would warn anybody to stay away. French bistros are a dime a dozen in NYC. All of which out do this place.