Belle Reve means ‘sweet dreams’ or ‘beautiful dream’ in French.  But also, it is the name of the plantation in Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams.  And most notably in recent history, the penitentiary in Suicide Squad.  All great references for a bar name.

Since it opened just over 3 years ago, we have been frequenting our longest-running favorite NYC bar, Belle Reve in Tribeca.  We first discovered it not knowing the bar was part of the Employees Only empire or that a bartender from our past was a part of the operation.  We loved the vibe immediately.

Damn place looked like a dive but we had been to the two restaurants in the building prior and knew they just created it.  Black and white tiles turned to linoleum, white walls to deep green and now memorabilia lined every wall.  Even the boys room downstairs got wallpapered with vintage porn.

Boy’s Room Belle Reve

Vincent

First, there’s the story of Vincent, the bartender from our past.  We met one night at Macao Trading Co., another Employees Only bar.  Vincent was sharing old stories of chugging Guinness and always winning, but as it happens, we were with an Irish friend, Derek.  We all looked at one another.  And knew from experience he would definitely win that one.  So he challenges Vincent to the chug.  “Oh, well we don’t have Guinness here” was Vincent’s response.

Of course, as Irish guys do, Derek knew the bartender down the street at South’s.  He said he’d be right back.  5 minutes later he arrives with two pints o’ plain.  And only one second after that, Derek had proven his point.  I filmed it and missed it.  Looks in retrospect like Vincent even got a head start.  And by some miracle I located the video from March 2010 at Macao…

One second flat.  And a new friend for life.  Out came the Jameson shots.  And we wound up hanging there and at Employees Only in the West Village on and off for some time.  But had lost touch for around five years…until we stumbled upon him at Belle Reve.

Leah

The beginning is foggy.  We met lots of bartenders who came and went.  As a matter of fact, Vincent went to open Employees Only Miami and never came back.  There were but a few consistent people.  Our favorite was Leah.  She and Vincent became fast friends and roommates.  It’s not hard to become fast friends with Leah.  She’s a great girl with a big personality.  She, in her words, “Provides a social experience.”  And she’s leaving Belle Reve tomorrow.

Cheers Leah!

We recently had another loss, Travis from Puffy’s.  While one would not think the loss of a favorite bartender could be so traumatic, it is in NYC at your neighborhood hang.  Great conversation keeps us around, sometimes for the whole day.  And we’ve spent lots of summer Fridays with both of them.  Steve and I motivated to see Travis in Gloucester, MA.  We made it a nor’ easter trek.   Leah is just going to Greenpoint, Brooklyn.  Greenpoint, by the way, is one hour from downtown Manhattan by subway(s) and involves the G train.  A direct flight to Boston is one hour, six minutes.

Jeff R.I.P., Travis & Sean taken by Rick R.I.P.

Where oh where shall we hang?  There is no backup.  A sad day, tomorrow shall be.  But we got party favors.  Leah tees for all, the Friday regulars and the staff.  I won’t wax nostalgic because it isn’t goodbye, just the end of an era.

Leah Psychedelic T

By the way, you should go there.  It won’t be the same, but you’ll still love it.  Maybe.

Catch an alternative story on Steve’s Website.

I just typed CLOSED 30 times.  And it made me nostalgic.  New York City is an ever-changing landscape of bars and restaurants opening and closing.  There was a time when I wanted to get to every hot spot ASAP.  No longer.  The landscape is now a growing sea of sameness owned by giant restauranteurs and famous chefs.  Everything has become a ‘restaurant group’ or an empire.

Since I’m back to posting, I thought it would be a good idea to get the website up to date on closures.  It was a walk down memory lane worth noting.  Funny, most of the restaurant closures are part of empires, but I’m nostalgic about them regardless.  Many I did not note, as they’ve come and gone not to be missed.  And then there are the bars…

Empires & Famous Chefs

Torrisi Brothers

North End Grill Closing – a Danny Meyer restaurant will bite the dust at the end of 2018 after having Floyd Cordoz and two other chefs.  He his not reopening the location with a new concept, rather, he is leaving Battery Park.  Not what he expected.

The Butterfly Closed – Michael White’s very cozy midcentury modern cocktail bar with 50’s comfort food couldn’t hold out in Tribeca.

Torrisi Italian Specialties Closed – the ‘Torrisi Brothers’ began with the quaint little prix fixe spot to screaming success and had a counter joint called Parm next door.  The rest is history.  Now they have an empire and Parm is a chain.  They got the Four Seasons gig while they were at it as well.  I miss Torrisi.

Harold Dieterle Closed – Kinshop Thai was our favorite, but he had four restaurants since winning the first Top Chef spot.

Tom Collicchio Closed – speaking of Top Chef, the show continues as the empire crumbles.  Craft.  Collicchio & Sons.  Craftbar.  Whichcraft survives.  Really?

Blue Ribbon Bakery & Kitchen Closed – Blue Ribbon continues to expand the empire, but sold out their prime location with brick ovens in the basement to the Emmy, Emily, Emmy Squared empire.  So they could afford the rent increase?

And also closed…

Bouley, Fatty ‘Cue(s), WD-50, Annisa, Spasso, DBGB, Recette, Veritas, Tremont, Empellon Cocina, Yunnan Kitchen, Wong, Telepan Local

Bars Gone Bye

Meade’s Bar

Cafe Noir(s), Cercle Rouge & Clarkson – all owned by The George Forgeois Group, surprisingly not defunct.  They’re still hanging on to Bar Tabac, Le Singe and Jules Bistro.

The big news is our Cercle Rouge hang has turned into Frenchette, a new bistro opened by two Keith McNally alums going out on their first venture.  Can’t get in it’s so hot.  So much for our outdoor sidewalk spot.

Cocktails – Mayahuel, 1534, Tillman’s

Dives – Milady’s, Red Bench

Hangs – Shoolbred’s, Meade’s

Mexican Radio

I am certain the list will continue to grow and I’ll keep updating the website to keep you informed.  Many of these spots have turned seamlessly into others…a blur of continuous change and gentrification.  Hoping new favorites emerge.

The dining room is also straightforward.  Simple, clean and cozy, King has open kitchen with all of the staff in view.  We had the table by the kitchen and we were a part of the goings-on, watching the dishes go out to the dining room.  The walls are appropriately washed with a butter-colored paint.  We had lots of butter.  On everything.  And it was sublime.  And yes, that included the carta di musica, the ravioli, porchetta and even the bicerin.

The Meal

To start, my dad and Steve both went for the Carta di musica.  Google reveals it is a name derived from the flour used to make this crisp cracker bread.  It is rolled so thin you can read sheet music through it.  The flour is called King Arthur and has Sardinian roots.  Chef slathered it with bottarga butter, which Google reveals to be the Italian name for a delicacy of salted, cured fish roe often featured in Mediterranean cuisine.  Heaven.  Could have had a couple more plates of it easily!

Carta di musica with bottarga butter and marjoram $10

I had the desire for greens.  After our smorgasbord of sorts at Aquavit the night prior, I felt the need for vegetables.  What better to have than a Salata with Snow Peas, Mint, Baby Gem lettuce and ricotta on a freezing cold spring afternoon?  At first it was missing flavor, but after a good mixing, I really enjoyed the ricotta dressing with this gorgeous mix of spring greens.

Spring Salad with Snow Peas, Mint, Baby Gems & Ricotta $16

Again, my Dad and Steve aligned on the hand-cut ricotta ravioli with sage, butter and Parmesan for their mains.  So rich and delicious, but I was into a larger portion and did not regret my choice of porchetta sandwich.  Even the thick, crusty bread of my sandwich was grilled in butter.  I enjoyed the greens with the pork and may have liked it better open-faced, but the guys were happy to split my 2nd piece of bread to soak up the butter sage sauce on their plates.

Hand-cut ricotta ravioli with sage, butter and Parmesan $18

Panino di porchetta with salsa verde and wild rocket $31

Dessert

Next up, dessert.  At this point we’d eaten a 6 course meal the night before, so there was no stopping us on going soup to nuts for this meal either.  We chose the bicerin and lemon polenta cake.  We didn’t take the time to google bicerin or we’d have ordered 3, which we did immediately upon tasting.  Again, Google to the rescue.  It is a traditional hot drink native to Turin, Italy made of espresso, hot chocolate and heavy cream served layered in a small round glass.  One of them we did not mix and there was a distinct butter flavor left in the bottom, so we made sure to combine the layers of the follow up bicerins.  We shared a slice of the cake, which we saw sitting on the service bar and had to have.  A beautiful and simple cake.  With more heavy cream.

Lemon and polenta cake $10

Bicerin $9

King has only been open for lunch service for two weeks.  But we are thinking this will become a regular destination.  I’ve been unable to snag a table on Seated for prime-time weekend dinner since they’ve been open, but lucked out on this one.  And it was very quiet, not full in the dining room at all.  We are now curious what the next menu might bring.  Look for more reviews!

Aquavit is unique in its cuisine, as there are no other world-class Swedish restaurants. Although I could argue we had some world class food in Sweden, notably Oaxen Krog & Slip, Matbaren Mathias Dahlgren and Prinsen. I am sure we missed many others like Operakallaren, which is owned by one of the original partners from Aquavit. We enjoy the freshness of the seafood and the clean, simple combinations. Aquavit delivered the tastes of Sweden in every way and well beyond. There is nothing like the experience of each bite jumping out as new and exciting.

The decor, which I did not capture, is Scandinavian mid-century modern. For those who know me, my favorite. Round Saarinen tables are the centerpiece with some crazy high-backed leather swivel chairs and the walls are lined with grey leather banquettes. Most tables were appointed with Hans Wagner chairs. Love at first sight. Steve said there was a painting above my dad and I he called two-headed bunny in bondage, I missed it. Bummer.

Seasonal Tasting Menu

We opted for the 5 course Seasonal Tasting Menu with an additional cheese course. It was middle of the road instead of the Chef’s Tasting, which was too rich for our blood. Bring your wallet, this is a lifetime experience costing $300/person with drinks and tip. That’s if you go the way of moderate. The sky is the limit if you go 10-course smorgasbord with wine pairing OR select from the vast wine list reaching well into the $1000’s. We had a couple of stiff drinks before we got there which dropped our inhibitions enough to get 2 bottles of $130 wine. No ‘regerts’ as they say.

Here we go…Amuse Bouches abound and frankly I didn’t bother with pictures, which may be a regret! I got the first two! The first was a Swedish Pancake with Smoked Salmon, a very traditional flavor. The second, however, was quite unique. We received a dish of rocks with stuffed mussels and bowls of hay oil finished with broth. You drink the broth afterwards. And it’s black.

Swedish Pancake

Stuffed Mussels

Hay Oil & Broth – Paired with Stuffed Mussels

From there we began our journey. The first half we paired with white burgundy, by the way. The second, with Pinot Noir. Two perfect wines.

The official rundown on the spring menu is below:

Oyster & Spring Peas

Langoustine & Rhubarb

Bass with White Asparagus, Isterband & Apple

Lamb & Morels, Grape & Ginger

Artisanal Cheeses (+$10pp)

Wild Strawberry & Pistachio

Oysters with Spring Peas

Langoustine & Rhubarb

Bass with White Asparagus, Isterband & Apple

Lamb & Morels, Grape & Ginger

Wild Strawberry & Pistachio

Aquavit, 65 East 55th Street, New York, NY 10022

We have very few ‘regular’ spots we can count on for solidly good food in Battery Park/Financial District. Harry’s NYC is one of them. Formerly Harry’s Cafe & Steak, now just Harry’s. Named after Harry Poulakakos, who’s family owns many downtown institutions, this spot is focused on Steak and does cater to the Wall Street crowd on weeknights. But for those of us living near Stone Street, this is a nice mellow weekend spot.

Harry’s is subterranean with great people-watching windows around the ceiling of the bar which also stream in natural light. The atmosphere is elegant and steakhouse-like. The bar was just refinished in metallic gold and the giant leather bar stools got a pick me up to cognac leather. The bar room tables also were upgraded to elegant seats and the walls were opened up to the large dining area. A new deco light design around the center column lights up the previously dark dining room.

Harry’s has a fab brunch – the menu has been slightly revamped and we are loving the new corned beef hash.  At least we think it is new to the menu – if not it is presented more beautifully!  This is a must-have.  I had a classic steak and eggs over easy.  My favorite part is they don’t serve a thin hangar steak with it!

We generally like to hang out at Harry’s Bar for a ‘session’. It’s comfy and the food is above par. This isn’t bar food, rather it’s high-end steakhouse fare at the bar. The dining room gets fairly crowded, so make a reservation if you’d like to dine at a table. But by all means we recommend the bar!  And the giant shrimp are great too.

Look out for next weeks posts. We have reservations at Aquavit for Saturday and King for Sunday. One is another New York institution and the other a year-old hot spot in Soho who just started lunch service on Saturdays and Sundays.

Harry’s NYC, 1 Hanover Square, Financial District