Talk-A-Vino

Dining in New York is tricky. Well, if you are on an unlimited expense account, it is pretty straightforward – New York has no shortage of amazing chefs, so your only hurdle might be scoring the reservation, and then you are almost guaranteed an amazing experience. It is a bit more complicated if you don’t have an access to that wonderful “no holds barred” source. In such a case, you have to do your homework, and still you are taking chances.

Going to the concert at the Town Hall in Midtown Manhattan, I did my homework and came up with the French restaurant called Saju Bistro Bar and Restaurant – 3.5 stars on Yelp, French cuisine, two dollar signs. Yes, 3.5 stars is not that much, but being in the Theater district, your options are quite limited, so all together it sounded like a place worth trying.

The place did feel like a French bistro from the moment we walked in. By the entrance, a sitting area open to the street – you can feel as you are in Paris, just sitting down with a cup of coffee, and watching the people and the street. If you do want to be in the more enclosed area, walk to the back and get the table surrounded by the French bistro-type paintings – the atmosphere is definitely there.

We got situated at our table and got the menus. Of course I had to start from the wine list, which was somewhat small. Wine list’s focus was on France and California, with the number of wines priced quite reasonably. Thanks to my encounter with Paul Mas wines earlier this year (here is the post), when I saw a 2011 Paul Mas Carignan Vieilles Vignes from Languedoc, this was a very easy decision (the fact that the wine was priced at $34 was also very helpful). The wine had a fresh red fruit on the nose, and medium body with a touch of warm spice, overall it worked quite well throughout the dinner.

The menu at Saju Bistro has a reasonable size – it doesn’t overwhelm and makes your dinner experience nice and easy. We decided to start with a few appetizers which can be shared among 4 of us.

Grilled Vegetables Aïoli (Zucchini, Yellow Squash, Carrot, asparagus, Eggplant, potato, Broiled Egg, home made Aïoli)  – if you ever tried to grill vegetables, I’m sure you know that behind the seeming simplicity, grilled vegetables are super-easy to ruin. This dish was done perfectly, with the eye-happy grill marks and prefect crunch. Home made Aïoli was a delicious complement to all the vegetables.

Assiette de Charcuterie (Saucisson sec, procuitto, country pate, breseola, garlic sausage, cornichons) – I was a bit concerned that this dish would be enough to share for 4 people in a French restaurant, but our waitress, Alissa, assured us that it will be perfectly shareable – and it was. Very tasty selection, very generous amount, just an excellent dish all around.

Paté de campagne (Country paté, célery remoulade, cornichons, toasted bread) – you can’t go wrong with the Country paté dish in a french restaurant – you just have to make sure you save some bread in the bread basket, which we did. This was another excellent appetizer, again  – perfectly shareable.

For the main course, we wanted to try all the different things, so here is what we got:

Lapin des Garrigues au Romarin (braised boneless rabbit, sautéed gnocchi, French sweet peas, white wine reduction with fresh rosemary) – this was so homey, an outstanding comfort dish, with the perfectly melding flavors.

Pumpkin Ravioli (two-colored pasta, pumpkin filling, truffle sauce) – seasonally appropriate, this was quite tasty, but the filling was a bit too sweet to my taste – I would take it more to the savory direction. Still, I would say it was a successful dish.

Filet Mignon au poivre (French fries, haricots vert, pepper sauce) – when it comes to the steak, proper execution is a key – and this steak was done perfectly – succulent cut of meat, delicious pepper sauce – excellent dish.

Grillade de la Mer (Grilled Shrimp, Octopus, Clams, Mussels, Calamari, Sea Bass, served with sautéed Pommes Rissolées. Grilled Asparagus and Persillade) – in a restaurant, I’m generally a seafood guy, probably 9 times out of 10. There were two dishes which I was considering – Bouillabaisse or Grilled seafood. Alissa recommended to go with the grilled seafood – and boy, was that a great advice. Perfectly cooked calamari, shrimp, mussels  – absolutely delicious.

You can’t leave French restaurant without having the dessert, right? Of course not, that would be a crime! We chose two desserts to finish our evening:

Profiterole (Puff Pastry, Vanilla Ice Cream, Hot Belgian Chocolate) – profiteroles is one of my very favorite desserts, and these were delicious!

Lemon Panna Cotta (Chilled Eggless Lemon Custard and Red Berries Coulis) – perfectly refreshing, very light, great flavor and very generous amount of berries. An excellent dessert!

Before we part here, I want to acknowledge our waitress Alissa one more time – she took a great care of us – the food was coming timely, the wine was always in the glass just at the right amount – she did really an excellent job – thank you Alissa!

There you have it, my friends – a great restaurant experience in midtown Manhattan. If you see any of the Broadway musicals in your future, then you might want to check out Saju Bistro. Cheers!
Saju Bistro Bar and Restaurant
120 W 44th Street
New York, NY, 10036
Phone: 212-997-7258
http://www.sajubistro.com