Some of the reviews were out of date, and one can only deduce that they were written when the bistro first opened up and was trying to get its footing. The husband was reluctant to go, thinking our enjoyment was not a sure thing; I, however, held out hope.
Location: Nice location, making use of a former industrial building. Beautiful view of the Hudson River. We opted to eat inside, as it was a warm evening. We sat upstairs at a table which overlooked the main floor. This gave my impression of THIS TABLE as a mezzanine seat in a theater. I had a great view of everything.
Nice Touch: We happened to be there on an evening when they had live jazz performers. There was a trio, a guitarist, a key boardist, and a bassist. Lovely touch for a birthday evening.
Service: Attentive and solicitious (but not overly so), and food was slow to arrive at the table. Granted, we've traveled abroad and have experienced the "snail like pace" of dinner at restaurants in Barcelona (wait from 1-2 hours before food ever arrives at the table), and though the food WAS slow to arrive, it wasn't a prolonged wait of 1-2 hours! We were hungry, damnit!
Dinner: Mind you, this is being pecked out nearly a month after the fact (I've been on vacation, real, mental, and otherwise), so forgive if I've overlooked a few items. I recall the husband having the soup of the day (perhaps a gazpacho), and I opted for a salad on the specials which was a Panzanilla of local grown tomatoes and goat cheese. He opted for a loin of pork w/swiss chard and I believe polenta which was supposed to contain some jalapeno (tho such a light hand you really could not detect), and I had the Spice Crusted Crescent Duck Breast (on the regular menus) which ame with sauteed Swiss chard, sauce poivrade and rhubarb-cherry chutney. And lastly dessert for my birthday consisted of the Coconut Milk Brioche Bread Pudding with cashew praline, mango sorbet.
Overall first impression: Enjoyable. Nice for a special occasion. Classy without being pretentious. Nice take on a French bistro. Good food, romantic vibe, nice location, great music, good service. I would like to go back and try a steak and frites, the backbone of bistro menus.
Complaint: I thought the pricing was higher than other eateries in the Westchester area. The food was great, though, I can't justify the high price for everything we had. Will this prohibit me from returning? Not likely; however, it will relegate its status (in MY mind, and for me personally) as a place to go for special occasions, and not for my semi-monthly dining out rotation of places I dine at habitually.
I look forward to returning there!
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