Just two and a half months old, the New French, an unassuming little spot in the West Village, cannot fool the Underground Gourmet, who, having studied the language in junior high, is pretty astute about these things. New though it may be, French it is not. By way of its menu, its unpretentious cooking, and especially its superfriendly (some might say anti-French) service, the New French is an American bistro, and a good one at that. Yes, it’s possible to consider a dish like pho kind-of-French since the noodle soup originated in the former French colony of Vietnam. Steak-frites and moules-frites? Sure. But then there is vegetable curry, pulled pork with mustard raita, and a brisket sandwich on ciabatta to consider.
So what’s with the name? Partner Philip Hoffman, who ran the Soho restaurant Nick and Eddie in the eighties and nineties, says that he borrowed it from the Minneapolis boho-hippie-artist restaurant the New French Café, which closed seven years ago. When a former Hoffman colleague opened a Minneapolis restaurant last year and named it Nick and Eddie, Hoffman got the idea to pull what he describes as “a sort of karmic switcheroo” and call his place the New French.
Read more at http://nymag.com/
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