Brasserie Pavil

Imagine for a second that Grand Central Station was dropped in the middle of Paris in 1907. Not literally, as it would crush thousands of Parisians and cause immense damage to New York’s transit system. I mean figuratively…

Are you picturing it?

The men are wearing sleeve garters and enormous decorative clocks are used equally for their form and function. The space is open and light subtly emanates from every surface.

Still with me?

Now shrink the scale so it fits in a suburban development and imagine everything is cleaner and crisper than the technology of 1907 would allow. Now you’ve got my take on Brasserie Pavil.

While waiting at the bar for the rest of the party, I found myself amused with the uniforms of the bar staff. I was particularly baffled by an elastic strap connecting the bartender’s upper shirt sleeve to ….his lower shirt sleeve. Very odd. I’ll buy a drink for anyone who can properly name this peculiar accessory.

The bartender was very professional, making polite sage comments much the way you would expect from an old western saloon. Not to be completely anachronistic, he also reminded us of their regular happy hour and extended evening hours. We are still in suburbia after all.

As the rest of our group arrived, we started with Gruyere Fondue as an appetizer for the table. The cheese was strong but after the initial shock I found it to be interesting and tasty. The bread was intentionally a bit stale (I suppose to keep it from getting soggy as it was dipped in the cheese) and it sat heavily in my stomach after just a couple of cheesy skewers.

Both Mey and I went for the Friday dinner special of Bouillabaisse – a fish stew with lobster, mussels and scallops. My mouth drips with saliva just from typing the ingredients. It also looked great, but the flavor didn’t quite live up to the hype. The stew itself was salty and incorporated the fish’s flavor, but was overall a forgettable liquid. The mussels and scallops were okay (a tad overdone), but the sauce didn’t bring the flavor alive as it should. What resulted was more of a collection of mildly overcooked crustaceans obscured by broth.

A word on the service - top notch. That’s two words, but you get the idea. I was impressed, especially for a restaurant of this size. Making a reservation on Friday afternoon was not a problem and was warmly received. The bartender was polite, prompt and friendly. The waitress knew the menu and was able to make knowledgeable suggestions. The only misstep occurred when she walked off with half a glass of my chardonnay thereby giving me a facial expression generally reserved for children who recently discovered Santa’s identity. Thankfully she returned and apologized so I could continue to get my drink on.

We ordered an expensive appetizer ($20 fondue), but the total damage was higher than I would’ve liked. Despite the excellent service, a bill of $120 will likely keep Brasserie Pavil out of our regular rotation.

The following day the hostess called to ensure that we had a good evening and to wish us an expeditious return.

She must think I’m sexy.

Either that or it pays to take pictures of your food.

Food: 3
Ambiance: 3.5
Service: 4.5
Value: 2.5

Overall:

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Is her closet full of muted earth tones of brown, black, and white? Does she own an antique mirror and look at passionate people with envious disdain? Bring her here.
Then buy her a red dress. Everyone should have a red dress.