Belcourt

[Luckylies]

I had dinner at Belcourt the other night and found the ambience and the food to be quite pleasureable. It had a French brasserie look which didn't feel cheap or tacky, the food mostly seemed like new American with some Euro influence.

It was all very good flavorwise, though a few things needed to come out of the kitchen hotter. Matt later mentioned that he was training new cooks, and that a well-known reviewer was in the house, so I couldn't realy fault the kitchen (especially on it's second night)

I really liked the Boudain Blanc, it had really good texture and was served with a nice mustard and pickle.

The giant squash raviolo with brown butter and mushrooms was also gone in one second.....

The lamburger which was also on the menu at Uovo (his last restaurant) is still good and the harissa they serve with it kicks major ass.

It's on 2nd ave and 4th st...just go, it's good.

[Pan]

Thanks for the report. When I saw an elegant-looking place arising in the former Frutta di Mare space, I was intrigued and kind of excited. The menu prices have given me some pause, but if it's that good, it'll be worth it. I'll report back when I have a chance to check the place out.

[Nathan]

much prettier space than Uovo.

good wine, cocktail and beer program.

service was fine (albeit the place was two-thirds empty on Sunday night).

octopus was cooked properly (a rarity!)

a tripe stew special app was ok. with Ssam Bar up the block and it's amazing tripe salad...this inevitably was kind of lost in the comparison.

lamb burger is huge and bleh. good frites though.

pork belly and sausage entree was huge and pretty good..especially the sausage.

fried scallions were a fun side order.

portions are quite large (other than the octopus), prices pretty cheap. food needs polish.

Edited November 5, 2007 by Nathan (log)

[denise madison]

Went to Belcourt last night. Party of four ordered 5 apps. and 4 entrees. Had the oysters - fresh, clean flavor; boudain blanc - agree, great flavor to the dog, and the homemade kraut and chips were good; the octopus was cooked to perfection but a tough one to share around the table due to its size; the duck pastrami was very flavorful; and the sweetbreads were yummy, although plentiful, we yearned for more.

For the entrees, we orders four different choices. The pork belly - very good,the sausage flavor was amazing, and the spatzel was delicous; The branzino in a salted crust was very moist and flavorful. The rabbit was braised to perfection and had a lot of flavor; and the hangar steak with bone marrow sauce was to die for. The steak was rare as requested, and the the flavor of the marrow sauce was the prominent without being overbearing. The fried scallions that came with the steak were tempura like and tasty.

Service was good, although the waiter was new and could not really answer questions without going to the back. Loved the atmosphere of the place.

This is definitely worth a return trip since the prices are reasonable and things can only get better since they are recently opened.