Capsouto Freres

[mikec]

It's restaurant week in NYC again.  This time in addition to the many restaurants featuring ฤ.01 three course lunches, many places were adding ฮ.01 dinners.  We saw this offer later than usual and most of the places that my wife and I were interested in were already booked.  However, Capsouto Freres has always interested us.  It's located in Tribeca, one block from the Hudson River.  Previously we had avoided this place because from what I understood it was an "old school" French bistro (which we love), but according to Zagat its prices were much more in line with "new School" thinking.

We took the subway down to Tribeca and stopped at Chambers Street Wineshop (just a few blocks from ground zero) to chat with Mike Morris, pick up a bottle of wine for the weekend, and to get something for this morning at Taylor's bakery next door.  We hadn't been downtown since the September 11th tragedy.  The first thing I noticed upon exiting the subway was that I felt an acrid burning at the back of my throat.  I wondered if it was just much imagination, but Mike Morris told me that although it wasn't a bad day down there, it had been really bad last week.

Capsouto Freres is a large brick walled place in the hinterlands of Tribeca.  The restaurant itself is very nice looking with a huge mirror behind the bar.  We were seated at a corner table by the window.  We were given menus, and when I opened mine up I was surprised by the prices.  Appetizers ranged from ŭ-8 and entrees were ฝ-19.  This was not what I expected at all.  It's very, very cheap by NYC standards. Zagat's suggests ใpp with a drink and in my experience Zagat is consistently lowballing restaurant costs by about ฤpp if not more.  This was one of the reasons that I was interested in trying the ฮ.01 deal.  I wonder if Capsouto Freres slashed their prices in light of the economic downturn and the events that are currently affecting NYC and the rest of the country.

Allison wanted some of the things on the prie fixe menu and I wanted some, but not all.  Thus we decided to do a bit of mixing and matching.  I had the Provencal Terrine, which I expected to be some sort of pate.  It turned out to be a vegetable and goat cheese terrine that was very good.  Allison started with the artichoke ragout.  This was a classic dish of vegetables including turnips, carrots, and artichokes in a vegetable broth.  It was also quite good, but very basic.  I had the grilled quail with raspberry butter for an entrée.  The quail was good, but not great.  It was a bit boring and needed more of the raspberry butter than I would have liked.  It was served over a bed of wild rice and arugula that was both skimpy in portion and fairly bland.  Allison had the beef bourgonion for her entrée.  It was better than my quail, but still not that great.  The stewed beef and onions were served over the traditional egg noodles.  For dessert we shared the banana profiteroles which were delicious.

I had a glass of the 98 Daniel Rion Bourgogne with my meal.  It was a simply wine that was fine for the meal, but nothing more.  The wine list is not bad, but as expected, a bit overpriced.  Interestingly enough I saw a number of good bottles on the bar that weren’t offered on the list.  There might be a reserve list or the regular list might need to be updated.  It should be noted that the service was excellent.

In short, I found Capsouto Freres to be a good looking restaurant that would be suited for a nice date.  However the food didn’t live up to the space.  There are a number of other bistros that I prefer more including Lucien, Titou, and Tartine.

[smithi]

I ate at Capsouto about a year ago.  I remember the dinner being good but not memorable.  However....the souffles at this restaurante are awesome!!!  Both my husband and I had them and they were quite memorable.  Just an FYI.

[Fat Guy]

Smithi, I guess what I'd say about the souffles there are that they are technically correct classic souffles, and therefore awesome. :) It's a wonder more restaurants can't execute that recipe, which is relatively simple. The average home cook can get it right after just a couple of tries.

[Ruby]

Quote: from mikec on 1:25 pm on Oct. 18, 2001

In short, I found Capsouto Freres to be a good looking restaurant that would be suited for a nice date.  However the food didn’t live up to the space.  There are a number of other bistros that I prefer more including Lucien, Titou, and Tartine.

Hi Mike, Thanks for your review as I haven't been to Capsouto Freres in awhile. However, I couldn't disagree more about your preference for Lucien, Titou and Tartine over C.F. Tartine and Titou are owned by the same people and what I don't like about Tartine, I don't like about Titou. Wall-to-wall tables, noise and having to wait on the street for interminable amounts of time at Tartine. I never got that because IMO the food is just okay. Everytime I've ordered salmon at Tartine, it comes covered with a mound of chopped scallions and I forget to ask them to leave them off. So I'm picking out the scallions throughout the dish. This seems to me to be a cheap throwaway garnish that has nothing to do with the taste of salmon.

When I visited Lucien with three friends, it had recently opened and it was a very cold wintry night. They sat us right near the door and every few seconds an icy draft hit us in the face as people arrived and departed. There were no other tables and the bistro was packed with what seemed to be the owner's friends. The place is smoky, loud, service was scattered with the waiter's attention being focused on friends in the room. All in all, a trendy place on the Lower East Side. Perhaps this bistro has settled down but I've had no desire to go back when there are so many other cute bistros.

For a date, I'd definitely choose Capsouto Freres hands down over the other three. The service is more professional and IMO the food is better. The space is dramatic with those huge windows and the location is off the beaten track enough to avoid the trendoids.

BTW, Capsouto Freres offers a prix fixe Passover dinner that gets booked almost immediately. I keep wanting to try it but forget to reserve well in advance. Oh well, maybe next year.

[mikec]

Ruby,

I should have explained myself better.  If it was a first date I wouldn't send people to any of the places I mentioned.  I don't mind the cramped seating.  Many places in NYC are saddled with the same seating dilemnas.  Frankly it's very Parisian. :)

Forgive my bias.  However, Tartine is one of my favorite neighborhood restaurants in NYC.  I've only had the salmon there once and thought it was okay.  The spicy chicken and the beef mignonette both with frites are very, tasty.  I love the play between the spice of the chicken, the heat and saltiness of the frites and the cool, smooth sensation from the guacomole.  Tartine is also a BYOB which allows me to bring a good bottle of wine to enjoy from my collection and not have to put up with the 3x retail wine pricing that is so prevelant in NYC restaurants these days.  The waiting outside never bothered me (although we tend not to go to often in the winter).  If you go by 7:00 PM there is usually no wait.  Many of us (including me) don't like to eat that early, but for good food at the bargain basement prices of Tartine I make sacrifices.  Tartine's biggest drawback is that they are forced to turn their tables very often.  Thus lingering is not encouraged.  

Titou is not as good as Tartine.  Part of this is due to the fact that you can't BYO there.  I still put the food on par with CF though.  Of the trhee places I mention it's by far my least favorite.

I agree that Lucien is more of a scene, and the service is okay a best.  The icy blast of cold air would bother me too.  Lupa used to have that problem and so did Prune.  They need those outer tent type things.  I've never noticed a smoke problem although it would surprise me.  The food is very good though, especially when you factor in the price.

Capsouto Freres has a beautiful room.  However we were seated in at a corner table in the upper part of the dining room.  That's about as far from the bar as you can get, and I still smelled the smoke from the bar.  The table (even though I thought it was a good spot for a quiet conversation) was wedged in between two other tables.  Also, their steam heat was excessive.

I didn't think that the food was any better at Capsouto Freres than the dishes that I've enjoyed at Tartine or Lucien.

Thanks for the tip about passover at Capsouto Freres.  However, unless they make a better brisket and kreplach than my mom and grandmother they aren't going to get my business during Passover. :)

Take care,

Mike

[Ruby]

Mike, thanks for clarifying about the restaurants.

Hmm, brisket and kreplach! Wow, what could be better! :)

[mikec]

It's a tough combo to beat!  Add an appetizer portion of chopped liver and you have a winner though. :)

Ruby wrote:

"Hmm, brisket and kreplach! Wow, what could be better!"

[Ruby]

On New York 1 news this morning, they featured the "New Yorker of the Week" and a few restauranteurs were included who have opened their restaurants to feed everyone involved at the World Trade Center...firemen, police, volunteers. In addition to Drew Neirporent, the Capsouto brothers were featured in their restaurant while people in their work uniforms were happily taking a well-deserved food break.

My next dinner outing will definitely be at Capsouto Freres and the space is so dramatic anyway. Haven't been in awhile so I'll let you know about the food.

[menton1]

I have been reading all kinds of good things about Capsouto Freres near the Holland Tunnel. We just love good French restaurants. Anyone have any feedback on this place, not the easiest to get to, but is it worth the trip? Does it get less acclaim because of the location? Thanks.

[Suzanne F]

Haven't been in quite a while -- but I've liked Capsouto a lot in the past. A pair of friends had their wedding there, and it was lovely, and delicious. I believe that Capsouto is now doing cheese soufflés, not often found on menus anymore. For me that would be reason enough to go. Plus the fact that the frères are very nice guys, and strongly involved in the community (at least Albert is).

[CathyL]

What Suzanne said. The food won't make you drop your fork in astonishment, but it's fine (I also haven't been in a while, except for a press conference/cocktail thingy earlier this year).

[La Niña]

Well whaddayaknow, I was there last night, and we enjoyed it a great deal. The room is lovely. We were a party of 7, and we had a nice big table, we could all hear each other! The service was good, the wine list has what to choose from, and the dessert souffles are excellent (and must be ordered at the top of the meal). I had a warm asparagus appetizer with black truffle and parmesan with a really good olive oil, followed by perfectly grilled sweetbreads, and a meyer lemon souffle. Everyone at the table was pleased - one person had steak au poivre, and they got the "rare" just right. A filet mignon was juice and tender. Fish was good, too. And some terrific salads. And really, really reasonably priced for what it is. The bar is pleasant, too.

[clg]

I've been to Capsuto Freres for dessert only (their fabulous souflees) but I've heard they also do a great job with dinner. I'm trying to help my friend by suggesting a romantic, unique place to take a friend for his birthday, but it's a challenge. They both love eat and the friend always knows the best hidden secret local places to get a wonderful off-beat meal -- it's difficult to come up with something that will surprise and please him.

Anyway -- I thought of Capsuto Freres because I remember it being fairly intimate, out of the way, romantic ... and not hugely trendy or crowded.

Does anyone have an experiences they can share -- positive or negative -- that might help me in deciding whether to recommend it or not? (other suggestions welcome as well).

Thanks!

clg

[alacarte]

I like Capsouto Freres. I've been recently for brunch, and the food was good if not particularly memorable (save for the outstanding souffles!) and the space is very light and spacious and pleasant during the day.

[danger_doug]

Capsouto Freres is a lovely dining experience, with a diverse menu. The duck is delicious, and the Chocolate Souffle is particularly good (order it before dinner)...