Le Madeleine

[Rail Paul]

Dee and I had dinner there on Saturday. It's popular pre and post theater. We had seen Top Dog/Under Dog earlier in the afternoon.

Friendly greeting, reservation was OK. Main room prob seats 150 people. There's a small, skylighted interior garden adjacent to the bar. It's designed to look like a French courtyard with brick walls, murals, a small fountain, and seats for about 50 people. A/C no smoking.

Decent menu, printed daily or often. Just one appy special, one entree special. Dee ordered a Bellini, I had a spaten dark pint.

Dee had the baby green salad ($8) with a citrus dressing, tasted fine. I decided not to order the petit pois soup. Dee had a breast of duck ($25), served on a slightly puree of potatoes with chard? (I'm working from recollections, the menu is home). It was fine, but nowhere near as good as the duck the week before at Triomphe, same price. Triomphe also offered a slice of foie gras under the duck. Dee had switched to a glass of Sauvignon Blanc ($10) by then.

I had the scallop special ($30ish) which was five browned scallops served with a thin cream / lobster sauce. The rest of the plate is a blank, but I think julienned carrots might have been part of that. Scallops were OK, I would have liked them a little more translucent.

Desserts were uncredited and included a chocolate mousse pudding cake ($10) which was very densely chocolatey mouth filling. Dee liked that a lot I had two scoops of home made caramel ice cream (whose home?) which was fine, along with a snifter of Calvados ($7). Dee reminded me she had ordered exactly the same meal (right down to dessert) as she had at Triomphe.

Cost was about $135 with tip. Overall I found it charming, pleasant, and very enjoyable. The outside room was definitely an attribute. Had I been inside, in the relatively dark (and completely full by 630) room, I would not have enjoyed it as much.

Compared to Triomphe ($15 more for a similar menu), I'd take Triomphe every time.

[oakapple]

My brother and his wife are visiting from California. They bought tickets the other night for Movin' Out, and on short notice we needed a restaurant reservation. We're dropping some major dough on food this weekend, so I wanted to keep things on the inexpensive side. It's here that OpenTable.com came to the rescue. I chose Le Madeleine (403 W. 43rd, just west of 9th Avenue), a French bistro slightly to the left of the Theater District.

Entrées are generally in the $15-20 range, with an entrecote steak priced at $25. Appetizers are from $6-11, and side dishes all at $4. However, as all of the entrées come with appropriate vegetables I really see no need for the side dishes unless you want to load up on such things as braised red cabbage, Israeli couscous, or creamed cannellini beans. You can read the menu at http://www.LeMadeleine.com/, although the website at present is still showing the winter menu; what we saw was a bit different.

My sister-in-law chose the Spice Crusted Duck "Aigre Doux," which is served with creamy polenta, braised red cabbage, and caper-currant-cranberry sauce - a clever preparation that was full of diverse flavors. My brother chose the braised Berkshire pork (I didn't know the Berkshires were known for that), which he described as wonderfully tender. I had the grilled marlin, an off-the-menu special, which tasted a lot like swordfish. It was served in a sweet lemon butter sauce.

Le Madeleine is clearly oriented to the pre-theater crowd, and service is organized to get patrons out to their shows on time. Service was friendly, if occasionally frantic. There is a lovely garden room with a skylight, as well as a more conventional indoor room that resembles a hundred other bistros.

This is a solid pre-theater restaurant off the beaten path of Restaurant Row. It offers inventive fare that, at its relatively low price point, is well worth a try.

Edited May 29, 2004 by oakapple (log)

[Suzanne F]

Thanks for the report. We've had some very nice pre-theater meals there, too. And how great to see from their Web site that it's a member of Slow Foods.

And for those who wonder, I don't believe this place is any relation to the chain of bakery-cafes.

[picaman]

This is a solid pre-theater restaurant off the beaten path of Restaurant Row.

I've eaten here innumerable times as my partner used to work in the theatre next door. The owner is very knowledgeable and supportive and regularly takes restaurant personnel on culinary tours of Paris and France in order to keep them inventive and current. And he has quite the Parisian menu collection I'd rather linger here than at the much-lauded Esca across the street, especially after the theatre crowd has gone.

And one of the bartenders is named Jamie. That should seal the deal for anyone

Jamie

[docsconz]

I met the owner once at a wine dinner at The Four Seasons - cool guy.

[menton1]

Had a memorable pre-theater meal last night at Le Madeleine. (I can never find their phone # in information because I always ask for La Madeleine, which is the correct gender of the word. But who cares, the place is so good.

We sat in the garden room, a lovely place with a real tree, lots of plants, brick and a glass skylight. Service was very pleasant and efficient. We started off with Mussels that were in a yummy saffron broth, that was so good we sucked it up like soup after the mussels were finished and we were to stuffed to have more bread. A wild greens salad was typical mesclun greens, but the vinaegrette was lovely, not too oily nor too runny. A monkfish special was superb, and they willingly substituted swiss chard for the accompanying potatoes. The braised pork was perfect, nice and stringy and pulled right off (boneless) sitting on spinach and a black olive reduction. A very pleasant meal, bread and water replenished often.

All in all, a very pleasant experience, they got us out in time for the theater without our feeling rushed.

This is probably one of the best pre-theater choices in the area; great value for the money as well, and the food and atmosphere are terrific. I highly recommend it!

[PaulaJK]

Post theatre, we have often dined at Le Madeleine on 43rd.

This is a popular restaurant which requires confirmation of

booking. I realize that most restaurants suffer some no shows

and tend to overbook. However, this has reached absurd

proportions at Le Madeleine. Last night we dined there.

The bar area was packed w. standees---who spilled onto

the nearby tables.....and at most times, there were about

8 patrons waiting in the narrow space between the door

& podium. They also spilled onto the seated table breathing

space, abutting backs of chairs. The female maitre d' continuously

pressed her waiters to hustle people....and before we had a sip

of our cocktail, 5 waiters plus maitre d' [total 6] asked us if we

were ready to order...all within 5 mintues!! It would have made

a farcial scene on Broadway but we found it unpleasant &

rude. They did the same w. all of the nearby tables, inspiring

table occupants to chat together about it.

If you like this environment, then Le Madeleine still has decent

cuisine. However, if you wish some semblance of dining-for-

your-dollar, best to look elsewhere. We will.