RIVE GAUCHE, VIA THIRD AVENUE

CLEVER TURNS ON FRENCH CLASSICS, PLUS A POCKETBOOK-FRIENDLY WINE POLICY
By Tom Steele

Chef Philippe Feret and his wife Cecilia Pineda opened Brasserie Julien at the dawn of 1999, naming the restaurant after their 1-year-old son. The dining room’s fanciful Art Deco décor was designed, organized and to a large extent created by Feret, obviously a man of many talents. He actually constructed an exquisite stained-glass replica of a Chrysler Building elevator door to brace the rear of the high-ceilinged room.

The restaurant also features particularly attractive woodwork, cranberry velvet banquettes and soft golden lighting. The result feels more Left Bank than anything currently on the Left Bank.
Under the watchful management of dapper, handsome Frederic Legrand, the staff operates with smooth and seemingly effortless efficiency. Our server, Lester, steered us felicitously in all the right directions.
There is a small but effective wine list, with nine wines available by the glass. The list features a clever-and useful-wine map of France that groups the wines by region. On Sunday and Monday nights, you can bring your own wine, present it to your waiter, who will serve you, and there’s no corkage fee-a practice I wish a lot more restaurants would consider implementing. There is also a “bottle of the month,” a wide range of aged single-malt Scotches available and frozen drinks (if you must). I tried a wonderful straight-up Key lime pie martini, a buttery blend of vanilla-infused Smirnoff, lime and pineapple juices and simple syrup that really tasted like Key lime pie. The drink even managed to evoke a graham-cracker crust.
Escargots are given a state-of-the-art treatment, each swimming in a little cuplet of melted butter, garlic, ground pecan and parsley. Just before serving, the dish is flambéed with Ricard, leaving an unmistakable anise tang. Toasted brioche fingers are there for the traditional dipping in that rich and lovely “snail butter.”
French smoked herring fillets are truly spectacular: moist, tender and smoky, showered with soft juniper berries and plated with steamed chunks of freshly dug potatoes.
Chef Feret has devised a clever way to serve expensive cuts of meat and fish in an affordable way, as “hanging brochettes.” A specially designed holder allows a loaded skewer to dangle and sway just above the serving plate. What is skewered changes seasonally, but we loved the current offering of chunks of juicy striped bass alternated with cherry tomatoes, served with a perfectly seasoned steamed spinach.
Steak tartare was nice and spicy, and actually chewy, because the ruby beef was cut into 1/3-inch dice and formed into a mound with minced onions, parsley, cornichons and a few too many capers. The accompanying frîtes were just right.
Crème brûlée was nice and eggy, scattered with ripe gooseberries and strawberries. As Lester warned us, the Floating Island in no way resembled the traditionally cuddly crème Anglaise afloat with “islands” of tender meringue. Rather, it’s a sliced toasted almond-studded crêpe with fluffs of egg white peaks thither and yon.
Brasserie Julien handily earns its nickname, “Paris around the corner.”
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Brasserie Julien
1422 Third Ave.
Between 80th and 81st streets
212-744-6327
Entrées: $15 to $39
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