Happy Independence Day! This is by far one of my favorite days to be in town. The fireworks (both legal and illegal), the great “us outside” energy, the ample parking. You like to see it. So make the most of the holiday, even if it’s just lazing around and catching up on “Love Island UK” to remind you why we wanted independence in the first place.
But today we’re talking about this month’s series of reader questions. We have a question about where to take a son and new son-in-law for a celebratory dinner in Brooklyn; another on lunch options near the Museum of Modern Art; and a reader who wants to know where to find a nice baguette. This newsletter is unintentionally a bit French!
As always, send your own questions or answers to wheretoeat., and you may see them appear here.
A Brooklyn party
My son and his longtime partner surprised me last week with the wonderful news of their city hall wedding! Since we didn’t have a formal wedding or reception, I would like to surprise them with a celebratory dinner in a special place. They have lived in Brooklyn for a long time and always take me to wonderful restaurants when I visit them from Georgia. My new son-in-law is a pescatarian, but my son has no restrictions. Please help, I don’t know where to start. —Paula R.
Paula, you are such a cool parent, and lucky! We wish those crazy kids all the luck. If you really want to impress them with your sudden expertise in Brooklyn restaurants — no need to credit me — consider taking them out to dinner in the aptly named Place des Fetes, in Clinton Hill. There are good options for pescatarians: the chilled section of the menu is all seafood, including clams en verde and sardine toast with smoked butter. (Halibut in brown butter for an appetizer?) And it’s on one of my favorite streets in all of Brooklyn, Greene Avenue, which makes for a perfect summer stroll after dinner.
My school friends are visiting from DC and we are going to MoMA to see Georgia O’Keeffe. We are six and I always take them somewhere off the beaten track. What would you recommend for lunch? Believe it or not, we all eat everything! — Crazy W.
Do you have time for a really quick story? When I was in high school, one of my professors took us to Le Bernardin to meet the chef, Eric Ripert, who was very warm and friendly. Mr. Ripert advised us to go there La Bonne Soup, on West 55th Street (and just two blocks north of MoMA), for lunch. So I’m going to extend his kindness and advise you to do the same, even if it’s not exactly off the beaten path: it’s an extremely charming French restaurant that isn’t too fussy, makes a mean French onion soup and croque madame, and the new owner hired a new French-born chef to zhuzhen the menu without disrupting the charm that has made it a favorite lunchtime option since 1973.
Where do they keep the good baguettes?
Where in Manhattan can I buy French baguettes that are as good as the ones in France? Or: “ça n’existe pas?” —Anthony L.
Bien sûr, we have delicious baguettes here! Downtown, I would recommend checking out Le Fournil, in the East Village. It is run by Jean-François Hebert, a man with a name and pedigree (Félix and Cafe du Soleil) you can trust. Uptown, you might consider Julien Boulangerie, home of the New York cube croissant, as well as a very, very good baguette. They have three locations on the Upper East Side and one in Park Slope, Brooklyn.
In other news…
This week, Pete Wells reviews Raf’s, a restaurant owned by the chefs at the Musket Room where “the cooking is so different it’s often hard to believe the same person is in charge,” he writes. The abundance at Raf can be explained by the bread oven, where almost everything is cooked.
Openings: from Adrianne, a family restaurant named after a young chef who died last summer, brings flavors from southern Italy to the Rockaways; Dan Kluger extends his Gray wind businesses with a bakery near Hudson Yards; And Mother Shuckers has opened a stand in food hall Pier 57.
This month, the influential Roscioli family, who ran a small culinary empire in Rome, opens a branch in SoHo, reports Julia Moskin. This first outpost for the company will bring their famous pastas, all Roman classics, to Manhattan.
“This is like puppies and rainbows.” Amelia Nierenberg talks to chefs to find out what “The Bear” does right – and what it paints considerably rosier than reality – about doing an internship in a gastronomic restaurant.
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