Hip Tastes Blog

New York Stories: Gastronomes, Bugey-Cerdon and Bliss at Buvette
filed under: Hip Tasters, Regional Spotlight

My April visit to NYC was made so much more superb thanks to Buvette. Wine vixen Alice Feiring sent me there, so I've her to thank (her note praising Buvette can be found near the bottom of this post speckled with bottle reviews - but beware some conclusions drawn, Cali Pinot lovers!!). Billed as a modern "gastroteque," Buvette is tucked into a quiet corner of the West Village but has already - no doubt thanks to mucho good press here and here, for example - started drawing major crowds. And while I love love love the simple and delicious plates at Buvette, I love the spot's ethos even more: chef-founder Jody Williams captures just this when she says "we think of our kitchen as a workshop; we think of ourselves as craftsmen more than cooks." With workaday tools and luxe embellishments alike right at home in the spot's luminous interior, it's easy to anticipate the honesty, quality, character and - dare I say it? - craftsmanship coming out of the kitchen. Kibbitzing with Jody about her new boite over a bottle of Bugey-Cerdon (her personal fav at the moment) was just icing on the visit.

Read on for more on Buvette, and don't forget to check out my Flirk album from the visit here.

Unannounced Visit
I strolled into Buvette unannounced one day in the early afternoon and found Jody in the midst of business as usual: staff training, ordering wine, managing prep for the day's service. I told her that Alice sent me, that I'm a wine writer from SF, and that I was excited to be there. She promptly brought up a bottle of Patrix Bottex "La Cueille" Bugey-Cerdon from her cellar (a Kermit Lynch selection, and one I just reviewed for Nomad's Uncorked iPad wine mag), saying it was her favorite at the moment and would I have a glass with her? SCORE, I thought. Well aware of the charms of this southeastern French charmer - bubble gum pink, bubbly and moderately sweet (wine crack, in other words) - I knew I was in for a vinous treat as well as some rare face time with Buvette's food-wine maven herself.

"It's so good," Jody raved about the Bugey, "I probably shouldn't tell people!" I don't have stats on the numbers imported, but it's quite possible they're low given the relatively small size of this appellation nestled into the Alpine foothills. A shortage of Bugey stateside would be a sad thing, indeed, especially at the peak of summer!

Background Buzz
In the background, Buvette was buzzing. Flowering branches - some of the first of spring - arrived and were arranged in the front window by a florist type, customers ambled in and chatted in twos and threes at the bar or in a cozy window seat in the back, staffers - known as "gastronomes" in keeping with Buvette's novel gastroteque ID - moved fluidly about serving guests or preparing for what was to come as the day wore on. Which is a lot, considering that Buvette is open most days at 8am and closes at 2am, with guests invited to come in at any time for something as basic as one of the spot's divine lattes or a glass of wine, or a full meal. With delicious small plates emphasizing fresh ingredients and delicious flavors - a chicken liver mousse spread on crisp toast transported me to France, a plate of tangy octopus took me to Italy's Adriatic coast, and a stunning proscuitto+steam eggs+parm breakfast combo just made me want to return to Buvette daily - meals bring variety and quality, at truly fair prices.

Visual Highs
Which brings me to more of what I love about Buvette. Apart from its everything-delicious aura, it's a totally unique, fully conceptualized destination. Visual charm oozes from every corner and it seems no detail has gone unscripted, though the spot isn't overly contrived: a Warren Muller-designed chandelier (NY Times: "looks like a kitchen drawer that's been hit by a tornado") modishly illuminates a communal table, antique-ish bottles of Blanton Kentucky Bourbon rest in a basket in the cellar, a chalk rendering of French and Italian wine regions lends whimsy and context to the wine program, patinaed chairs give texture to a banquette and an old-school bicycle out front is a final reminder to departing guests that details are top of mind at this gastroteque.

Vintage Cool
So many watering holes and eateries come across as recycled, whether in entirety or in parts that recall others' imagination originally brought to life elsewhere. Not so Buvette. Max Poglia, Jody's partner in the venture, also runs the site I Love Old NY, a sort of muse board where this visual wunderkind and friends pay hommage and ostensibly gather inspiration from vintage New York places and people (from "Who are we?": "friends with a shared love of old, rusty things and dusty forgotten places."). It's a delightful tour of nostalgia at its best that any fan of Gotham will appreciate. It also echoes the novelty and craftsmanship that inform details at Buvette right down to the menus, one of which features a novel pop-out of a champagne bucket and bottle. To me, it will always be Bugey in that bucket. ;)

Go to Buvette
For more on Buvette, check out the spot online, where you'll hear a cool voice-over from Jody describing her gastroteque (a word they coined themselves!), the role of the spot's gastronomes (servers), and more. Charming, charming. A fabulous video overview of Buvette. And last but not least, my Flikr album from the visit.

Jody says that "the only rule [at Buvette] is to do what we truly love." It shows.

Posted by Courtney on July 12, 2011 02:12 PM