Tryst opening downstairs at Le Bec-Fin
Georges Perrier and Nicholas Elmi aim for hip and semi-casual.
After nearly three decades, Georges Perrier has remade the bar downstairs from Le Bec-Fin.
By remade, I mean gutted.
The remake is dramatic: The former cloakroom at the bottom of the steps is now an exclusive seating area. The bar area has cozy banquettes (one a faux snakeskin) and small black-topped tables. He's framed the bar -- which now has a frosted, lighted glass top -- in whitewashed wood.
"I"m bringing sexy back," Perrier told me, channeling his best Justin Timberlake.
Tryst -- OK, so the name has been done before -- opens Monday, Aug. 22.
Hearty French small-plate menu from chef-partner Nicholas Elmi is priced from $5 to $21 and includes not one but two foie gras dishes -- on the arancini with truffle and on a plate with Meyer lemon and french toast. Nine beers include the local Yards (India pale ale) and the vaunted La Chouffe, a Belgian ale. Euros dominate the wine list, which has 50-plus by the glass.
Desserts, too.