Remembrance of Things Pabst.

So we come out of the Apple store and decide to just wander around to see what there was to see. We window shopped since all of the stores were closed. We checked out Louie Vuitton, Chanel, Burberry and a couple of other joints down there in Soho. There were a ton of shops but not many restaurants. 

We were on Spring St which is sort of the heart of Soho. Back in the day I used to go to this joint called "The Brewery" which was on Thompson St. So we sort of wandered that way even though I think the joint had closed. Soon enough we come to this restaurant that the wife wants to check out. It had a board outside advertising tapas and a line to get in. And you know what. Every jerkoff on the line was texting on his phone. I looked in the window and it had a long bar and the menus printed on blackboards on the wall and  little tables crammed one on top of the other. Not my kind of place.

I look across the street and I see this old school looking place. It has cheap Christmas lights strung over the old school awning. We cross the street and check out the menu. We decide to give it a chance.

It is a cute little old school bistro called "Bistro Les Amis." It has all the old school dishes. You know. Steak pom frites. Coq au vin. Filet mignon with bearnaise sauce. You know the works.

We get seated right away and look around. Holy cow. Everybody else is old. Perfect. They are there for the food and not the bar scene. Perfect.

Funny enough we take a table right next to the bar just like we did the night before. It was interesting because we got to overhear the waiters all night. All they did was gossip. Mainly about what the tips were for each table. The waiters were two old guys in their fifties who were professional waiters. They knew what they were doing but they were burned out. That happens sometimes in an neighborhood place. A restaurant has it's useful life. The staff is all hot and eager and ready to go. But the grind of the everyday work eventually takes it's toll. Unless you have a great leader they start to get depressed at same shit different day thing and they more or less start to go through the motions. I mean they will engage with them if you bring something to the table. We knew that if we started going to this place we would own it. I mean I introduced ourselves to the waiter like we always do. We ordered a full meal and left a very, very nice tip. They earned it. My water glass was always filled. That is very important to me because I normally drink about twenty glass of water at every meal. I love to clean my palate to taste the next thing I am eating. Some places hate to give you water because they figure you won't drink alcohol. Most places that know me know that is not an issue. This place did the water thing without knowing that and it was great.

Here the guy was sure to give me a wine list. They had one of my favorites "Santa Cristina" on the menu and I got a bottle. We started with some nice appetizers. I had the Onion soup with the Gruyere cheese. Recently I bought a big chunk of Gruyere and I have been putting it on everything. I make eggs and omelets with Gruyere  and even used it on some stuffed mushrooms. So I enjoyed that.

Lisa had the "Salade de chêvre chaud en feuille de brick croutons aillés et lardons." Which is "Warm Goat Cheese Wrapped in a Pastry Leaf. Served with Mixed Greens, Garlic Croutons & Bacon." Very tasty.

Then for the main course I had the sirlion steak in the peppercorn sauce and Lisa had the "Cognac Crusted Filet Mignon with Carmelized Onions & Bearnaise Sauce." Both were very good and cooked to perfection. The bus boys were very attentive and served quickly and efficiently. Both of the waiters came over several times to check on us just the way you are supposed to do.

We topped it off with dessert. Lisa had the chocolate souffle. and I enjoyed the hot blueberry crumble with vanilla ice cream.

We called for a car and when he got outside he texted us. We settled the check and walked to the coat check. When the waiter finished cashing us out he rushed to thank us and shake our hands. I guess when they gossip about our tip it will be a good thing.

It was a nice little restaurant for what it was. I recommend it if you want a no hassle decent time.