Upon arrival New York on Saturday, Nikki*, my mom, and I jumped into planning mode. We decided a ride on the Staten Island Ferry followed by a nice lunch at The Little Owl was our plan before we had to head to God of Carnage with James Gandolfini and Jeff Daniels that evening. We made it over to Staten Island and back, passing Lady Liberty and admiring the Manhattan skyline (you will be able to climb up to the crown of the Statue of Liberty beginning July 4th - mark your calendars). Departing the ferry, we found ourselves in a Romanian festival outside the Customs House in the Financial District. What fun - there were many vendors showcasing kabobs, corn cakes, falafel and other amazing choices, clothing, jewelry and other items. Of course, I had to stop and check everything out, so that delayed us a bit and we also saw a church from the ferry and wondered if it was the church that became such a moving focal point right after the 9/11 World Trade Center attacks. This was not that church, but after walking a few short blocks we did come to St. Paul's Chapel (see St. Paul's Chapel entry below). After our time at St. Paul's, Nikki and I stopped in an Irish pub around the corner to take a breather (aka beer break) and decide what our next move was. We had missed brunch at The Little Owl, but we knew we had spent our time more wisely. After a beer or two, we set off towards Tribeca in hopes we would find a restaurant on the fly that was to our liking. We passed a few that looked good, but nothing that made us want to run in and order. Finally, we spotted Cercle Rouge, a lovely French bistro. Since we love bistros, we knew this was the place. It was absolutely charming inside and while it was hard to decide at first, we both settle on the burger and pommes frites. I must admit that we spied burgers at another table and decided that we each HAD to have one (we did a lot of food-hawking on this trip). Furthermore, it was around 4pm and we had not eaten all day, so we needed something fulfilling. The burgers looked scrumptious! We both settle don Gruyere cheese, so I can only review one plate, but trust me, it was worth it. We also had a side of the creamed spinach which was made with a very light cream and a lot of garlic - very, very good. Service was very good - everyone was the opposite of pushy, which is a nice change from some restaurants that want to throw you out the second your food hits the table. Full and happy, we relaxed a moment before heading back to Midtown. I highly recommend Cercle Rouge but maybe not if you are in a rush. I think this is a relaxed staff and your meal might take a bit, but remember, good things come to those who wait! I was on vacation, so my usual impatient nature was on the back burner.
Located in Tribeca, Cercle Rouge services lunch and dinner Monday through Friday and brunch and dinner on Saturday and Sunday.
~Alex
Unlike me, my friend Alex does not look for child friendly places to dine. In fact, she probably prefers places that ARE NOT. However, when researching this restaurant my attention was peaked when I noted that Brunch is held on both Saturday and Sunday. In addition, it is accompanied by a magic show with balloon giveaways for kids. I can only assume that Alex overlooked this feature...
_Laine
http://www.cerclerougeresto.com/
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