Tea at Trianon: Boucherie

John Wilson Croker on Marie-Antoinette

"We have followed the history of Marie Antoinette with the greatest diligence and scrupulosity. We have lived in those times. We have talked with some of her friends and some of her enemies; we have read, certainly not all, but hundreds of the libels written against her; and we have, in short, examined her life with– if we may be allowed to say so of ourselves– something of the accuracy of contemporaries, the diligence of inquirers, and the impartiality of historians, all combined; and we feel it our duty to declare, in as a solemn a manner as literature admits of, our well-matured opinion that every reproach against the morals of the queen was a gross calumny– that she was, as we have said, one of the purest of human beings."

~from History of the Guillotine by John Wilson Croker, 1844

Edmund Burke on Marie-Antoinette

"It is now sixteen or seventeen years since I saw the queen of France, then dauphiness, at Versailles; and surely there never lighted on this orb, which she hardly seemed to touch, a more delightful vision. I saw her just above the horizon, decorating and cheering the elevated sphere she had just begun to move in, glittering like a morning star full of life and splendor and joy. Oh, what a revolution....Little did I dream that I should have lived to see such disasters fall upon her, in a nation of gallant men, in a nation of men of honor and of cavaliers! I thought ten thousand swords must have leaped from their scabbards, to avenge even a look which threatened her with insult. But the age of chivalry is gone; that of sophisters, economists, and calculators has succeeded...."

~Edmund Burke, October 1790

Sunday, March 4, 2018

Boucherie

From Eater:

West Village French brasserie and steakhouse Boucherie has expanded to Gramercy Park with Boucherie Park Avenue South. The new location is also run by The Group, which owns Akashi and Dominique Bistro, and executive chef Jerome Dihui, who previously worked as chef de cuisine at Keith McNally’s now-shuttered Meatpacking bistro Pastis.

The new 222-seat space — located at 225 Park Avenue South, between East 18th and 19th streets — features standard Parisian brasserie decor like mosaic tile floors, wood-framed mirrors, and wooden tables, as well as original Belle Époque posters. There’s a pewter bar and a separate 40-seat private dining room. It’s a slight downsize from the 320-seat original location, which opened in a former garage in 2016 as a massive but romantic restaurant with classic bistro fare.

Boucherie Park Avenue South, as with the original Boucherie, focuses on meat and butchery with dishes like a filet mignon for two and a veal porterhouse with enoki mushrooms, sweetbreads, and veal jus. The new restaurant will also similarly feature typical Parisian bistro food like escargot and coq au vin, a red-wine-braised chicken with vegetables, mushrooms, and lardon. (Read more.)