For Valentine's Day, we decided to go back to Boucherie, but we discovered that they just opened, a couple of days before, a new location near Union Square, on Park Avenue South. I admit that we are always a bit reticent to go out that day because a lot of restaurants are packed (kitchen overwhelmed and short in staff) or propose an overpriced prix-fixe. But, considering the meal we had the week before in their West Village location, we thought it would be worth trying.

When we arrived around 7pm, it was not that crowded, and it is only later that people started to show up, the place being packed when we left. As it was Valentine's Day, they put some rose petals on each table and gave a rose to each woman at the end of the meal, but did not forget the men who got the book of the Chef Jerome Dihui, Joie de Vivre, or cheerful enjoyment of life, a sentence that is often associated to the way French people enjoy life, with good food and good wine.

The restaurant is quite big and I admit that I did not explore it, but it still had this feel that you were in a French brasserie. Food wise, they propose the same menu, so it was not too complicated to decide what to get as I already knew, after our first visit, what I wanted to try.

For once, I did not order an old fashioned or a negroni and preferred one of their cocktails with absinthe: the Boucherie Sazerac that is a cocktail created in New Orleans. It had Absinthe Vieux Pontarlier, Rittenhouse rye, Hardy VSOP cognac and madagascar vanilla. This was delicious and even better than the old fashioned I had last time! It was not too strong and you could taste a hint of vanilla.

Sazerac cocktail at Boucherie Park Avenue South

It was followed by bread and butter that was expected as, as I mentioned in my last post about Boucherie, bread is a must have in a French restaurant. They also brought us some pickled vegetables, with one that had canned tuna in it. I am not sure if it was for Valentine's Day or because they just opened, but I thought it was a nice attention.

So, for my appetizer, I decided to order the caille farcie, or stuffed quail with foie gras, sitting on top of spinach and served with a balsamic glaze. The quail looked beautiful and was in fact quite good, perfectly cooked and not dry (the filling though was a little dry). Between this dish and the escargots, I prefer the later though.

Then, Jodi decided to stick to the mushroom ravioli that she tried the previous time. No surprise there, except that we did not see the slices of truffles that we had the week before, in the other location. Did they forget? I will never know.

Mushroom ravioli at Boucherie Park Avenue South

On my side, I wanted to try their steaks. I was a bit disappointed that they only propose the ribeye for 2 (Jodi does not like ribeye) and ended up with a New York strip from the steak frites. The meat was perfectly cooked medium-rare, but was a bit tough. It came with a peppercorn sauce, on the side, as well as some crispy seasoned fries. It was good, but definitely not the best steak frites I had (if you ask me, Le Relais de Venise is a great spot for that).

For dessert, we tried their profiteroles that were stuffed with vanilla ice cream and smothered in a fantastic chocolate sauce. I for sure recommend this dessert.

Profiteroles at Boucherie Park Avenue South

We had a great time at Boucherie Park: it was a good experience, even if not as good as their sister restaurant, knowing that, when restaurants open, they often have to make few adjustments. I would go back, hoping to get a partner to try their ribeye or, on a Tuesday, get their cassoulet, and will try their foie gras this time for appetizer.

Enjoy (I did)!

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Boucherie - 225 Park Ave S, New York, NY 10003

New Opening: Boucherie Park Avenue South

I Just Want To Eat!