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Provence: A Restaurant in my Comfort Zone [CLOSED]

Posted by Ed Levine, May 1, 2007 at 8:23 AM

Provence:

Owners Vicki Freeman and Marc Meyer (Five Points, Cookshop)
Chef: Lynn McNeely (Barbuto, Fressen)

Some restaurateurs just know how to make their customers feel good, and Vicki Freeman, new co-owner (along with her chef-husband Marc Meyer) of an old Greenwich Village standby, Provence, is one of those people. Provence’s new look, provided by Christopher Hirschheimer, who took the amazing photos for The Young Man and the Sea, the about to be published cookbook/memoir I wrote with Esca owner Dave Pasternack, and former Saveur editor Melissa Hamilton, is simultaneously homey and contemporary. It’s the kind of place you feel good immediately when you sit down. Chef Lynn McNeely’s direct, unfussy food fits right in with the environs.

Have the crunchy, creamy salt cod fritters (the accompanying aioli was unnecessary) to start, or half a dozen pristine oysters, or a charcuterie plate from NY’s best sausage maker, Salumeria Biellese. Move on to a perfectly cooked hanger steak served with excellent fries, fancified porkand beans made with creamy white beans, housemade pork sausage, and a crepinette, pork shoulder encased in caul fat, or a lovely piece of seared halibut served with an artichoke bariguole. Our friend Cathy, lover of all things chicken, gave me a bite of a surprisingly moist rotisseried chicken, though the skin could have been crisper. Desserts seem like an afterthought, though how bad can profiteroles be when they come with a gravy boat full of housemade chocolate sauce. Note to Vicky if you read this: Turn off the music. There’s a terrific buzz and energy in the restaurant without it.

Provence
38 MacDougal Street (near Prince)
New York, NY 10012
Ph: 212-475-7500

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