Lafayette

With all the new French restaurants opening up, I decided to have an impromptu French food week.  Lafayette now occupies the ominous Chinatown Brasserie space.  There's always something strange about walking into a restaurant in it's new incarnation, especially when it is so different from its predecessor.

Lafayette tries really hard to be the new "it" French brasserie, cheesy "french" waitress costumes and all.  While the decor works, the costumes certainly don't.  The one huge plus to Lafayette is the abundance of outdoor seating.  Despite it's location across from a parking lot, it is actually quiet a charming set up.

The menu focuses on seasonal ingredients, which is great for snow pea and radish fans (are there any radish fans???, there was certainly a lot of radish featured on the menu).  The wine menu is French centric and overpriced.  Not to say that there aren't great selections, we were happy with the Sancerre we ordered, but the prices are pretty close to gouging.  I don't think you should have to spend $80 to get a good bottle of wine wine, after all this isn't Per Se.

The service was awkward throughout the meal.  Our server constantly tried to get us to order our meal, which was ridiculous and unnecessary, we were there on the early side and the dining room was largely empty.  Once we finally caved to her hounding, she asked if we wanted our dishes coursed, we we did.  Despite her offer and our acceptance, everything arrived at the same time.

The dessert menu was lame, lacking traditional French favorites like souffles and tartins.  We ended up going elsewhere for dessert.  

Despite having a patisserie on the premises, Andrew Carmenelli does nothing with the bread basket tossed on your table.  Overall, I felt that most of the dishes we ordered were average.  The scallops were small and overcooked, with the best thing on the plate being the snow peas.  Strangely, we noticed the table across from us got up in the middle of their entrees and left after barely touching their food.  Perhaps we weren't the only diners underwhelmed with Lafayette.  At Lafayette's price point, Carmenelli needs to up his game.

What to Eat:

Start with the Octopus, the large, thick tendril is placed over thinly sliced, sauteed onions and peppers.  The plate is also garnished with pureed eggplant and drizzled olive oil.  Octopus is plentiful these days so you may think why bother, but I appreciated the rusticness of this dish.  And the freshness of the octopus was top notch.

Another fabulous starter is the Snap Peas with Pureed Ricotta and Salsa Verte (oh ya, and radishes on top, easily pushed to the side).  This was a winner because it was simple, different, and delicious.  This appetizer is perfect for a sweltering, summer day.  The pureed ricotta hidden under the snap peas were an excellent contrast to the light, chilled salsa verte dressing.

The Short Rib Ravioli special was hands down the best dish of the night.  The delicate home made ravioli noodles where packed with a tender, braised short rib.  The dish was finished off with an aged balsamic vinegar and Parmesan topping.  This dish was so good it made me sad I had to share it.  

Carmenelli, you get one last shot for brunch at Lafayette before I write you off entirely, who wants in?

Your foodie friend

Avoid at all costs: Maine Crab a la Nage.  We sent this gelatinous, foul tasting dish back it was so bad.  This should be removed from the menu, I can't see how anyone could enjoy a luke warm gelatin with tiny slivers of crab in it.