Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
L
$$$
Carlton Hotel on Madison
got to admit about Daniel Boulud—his
cuisine is never boring.
Avenue,
88 Madison Ave. (
&
212/532-
4100;
www.carltonhotelny.com). $$
Washington Square Hotel,
103 Waverly
Place (
&
800/222-0418
or 212/777-9515;
www.washingtonsquarehotel.com).
55 W. 44th St. (
&
212/391-2400;
www.danielnyc.com).
(
John F. Kennedy International (15
miles/24km); Newark Liberty International
(16 miles/27km); LaGuardia (8 miles/13km).
Where Star Chefs Go Casual
174
Le Bar Lyonnais
A Pair of Perriers
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
In 1970, when George Perrier opened Le
Bec-Fin in Philadelphia, his classical French
cooking was still considered an exotic lux-
ury import. At a time when Julia Child had
just awakened middle America's curiosity
about French cuisine, nobody did it better
than George—and nobody in Philadelphia
came even close. Culinary fads might
come and go, but Le Bec-Fin's signature
Galette de Crabe and Quenelles de Bro-
chet were dishes that every self-respect-
ing gourmet had to sample at least once.
After 25 years at the top of the Philadel-
phia dining scene, however, George Perrier
was shrewd enough to see that it was time
for a fresh approach. While his “serious”
restaurant,
Le Bec-Fin,
continued to roll
smoothly along, Perrier began to extend
his brand with several more casual ven-
tures—Brasserie Perrier down the street
(now closed); the sleek bistro
George's,
in the Main Line suburb of Wayne (503 W.
Lancaster Ave.;
&
610/964-2588; www.
georgesonthemainline.com); the power
steakhouse
Table 31
in the Comcast Cen-
ter (1701 JFK Blvd.;
&
215/567-7111; www.
table31.com); and, in Atlantic City,
Mia
(Caesar's Palace, 2100 Pacific Ave.;
&
609/
441-2345; www.miaac.com).
With much less fanfare, however, Perri-
er's fifth casual venture—serving brasse-
rie-style fare in the bar downstairs from Le
Bec-Fin's exquisite rococo dining rooms—
may be the most satisfying of all.
Le Bar
Lyonnais
evokes the traditional hotel
restaurants of Perrier's native Lyons,
France, with old-fashioned patterned wall-
papers, carpets, and marled wood panel-
ing. Serving lunch on Fridays and Saturdays
and dinner Monday through Saturday, it
offers classic brasserie food—robust favor-
ites such as French onion soup, escargots,
salad Lyonnais, steak tartare, sautéed foie
gras, cassoulet, duck confit, lamb shank,
and steak frites. Le Bar Lyonnais also serves
burgers, or at least Perrier's haute version
of a burger: grilled prime beef topped with
caramelized onion puree and cherry tomato
confiture on a brioche bun. Perrier himself,
who has handed over Le Bec-Fin's day-to-
day cooking to head chef Pierre Camels,
hangs out here most often these days. Stop
in and you'll understand why.
1523 Walnut St.;
&
215/567-1000;
www.
lebecfin.com
(
Philadelphia International (9
1
/
2
miles/
15km).
L
$$$
Rittenhouse 1715,
1715 Rit-
tenhouse Sq. (
&
877/791-6500
or 215/
546-6500; www.rittenhouse1715.com). $$
Penn's View Hotel,
14 N. Front St. (
&
800/
331-7634
or 215/922-7600; www.penns
viewhotel.com).
