French Culture Guide

French Culture in New York, with a Touch of Paris

Eat Like You’re in Paris… in Murray Hill and Gramercy!

Posted by on January 12, 2012
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The Murray Hill and Gramercy Park neighborhoods of Manhattan are both highly residential. So while they may not be dining destinations for those living elsewhere, if your building is located between 14th Street and 40th Street on the east side, chances are you will be eating in the area quite a bit. And though you may feel the high-rises in these neighborhoods are distinctly New York, it is possible to eat like you’re in Paris in Murray Hill and Gramercy for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

 

Le petit dejeuner
Anthony Bourdain’s Brasserie Les Halles is good for any meal of the day, but in Murray Hill, you’ll be hard pressed to find French breakfast pastries as offered here. For a carbohydrate-friendly breakfast you can order the Panier Pour Un, a basket filled with two pastries of your choice and either a baguette or a brioche. But if you’re looking for a less Parisien breakfast, you have the option of ordering from the “New Yorker” side of the menu, which features a few different egg dishes, oatmeal and muesli.

 

Dejeuner
Bar Breton chef Cyril Renaud hails from Brittany, birthplace of the galette, a savory crêpe made with a buckwheat batter. At Bar Breton you’ll find four different lunchtime galettes, as well as salads, sandwiches and entrees that tend toward upscale bistro cuisine. And for dessert, a sweet galette or crêpe is the obvious way to go but Bar Breton also offers other options. If you’ve never had a real galette, Bar Breton is worth a visit, but be prepared to pay more than you would for a traditional crêpe from almost anywhere, including the Euro Zone!.

 

Dinner
You can eat dinner well into the evening at Gramercy bistro L’Express. Open 24 hours a day, the menu features Lyonnais specialties like pig’s feet, blood sausage and tripe alongside more traditional dishes in line with the brasserie atmosphere. What’s more, the restaurant’s full bar offers a number of cocktails and a beer list that includes several French and Belgian varieties. Order a round and spend the evening imagining you are in Paris, only to exit L’Express in the early hours of the morning and remember that you are, in fact, still in Gramercy.

 

By Monica Burton