Sam Sifton on Lyon, which opened in the old Café de Bruxelles space on Greenwich Avenue, under the auspices of an owner of the late, lamented La Goulue.

The restaurant is warm and welcoming, already more a neighborhood draw than a publicist’s undertaking, with celebrity sightings limited to Michael Moore and a war reporter or two. You might see young professionals crushed into a corner, catching up (“You’re moving to Elkhart? Where is that, Illinois? Indiana?”) or literary people polishing their eyeglasses in pairs as they talk about art. No fewer than three tables one recent night were populated by women eating salad and talking about the economy, everyone slugging down wine.

Add the scent of Gauloises, a dog or two under the tables, and we might be down the street from the Hôtel de Ville, and not from poor, dark St. Vincent’s, waiting for its fate. Lyon is that close to soaring.

[snip]

Restaurants are central to the process by which nature becomes a form of culture. At their best they are where we go to experience, and celebrate, the transformation.

As Mr Sifton says, Lyon isn’t there yet, but we’ hope that management is listening.

Drop me a line at rjk@dailyblague.com
This entry was posted on Wednesday, January 19th, 2011 at 6:00 pm.