This was the first 'nice' restaurant I ever came to in New York," said one of my dinner companions, looking around. "Yeah, my family celebrated every birthday here when I was a kid," said the other, "until it kind of slid downhill, and we stopped coming." So many New Yorkers have so many fond memories of Provence the new owners, Vicki Freeman and Marc Meyer (Five Points and Cookshop), were presented with a problem: Could they update this SoHo bistro and bring back the magic? When my friends were unsure which elements of the two rooms that are open (a third is still being renovated) were new, it seemed like a good sign. And the food? Well, chef Lynn McNeeley (late of Barbuto) may not be hitting on all cylinders, but there's a lot of pleasure to be had in this menu, a kind of "greatest hits" of vaguely Provencal dishes. The crisp-skinned merguez sausage has just the right balance of spice and lambiness; the gratin of mushrooms and goat cheese is earthy and gooey enough to qualify as guilty pleasure; the roast suckling pig, a dish that often disappoints in other restaurants, is richly, deeply flavorful; and the white beans are a compelling argument in favor of ordering sides. More adventurous dishes (nettle-filled ravioli with snails) aren't there yet. Maybe they never will be. I'm not sure it matters. Provence is the steak frites of restaurants, meant to provide comfort, not flash. So go now—you'll feel like you're already an old friend.
Provence
38 MacDougal Street (corner of Prince)
212-475-7500
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