Beverly Stephen, the former executive editor of Food Arts magazine, is a journalist and consultant specializing in food, travel and lifestyle. A lifelong Francophile, Bev lives in New York but jets off to France every chance she gets. She was thrilled when this new French food hall opened recently, not far from her lower-Manhattan home...so I asked her to tell us all about it.
Can�t make it to France his year? Pas de probleme! Francophiles on the East Coast have a great new way to get their fix at a sprawling French market in lower
Manhattan called Le District.
The just-opened 30,000-square-foot Gallic
fantasy, located in Brookfield Place (the former World Financial Center, recently redone at a cost of $250 million), is divided into four "districts": restaurant, caf�, market and garden. Within these districts, all culinary needs for
eat-in or take-out can be met, from poisson
to patisserie and fleurs to fromage. Tourists seeking a respite from
the somber 9/11 Memorial Museum nearby can happily sip a ros� from Provence, take a
bite of ratatouille, and feel transported to the South of France...never mind
that the sweeping views are New York Harbor and not the Mediterranean. Workers from nearby Goldman Sachs and Cond� Nast are likely to eat-in
at one of the restaurants, at one of the counter seats scattered throughout, or
on the 7,000-square-foot plaza looking out to the Statue of Liberty. Everyone can buy plenty of ingredients to make dinner back at home...along with a chic bouquet for the table from fleuriste Yasmine Karrenberg.
Dessert
comes first at Le District.
Commanding attention at the entrance is the riotously colorful
French candy store La Cure Gourmande which
offers an astonishing array of nougats, caramels, biscuits and even olives au
chocolat (chocolate-covered almonds in disguise), all available in gift-worthy
tins. This is the first U.S. outpost of the store that originated in the Languedoc-Roussillon and now has 45 locations around the world.
Across the aisle is a cr�perie, a waffle
station and a patisserie displaying jewel-like French pastries. And of course
a coffee bar.
Other temptations follow�freshly baked breads,
cheese, charcuterie, salads and sandwiches (I chose a delectable roasted lamb
sandwich with ras al hanout and hummus white sauce), brasserie-style meals,
wine and beer. Packaged foods to take home include Provencal
olive oils, Les Comtes de Provence jams,
argan oil, mustards, spices, salts and sausages. If you prefer to avoid temptation, graze
before 4 p.m., when the salad bar transforms itself into a chocolate mousse bar
offering eight different varieties of white and dark with toppings such as orange
confit and speculoos cookies.
Le District is the brainchild of restaurant
impresario Peter Poulakakos of the HPH Group, a restaurant and development company, and his
business partner Paul Lamas; together they pretty much have downtown Manhattan cornered with
Harry�s Caf� and Steak, The Dead Rabbit, The Growler and Financier Patisserie
among others. They took their inspiration from Parisian markets such as La Grande
Epicerie and from other countries touched by French culture such
as Morocco and Vietnam. Chef Jordi Valles, an El Bulli alum, was recruited to
be culinary director of the whole project. Under him is an army of chefs and
cheese mongers, butchers, bakers and sausage makers.
Poulakakos himself was standing in the
aisle munching on a cr�pe when I stopped him to ask about his vision. �I�ve
always been thrilled with French cuisine,� he said. �It�s the backbone of
precision.� As for the customers. �I
want to be there for everyone. People who live and work here love it.� Of course, he�s not oblivious to the fact
that 12.4 million visitors were counted in downtown Manhattan in 2014 with more expected this year.
Little more than a decade has passed since
the area suffered the devastating 9/ll attacks. And then there were the angry
flood waters of Hurricane Sandy. Now FiDi (the Financial District), arguably the
hottest real estate in the overheated Manhattan market, has literally risen
from the ashes.
Comparisons to Eataly--the insanely popular Italian food hall on Fifth Avenue, with 26 other outposts worldwide--seem inescapable. Le District has already been dubbed the French Eataly. But
who�s complaining? Eataly has become one
of the top tourist attractions in New York City behind the Statue of Liberty
and the Empire State Building. Last year, seven million shoppers crowded its
aisles while the cash registers rang up $85 million in sales. Should Le
District be far behind? Mais non!
Le District at Brookfield Place
225 Liberty Street
New York, NY 10281
+1 212 981 8588
ledistrict.com
info@ledistrict.com
Photos: (1) The Fromagerie at Le District features nearly 200 varieties of cheese, from France, Switzerland, Belgium, Quebec and American
producers. (2) The Pavilion is the "front door" of Brookfield Place. The dramatic entry hall was created by Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects. (3) The layout. (4) Sweets from the patisserie section. (5) The
dining room at Beaubourg, Le District�s flagship
restaurant. (6) At the Boulangerie, at least 12 types of bread are baked fresh daily on
site. (7) Catch
of the day at La Poissonnerie. (8) A macaron tower in the Cafe District. (9) French
mustards, jams, oils and condiments in the Market District. (9) Brookfield Place, formerly the World Financial Center, is just south of Tribeca, along the Hudson River waterfront. Originally built in 1985, the complex became Brookfield Place in 2012/2013 and is a five minute walk from the 9/11 Memorial. (10) Click on map to enlarge.
Photos by Jeff
Thibodeau (1, 4) and Daniel Krieger (5, 6, 7, 9).
Beverly Stephen, who wrote this guest post, can be reached at bstephenwest@gmail.com. You can also find her on Facebook and Twitter.
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