Jarnac

Note: Jarnac closed in June 2009 due to a rent dispute. Its owners now operate Bistro de la Gare. The Jarnac space became Recette.

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A friend and I went to Jarnac a couple of weeks ago, on a Saturday night. This is a casual French bistro in Greenwich Village, not far from the Meatpacking District.

We both started with the Duck Rillettes ($10.25), which came in thin wrapped pastry dough and packed plenty of flavor punch. We then tried the Cassoulet-Braised Pork Cheeks ($24), with duck confit, pork sausage, great northern beans, tomato & garlic. It’s a heavy meal, which neither of us was able to finish. The dish comes painfully hot, to a point that some of the flavor potential is cooked out of the ingredients. Your server provides an extra plate, along with the advice to spoon the cassoulet in stages onto the plate for cooling. It’s a bit too much of a production, with the danger of a scorching burn if one miscalculates.

Our table was comfortable, service was friendly, and we were pleased to find a reasonably priced wine list. In nice weather, be sure to get one of the window seats (which we had).

Jarnac (328 W. 12th Street at Greenwich Street, West Village)

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