THIS RESTAURANT IS CLOSED Millesime Awards

THIS RESTAURANT IS CLOSED Millesime Restaurant Review:

Millesime is as much a Parisian brasserie as it gets on the banks of the Hudson River. The first floor of The Carlton Hotel is not an ideal brasserie location, but on busy nights the place is brimming with joie de vivre in the real brasserie spirit: diners happy to rub elbows on the “moleskin” (imitation leather) banquettes with backs topped by well-polished copper bars under tulip-shaped sconces watching the merry-go-round of speedy waiters clad in their white aprons. You can’t ask for a more appropriate setting to enjoy traditional brasserie fare. The food matches the décor, and it’s no imitation. The seafood platter de rigueur in such a compound comes in three different sizes, and requests the company of a white Loire Valley Cuvée Silex, or perhaps a flowery Viognier from Anne Pichon. There’s a large selection of oysters: Peter Point, Misty Point, Beau Soleil, Blue Pool, Shibumi, all meaty and iodized, a treat for shellfish lovers who can have them with Chipolata sausages à la Bordeaux style. Don’t skip the biblical “harengs pommes à l’huile” (smoked marinated herring salad with fingerling potatoes), the marinated mackerel, nor the mussels that are prepared five different ways: from classic in a broth of white wine, parsley and shallots; to Creole in a bouillon of curry, apples, lime and coconut; and Marseillaise with Pernod, fennel and saffron. For carnivores, chef Laurent Manrique (San Francisco’s Aqua and Fifth Floor) proposes a peppered sirloin or a robust cassoulet (duck confit, with pork sausages and white beans). His very fresh fish comes in tartares (tuna, hamachi, salmon) or à la plancha or grilled (salmon, cod, bass, snapper, tuna) with a variety of veggies (broccoli, spinach, cauliflower), french fries and a choice of six sauces like lemon mousseline, gingered beurre blanc or a lighter saffron cilantro vinaigrette. From the wines by the glass, choose a pleasant Rully or Pinot Noir Pierre Brunet from Burgundy to wash down this congenial, simple and healthy food that hopefully provides a good dose of Omega 3. There are artisanal cheeses if you want to skip the classic desserts such as macaroons and ice cream, apple crumble and chocolate mousse. The service is what you expect in such a high energy place: young, twirling but professional under the cheerful supervision of maître d’ Sammy Kebbab, who, though not born in the shadow of the Eiffel Tower, exudes the liveliness of a real Parisian as they are featured in Offenbach operettas.