Restaurant Florent (Since 1985) is a New York institution serving solid French bistro fare at non-exclusive prices in a low-key, congenial, Downtown atmosphere. What keeps that atmosphere ignited is an eclectic clientele and, even more critically, the vision of owner (and longtime CustOMER) Florent Morellet.
When he originally opened in this decidedly unfashionable spot, it was to give New Yorkers a reliable, round-the-clock eating establishment away from the hype and glitz of the "scene." The clientele, in its early days, was restricted to those who knew it existed (and could find it), which was not knowledge easily obtained, since florent barely advertised and was on a street deep within the meat packing district ~ when that was still mostly just a meat packing district.
Here are some of Florent's own words, from Tibor Kalman: Perverse Optimist, Edited by Peter Hall & Michael Bierut, Princeton Architectural Press, 1998:
"It was 1985. Reagan and Bush were in power. The yuppie scene was exploding. There were million dollar restaurants, and the "design of the year" was passé six months later. I was appalled by it all. I decided to open a restaurant that if possible didn't need any design; a place that was already in existence, and looked as though it had been, and would be, there forever. Not on a main street. The more difficult it is to find, the more a certain clientele will be tempted to go, and in another way it stops the wrong people from coming. So, it's a way of having an invisible velvet rope with bouncers, and choosing your customers. The diner that I found fulfilled all my dreams. It was unpretentious and out of the way, in an eccentric neighbourhood -- New York's meat district. The American diner was a perfect setting, because it made people feel very comfortable, in the same way that a bistro makes people feel very comfortable in Paris. The only thing I did to the place was put a banquette with a mirror along the wall, which is very French, so people facing the wall could see the rest of the room and not feel like they were in purgatory. I kept the counter, the Formica tables, the stools, the flourescent lights, and that was pretty much it. The most important ingredient of a successful restaurant is that the food is good, and worth the price. The second most important thing is that the place has a feeling of being a home, an environment where you feel comfortable as soon as you set foot in the door. Here it's the decor and the politics. People know that Florent is a bastion of liberal ideas. It's a place where you know you're not going to be judged, whatever race you are or sexual preferences you have. It's a place where you go to take a bus to demonstrate in Washington. It's the physical and the abstract place, the ideas behind it, the mirth and the glow. Some restaurants have it, and some don't."
Restaurant Florent: 69 Gansevoort Street New York NY 10014. Telephone: +1 (212) 989 5779. Cash only.
PS: Tell them REMO sent you; and try the Moules Frites!
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