A cozy new spot in downtown Rosendale gives French classics the global treatment, with a side of cheeky fun.
At first glance, Bistrot le Chat Barbu appears to be your typical swanky brasserie, but pull back the curtain and you’ll quickly discover it’s so much more. And that has everything to do with the ethos—and playful nature—of chef and owner Devin Delgado.
Unlike at a traditional bistro-style restaurant, Bistrot le Chat Barbu uses French interpretations to get creative. In the kitchen, Delgado weaves Provençal and Mediterranean methods with worldly innovation, experimentation, and techniques. This translates to using soy sauce to get that umami punch, rather than the more expected sel gris (French gray sea salt).
“We cook with technique and stylistic elements informed by France—as well as the whole world,” explains Delgado, who draws on the ingredients and flavors of French colonies, from Vietnam and Egypt to Senegal and Louisiana.
Sample sandwiches from around the world at lunchtime, like jambon beurre (France), croque monsieur (French and Japanese, thanks to a milk bread base), bánh mì (Vietnam), and merguez sausage with goat cheese and spicy tomato matbucha on a baguette (North Africa). The menu also features a variety of charcuterie, fromage, bread service (à la Kingston Bread & Bar), pomme frites, and French onion soup, made with a heaping of Gruyère.
The dinner menu changes a bit each week but expect to-die-for moules or steak frites (served with the crispiest shoestring fries), a rich beef bourguignon, and an old-meets-new take on duck confit, prepared with pommes boulangère and a sweet-and-sour rhubarb and pink pepper preserve. Specials like bouillabaisse, pan-seared scallops, chou farci, and chipolata sausages with gastrique often crop up.
As for how Bistrot le Chat Barbu got its name, Delgado riffed on the French word for male cat (le chat), noting how pet cats were a big part of his childhood, along with cooking shows by Jacques Pépin, Martin Yan, and Julia Child. “I’m a sucker for a pun,” says Delgado. And then there’s Monsieur Barbu, the bistro’s eponymous mascot. Or shall we say mascat?
434 Main St, Rosendale
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