Citroën, Brooklyn

This summer, I had the opportunity to live in Brooklyn for a month.  I enjoyed many elements of the experience; the weather was certainly a high point for me, but so was the food.  New York has no shortage of restaurants to pick from, all cuisines, all styles, all price points, obviously, but I also enjoyed checking out local places near where I was staying in Greenpoint too.  Which lead me to Citroën.

"We are a neighborhood French Bistro created and run by Hospitality Veterans. We are driven by fresh, seasonal market ingredients and a passion for Hospitality."

Citroën isn't a big flashy place helmed by a famous chef, but it is clearly a local darling, and I see why.  I really enjoyed both my food and drinks, and would return again in a heartbeat.

Setting

Citroën is located on a fairly lively section of Manhattan Ave in Brooklyn.  They have both indoor and abundant outdoor seating.  I didn't actually dine in, but I did walk by to check it out later.  It looked adorable. 

Outdoor Seating.

Unlike most simple parklets, Citroën really went all out with their outside seating.  Elaborate wooden structures, abundant plants, real furniture.  It looks incredibly welcoming.

Private Tents!

For a more rustic setting, you can opt for a private tent.

I think I love the idea of the little tents.  Presumably nice in the evening to shut the screens and prevent mosquitoes, while still allowing air flow?  Seems potentially very annoying for servers however if they need to zip/unzip while carrying food and plates ...

Drinks

Citroën has an impressive cocktail lineup, choices with all types of spirits, some trendy like the "Disco Nap" with butterfly pea tea-infused gin, or the kinda fun sounding "Moral Standing is Lying Down" with brulee banana-infused bourbon, rum, salted maple, and tiki bitters, with spins on classics, slushy drinks, and more.  They also have interesting sounding mocktails, and a decent size wine by the glass menu.  And, best of all, all are available for takeout.

I had both wine and a cocktail, and was quite pleased wtih the quality, and packaging, of both.

Glass of Les Jamelles Malbec, $11.

First up, I tried the cheapest red wine on the menu, a malbec.

This was a nice wine.  Not too much acid nor tanin.  Generous pour for the price, well packaged in a sealed bottle, and bonus points for including a plastic cup to drink it from. ***+.

I could also opt for a 2 person serving for $10 more.

Rye, Rye My Darlin. $14.

"Our spin on an old fashioned served on draft rye, Montenegro, demerara, and orange."

I also ordered a cocktail, and was even more impressed with the takeout experience.  Again, well packaged, and they included a cup on the side, with large ice cubes, and all the garnishes, even the skull topped skewer.  Bonus points for this.

The cocktail was very good - strongly boozy, which I was looking for.  A nice old fashioned.  The $14 price was completely reasonable for a quality cocktail.  ****.

Food

Citroën is a relatively classic French restaurant, with some local and seasonal elements.  The menu is broken down into Starters & Salads, Entrees (which all come with specific sides), a la carte sides, and of course dessert.  I went only for a starter and side, although the entrees did sound good, as I had some proteins left to finish up at home. If I had been dining in, I certainly would have opted for dessert. 

Starters

The starters lineup at Citroën contains all the French classics you'd expect: french onion soup, escargot, steak tartare, foie gras, etc, along with local items like East coast oysters, and some basics like crudite, charcuterie, a cheese plate.  I zeroed in on the foie gras, as we see it rarely in California these days.  I was also drawn by the grilled octopus, having had excellent grilled octopus from The Rusty Face (also in Brooklyn) a few days prior.  Salads, baked artichokes, and risotto round out the lineup.

Foie Gras Mousse. $21.

"Blackberry Jam, Crostini."

Ah, foie gras.  In mousse form.  Swoon.

Well, this was very good.  The mousse was full of flavor, lots of liver flavor but no funk.  It was perfectly creamy, so smooth, not a grainy bit to be found.  Really, about as good of a foie gras mousse as I've 'ever had.  ****+.

The blackberry compote on top was a nice pairing.  Lightly sweet and fruity, a touch more sophisticated than more standard pairings.  Deep rich flavor that complimented the mousse well, and balanced it out beautifully.  ****+.

It came with a very generous serving of crostini (only a handful are pictured here, it was a fairly full bag).  They too were above average - nicely toasted, but not so crisp it hurt the inside of your mouth to bite into them.  Notable for me, NOT sourdough.  Sure, I'd prefer something a touch more interesting than plain crostini, but, these were executed well  ***+,

Overall, this dish delivered in every element, and went together quite well.  I added some fresh blackberries to a few bites since I had some in my fridge, and that was lovely too.  The portion was quite generous (great to share as an appetizer really), and solid value at $21.  I'd get this again in a heartbeat.

Sides

All of the entrees include 1-2 specific sides each, but you can also order from a selection a la carte.  Sides include your usual carby suspects: mashed potatoes/potato puree, fries/pomme frites, mac and cheese (with or without shrimp), and some vegetables: sauteed spinach or mushrooms, "spring vegetables", ratatouille, or their very well regarded cauliflower gratin (that normally comes with the grilled branzino entree). 

After reading so many raving reviews of the cauliflower gratin, I had to get it.

Cauliflower Gratin. $14.

When you read reviews of Citroën, nearly every person who ordered the branzino mentions how glorious the cauliflower gratin is.  They like the fish of course, but, they rave about the gratin that is served alongside.  It was hard to ignore the accolades, literally, not a single mention of it being "meh".  I was already thinking of it, when a few days after I had started researching Citroën, my office served cauliflower gratin as part of a French themed menu.  It was not particularly good.  It left me craving a good version.   And thus, I ordered from Citroën.

Well, this was very good too.  It did not necessarily look great: a big block, and looked a bit greasy from being takeout and having sorta cooled, but it was still delicious.  It was delicious lukewarm, it was delicious once I heated it back up in the toaster oven to make it crispy again on top, and it was even delicious cold as leftovers the next day.  The cauliflower was a mix of pieces sliced like potatoes would be in a gratin, and chopped bits, rather than big hunks as I had expected.  The cauliflower was layered with plenty of cream and cheese, making it delightfully rich and decadent, but the fact that it was actually cauliflower kept it from being way too heavy (although, clearly not a light dish!).  The cauliflower was well cooked, not too soggy, not too firm.  It was incredibly flavorful with the cheese, and well seasoned.  Very very good, probably the best cauliflower gratin I've ever had, not that I've had all that many.  ****+.

The portion looked a bit small at first but, it could easily be shared with two people, or, as I had it, have one portion warm with dinner, and one cold the next day sorta like potato salad, but, cauliflower.  I'd gladly get it again if craving this.