CLAUDETTE

On a recent Tuesday afternoon, NYU students took a two-block field trip to Claudette, a Provençal restaurant in Greenwich Village named after the Tunisian grandmother of Chef Ari Bokovza.

The aspiring restaurateurs were greeted at the door by General Manager Daniel Love. As Love led students inside, the golden glitz of Fifth Avenue gave way to wood flooring, wicker chairs and shelves lined with a colorful array of books. 

“Our cuisine is French with a Moroccan, Mediterranean feel and twist,” said Love, a member of the restaurant group Casa Nela that runs four Greenwich Village eateries.

Before sampling the food, students took a peek inside one of Claudette’s five walk-in refrigerators, huddled inside a cellar with over 300 red wines and watched as prep cooks diced vegetables and marinated bass. 

Then it was time to eat. A rustic flight of stairs led down to Claudette’s trademark private dining space: The Flamingo Room. 

Illustrations of the pink bird — whose name comes from the Old Provençal word “flamenc” meaning flame — were emblazoned on the walls. There was also a standing bar and a long dining table set for a feast. On a Friday night, the room costs groups a minimum of $4,000 — that’s before tax and tip. 

“You could [reserve] it for five people, you could [reserve] it for 40 people. No matter what it’s $4000,” said Lisa DiFiore, Director of Events at Casa Nela. 

On that Tuesday afternoon, however, the Flamingo Room was where NYU’ers got to taste a series of Chef Bokovza’s finest hors d'oeuvres.  

“When you think of French food you think of cream, you think of butter, [you think of] cheeses…we definitely love that stuff, but we deal more with light fare,” said Chef Bokovza from the head of the table.

First up was the Roasted Beet Salad, large beet cubes doused in horseradish and served over a bed of autumn greens. The beets were tender, the horseradish was tangy, and the greens were crisp. 

Next was a rendition on Falafel, a deep-fried mixture of chickpeas and herbs. In lieu of its ordinary chickpea base, Bokovza used sweet potatoes to evoke a flavor profile more reminiscent of North Africa. 

To finish was perhaps the hardiest starter of them all: seared and spiced Lamb Kefta served on skewers atop yogurt infused with Shabazi N.38 — a Yemeni inspired hot sauce made up of green chilis, cilantro and lemon juice prepared by Franco-Manhattan spicery La Boite. 

Once described by New York Times Restaurant Critic Pete Wells as a “Souvenir From France,” Claudette is really more like a memento from grandma’s kitchen: it’s homey, nostalgic and the food is to die for.