To celebrate our wedding anniversary (7 years and no itch!), Jim and I traveled to the upper west side to Bar Boulud. I loved the sound of the menu and I happened to have a gift for a complimentary charcuterie plate that was about to expire. Hey you gotta do what you can in this crappy economy. Our charcuterie for two consisted of glistening, fatty slices of headcheese, chicken liver pate and beef cheek pate, along with a generous pile of ham. Oh my. The headcheese was incredible – just the right ratio of meat to gelatin. The bread (made in-house) was perfect and rustic. We were offered some pretty spectacular butter, which I’m guessing they have shipped directly from France, and our preserved meats came with two glasses of the pretty awful Petite Chapeau (a Daniel Johnnes private label Rhone wine). I couldn’t drink it.

Once the freeloading was over we ordered more: a venison pate (not bad) and the escargots (excellent). The wine list was okay, a mix of large conventional labels (Olivier Leflaive, Beaucastel etc.) and small producers (Puffeney, Francois Chidaine and Puzelat). Unfortunately, there aren’t many delicious bargains to be had by the glass. After enjoying the only reasonably priced wines that were to our taste – a Tissot Cremant (lovely) and a Quincy (can’t recall producer but it was perfectly good) – we had no choice but to trade up with a Huet Vouvray Sec 2006 (too young but still excellent) and a Prince Florent de Merode Ladoix Les Chaillots 2006 (quite a treat). Both were 19 bucks a glass.

The atmosphere wasn’t my cup of tea at all. In fact, it was most off-putting. It felt corporate, suburban and touristy. Mid-town is always a hard one. I’d love to take that country French fare and move it downtown, then get some more affordable and interesting wines by the glass and get rid of the mediocre brands. Would I recommend Bar Boulud? No. But if you happen to be in the hood and you’re feeling peckish, a seat and quick nibble at the bar is fine but once you’re done with the headcheese take the party elsewhere.