Duck confit at Casimir

First off, this is the first French café I’ve been to in New York City where I really felt I was back in Paris: beat-up furniture, traditional menu (including an affordable wine list that only included the color of the wine and its AOC), and marginal service delivered by a French-speaking staff. Only the three top of dudes next to me in oversize Ranger jerseys bring me back to my Avenue B east village reality.

I started with a special that day: Cesear salad made with kale. The bitter, tough greens against creamy dressing worked really well. In fact, I much prefer it to romaine in the Cesear. But let’s talk about duck:



First off, the entrées come in two sizes: small and large. My server couldn’t explain to me how one divides a single duck leg in half (I actually don’t think she really understood my question), so I went for the full sized. I’ll just have to go back, in the name of science, to report on how a half of duck leg is delivered.


This is among the very good duck confit I’ve had starting with the seasoning. This one was not super-salty so the gaminess of the duck came through. And everything else hit just the right note: tender meat – check; well-rendered crispy skin – check; traditional set (in this case, garlic-roasted potatoes and frisée salad) – check. The sweet element I insist on came from balsamic-caramelized onions scattered throughout the potatoes. There was diced bacon on the frisée salad that I thought was a bit of overkill next to duck, but hey, it’s bacon.

The wines by the glass were rattled off by the server by AOC so I went with a glass of Bergerac Rouge, which I later discovered was from Chateau Laulerie (a wine carried by my employer). I was craving a Chinon or the like, so this was as close as I got. The other red wines by the glass were all from southern portions of France (Côtes du Rhône, Minervois, and a Vin de Pays which the server didn’t know the grapes nor the greater region it came from).


Overall, it’s a solid duck confit in a très Français setting (did I mention a garden out back?) at an affordable price. All that plus it’s only a five minute walk from my apartment means that you’ll be able to find me there several nights per week. Who knows. I might even try something other than the duck confit (they also had duck breast on the menu…)



Casimir
103 Avenue B (between 6th and 7th Streets)