I was eager to check out Epicerie & Cafe Charbon, esp. having checked out the Cafe Charbon in Paris. At dinner on a Saturday night, I was enthused by the bustling, unpretentious crowd and the lusciously warm lighting. The menus were scrawled on blackboards a la Parisien and the food was quite decent (the duck was a little dry). Perhaps the best part of it was feeling like you were in two places at once - in a cafe-restaurant in Paris but looking out the window onto the corner of Orchard and Stanton!
Pros: warm lighting, lively ambience, didn't feel too NY
Cons: service a bit scant
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