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Sage Bistro - French Restaurant,
Bellmore NY
French Newcomer Inspired by a Kindred Spirit
October 21, 2006, by Joan Reminick, New York Times
 SAGE BISTRO in Bellmore is modeled on what its owners
know best: Bistro Cassis in Huntington, where they both used to work.
Peter Oktas, the manager of Sage Bistro, and Julio Velasquez, the
chef, were co-workers at Bistro Cassis. Mr. Velasquez had been the
opening chef at the Huntington spot and was there till June of this
year. (Sage opened in July.) Mr. Oktas started as a waiter at Bistro
Cassis in 2003 and went on to manage two other restaurants with the
same ownership: Bistro Citron in Roslyn and Max’s Steakhouse in Huntington.
The Bellmore newcomer is smaller and more modest than Bistro Cassis,
but it has the same look. Large framed mirrors have dishes and prices
written on them, bistro style; walls are painted a pale sage green
above burgundy wainscoting. The rest of the décor includes a few small
landscapes, a row of lantern light fixtures, bare wood floors and
Art Nouveau chandeliers.
Service was not flawless but was smoother than at many more formal
spots with higher prices.
Leading the bargains on the Sage menu was a big copper pot of delectable
mussels in a flavor-packed tomato-basil-garlic broth. Priced at $7,
they could serve as either an entree or a hefty starter. The broth
was so good we ate every drop, mopping it with French bread.
The French onion soup ($5) ranks as one of the best around, and it
is not overwhelmed by its melted cheese topping.
My favorite appetizer was the frisée salad with lardons ($6). This
big bowl of fluffy greens, holding substantial nubbins of bacon, was
topped with a poached egg; diners are instructed to break the egg
and mix it to coat the greens.
Other winning salads were the classic Caesar served in a crunchy cheese
basket called a frico and the house salad with feta, artichoke hearts,
pine nuts and good local tomatoes in a balsamic vinaigrette. One night
a special salad also hit the spot: mesclun with julienned peppers
and onions in a honey-mustard vinaigrette and encircled with four
grilled shrimp.
Escargots are a must for Francophiles. A sextet of tender morsels
was bathed in a tasty garlic-herb butter and crowned with quarter-size
crispy croutons.
A standout on the entree roster was the fork-tender braised lamb shank
touched with Marsala and served atop a creamy, vegetable-dotted risotto.
Three slightly fatty but succulent grilled lamb chops were another
good pick. Winning, too, was a special of a juicy pork chop stuffed
with sautéed onions, apples and raisins and paired with an unusual
apple-parsnip purée.
Roast chicken for two was a platter holding a quartered chicken, oven
roasted potatoes, green beans and a gravy boat of pan juices; it earned
praise for its dark meat, but the white meat was a tad dry.
Two bistro classics that made a fine showing were the steak frites,
a respectable strip steak with good, crisp fries, and the burger,
a juicy giant cooked precisely to order and served with fries and
a clump of salad.
Desserts were all housemade and garnished with assorted fresh berries.
The dark chocolate mousse was my favorite, but others were given top
honors by my tablemates: a creamy cheesecake dripping with caramel
sauce, an individual molten-center chocolate cake, an excellent crème
brûlée and profiteroles, cream puffs filled with ice cream and napped
in hot fudge sauce. The warm apple tart also impressed us with its
puff pastry, caramel sauce and artistically arranged apple slices.
Even more impressive was Sage Bistro itself, an inexpensive little
gem.
Sage Bistro
2620 Merrick Road
Bellmore
(516) 679-8928
www.bistrosage.com
VERY GOOD
THE SPACE Long, narrow storefront with tight quarters. Not wheelchair
accessible.
THE CROWD Casual, with lots of fans from the neighborhood.
THE BAR At the time of my visits, there was only a small service bar
serving wine by the glass ($6) and beer ($5), but no wine by the bottle.
There are plans for a full bar, wine list and martini list to be in
place by the end of the month.
THE BILL Lunch entrees, $7 to $19. Dinner entrees, $7 to $22.
WHAT WE LIKE Sage Bistro salad, frisée salad, Caesar salad, French
onion soup, green salad with grilled shrimp, escargots, mussels Provençal,
hamburger, steak frites, stuffed pork chop, lamb shank, lamb chops,
all desserts.
IF YOU GO Lunch, noon to 3 p.m., Monday to Saturday. Dinner, 5 to
10 p.m., Monday to Thursday, to 11 Friday and Saturday, and 4 to 9
p.m. Sunday. Reservations taken only for parties of five or more.
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French Classics in a Bellmore Bistro
Sept. 20, 2006 by Joan Reminick
 The
food is French, one owner comes from Turkey, and the other was born
in El Salvador -- could Bistro Sage be more Long Island?
Spare yet tasteful in appearance, the cozy Bellmore restaurant often
reverberates with loud conversation. Acoustics aside, however, this
can be a pleasant spot to lunch or dine. Co-owner Onur Peter Oktas
greets guests with cordiality and warmth while chef-co-owner Julio
Velasquez knows what to do with a pot of mussels and a head of garlic.
I tasted plenty of garlic in the triangular wedge of green-flecked
herb butter that arrives alongside a pat of sweet butter, to be spread
on crusty slices of baguette. There may be no better way to begin
a meal here than with the salade frisée aux lardons -- frilled
chicory tossed with salty cubes of crisp bacon in a balanced vinaigrette,
a poached egg atop all. When broken, the yolk runs over everything,
to delicious effect. Mussels Provençale, served in a copper
pot, were plump and fresh, bathed in a sauce of fresh tomato, garlic
and basil... French onion soup was a rich, if salty, classic, crowned
with a lush melt of Gruyère atop a toasted slice of French
bread. Escargots, too were good; they came in the traditional indented
dish, topped with the same garlic-herb butter that accompanied the
bread. And I liked the steak tartare, the ground raw beef liberally
studded with capers and plated with toasted baguette slices and a
frisée salad.
A simple old-fashioned bistro classic was a roasted chicken for two,
served with roasted potatoes and bright buttery green beans. I liked,
as well, the moist hazelnut-crusted salmon with horseradish, accompanied
by a soothing puree of apple and celery root... A much better choice,
I thought, was the ultra-tender lamb shank served with a lush vegetable
risotto...
The best afternoon choices, I thought, were a bright salade Niçoise
and a pan bagnat (accurately described as a sandwich version of the
Niçoise salad), a sourdough roll stuffed with tuna, field greens,
olives, hard-cooked eggs, string beans, peppers and onions in a light
vinaigrette.
For dessert, a dense bittersweet chocolate mousse was dark and seductive...
A neatly turned-out apple tart on puff pastry was drizzled with with
caramel sauce and well paired with hazelnut ice cream.
Bistro Sage may not be a highly polished operation as yet, but this
friendly little place does offer its own enticements: satisfying fare,
presented with a New York-style soupçon of Gallic charm. |
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