Cercle Rouge is a French Bistro that I recently discovered in Tribeca. With an elegant decor (I love the red round (cercle means circle) couch at the entrance, it features classic bistro dishes such as the escargots, mussels or canard a l'orange. On top of that, they offer few selections from their raw bar and...a burger, as well as wings.

In January, they have live music and it seems that they will continue providing entertainment in the coming months.

I was really excited to try two dishes that I identified before making the reservation. The first one was the escargots. 

This was the classic version, with garlic, parsley and butter and I could not stop dipping some pieces of baguette in this delicious sauce.

The second dish was the veal kidney. I know, some of you probably consider kidney to be a creepy meat, but I love it and was glad they had it on the menu. Usually, I see veal kidney served with potatoes or risotto, but never with penne in a mushroom sauce. In fact, the menu does not call it a sauce but a gratin. Well, I am not sure why they called it a gratin and I do not really care, considering that it was an amazing dish, although the kidney was a bit tough. They would have served the penne with the porcini mushrooms alone, I would have also enjoyed it very much. Maybe they can propose it as a dish!

Jodi simply ordered the salade de thon frais grillé, that is seared tuna, frisée, beet and lentils salad. Simple, but good, with a perfectly seared tuna (Jodi asked for a rare temperature).

We finished the meal with a succulent chocolate mousse, served with whipped cream (I doubt it was homemade) and a crepe waffle that was deliciously buttery. And as we shared the dessert, they nicely gave us two waffles...

I really liked our dinner at Cercle Rouge. I would definitely go back there, maybe for brunch as I'd like to try their oeuf meurette or merguez sandwich.

Enjoy (I did)!

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