Funny that we chose Boucherie on Park Avenue and 18th as that was the first place we met when the restaurants opened in NYC and my friend felt safe enough to venture out.

We veered from our usual burger and fries to more traditional French foods. Their tender octopus came garnished with crispy Bayonne ham on a bed of flavorful white beans in a Basque piperade sauce. With that, we sipped their Cabernet Franc, Domaine P. Buisse, Chinon Loire  Cabernet Franc 2017 ($15/$60)

Having ham with our octopus, I didn’t miss it in their mushroom Croque version, topped with grated gruyere then baked. The Champignon Croques —  neither Madame (topped with a fried egg) or Monsieur Croque (dipped in egg) — was so decadent, half was more than enough for me.

My dining partner chose the classic tarte tartin for dessert.  This one was done in a muffin cup, not the classic way, and resembled one along with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on a plate drizzled with caramel. The latter had that tell-tale refrigerator taste from being prepared too far ahead.

Service at Boucherie is always attentive! I suggest a visit.

Boucherie
Gramercy-Flatiron
225 Park Avenue South (at 18th)
New York, NY
212.353.0200
Boucherie.com