Inside a 100-year-old brownstone, the city’s youth congregate around a long mahogany table, raising their Chardonnay-filled glasses with glee. The chandeliers twinkle as the red velvet curtains slowly sway with the cool evening breeze. Faded photographs are scattered throughout the white walls. The fireplace isn’t lit, but no one seems to care. The delicately distressed antique mirror reflects a lush garden scenery. For those resembling starving artists, suckling pig fricassee, the chestnut soup made with cognac, is graciously served by candlelight.
Bobo isn’t the hideaway of Parisian bohemians from the Latin Quarter as we may imagine. The two-story townhouse is actually a West Village French eatery opened by restaurateur Carlos Suarez, who envisioned a modern take on the European dinner parties that one would find in Henry Murger’s opera classic. However, is it the poor poet‘s refuge from the cruel city that rejects their secondhand wardrobe, long hair and midnight partying ways? “Bobo,” a term from New York Times journalist David Brooks’ bestseller Bobos in Paradise: The New Upper Class And How They Got There, stands for “bourgeois bohemian,” a growing breed of upper class that aren’t afraid to spend, which is exactly what you will be doing at Bobo. The chicken grand-mere, cooked with red wine, mushrooms, bacon and mashed, buttery potatoes is a staggering $18, whereas the cheese basket, which also serves honey, marmalade and walnut raisin bread is $16. Desserts, such as the mousse au chocolat and strawberries with cream, selling at $7 each, may leave some change in your pocket. On the other hand, be very careful when selecting a bottle for your entourage because champagne alone runs in the triple digits.
The poets and artists from La Vie de Bohème were free-spirited nomads whom spent their evenings dining and romancing young grisettes in hopes of being discovered, respected and even loved for their creative talents. Yet, even these starving artists would be outraged in selling their paintbrushes and journals just for an appetizer at Bobo. Suarez may insist on old school class, but emptying your wallet for merely food and antique décor at Bobo may just be a major boo-boo.
By Stephanie Nolasco
