Régate

When we came upon the new Lower East Side bistro Régate on a recent Sunday night, it seemed almost too good to be true: The doors were thrown wide open, a warm breeze played about the tables, and the waft of fresh, simmering fish scented the air. Add the sea-green walls and Gallic-accented chatter, and you’re swiftly transported to a harborside table on the Ile de Ré—a jewel of an island off the western coast of France. Chef Marc Behan visits there every year with his wife, Caroline, and the isle was the inspiration for their petite eatery. Behan worked for many years in classic Paris restaurants, but he eschews buttery sauces and focuses on the simple preparation of seafood instead. Bourride Rétaise a la lotte (Ré-style stew with monkfish) is a bouillabaisse-like dish with roasted lumps of monkfish poached in white wine and fish stock, and enriched with leeks, shrimp and mussels. Red-skinned potatoes—not gratin or frites—finished the tasty, rustic dish. The mouclade de la Courarde, another succesful Ré import, steeps plump, steamed mussels in a bold saffron-infused broth, faintly accented with shallots and thyme. Behan’s ebullient brother, Jocelyn, oversees service and recommended an excellent cognac-infused wine, Pineau des Charentes (you guessed it: a speciality of Ré), to accompany the flawless poire Belle-Hélène (pears poached in vanilla and bathed in bittersweet chocolate) and luscious moelleux au chocolat (molten chocolate cake). But the most delicious thing about this sweet eatery is the prices. Wines start at $5 per glass, and our mussels were a measly $15. The value  of an evening of delectable, affordable French eats in downtown Manhattan? Priceless.—TONY