Little Prince just opened in one of my old favorite restaurant spaces (Principessa) at Prince and Sullivan. Step up onto the mini porch where glass windows encloses the restaurant, and once you enter inside you can see the entire dining room with one straight-on glance. It’s quaint, not too small, but just small enough to make it intimate and personal. Chef Paul Denamiel, the chef from French restaurant Le Rivage up in Hell’s Kitchen, is the man to bow down to here. Chef really knows how to prepare his meat. You must order the steak tartare. I will admit, steak tartare has never been a favorite of mine, but this dish along with his secret spicy sauce and fried egg (duh) is bangin’. Ironically, all of my favorite dishes here are “off the menu.” The French Onion Soup Burger is the best burger since the birth of Minetta Tavern. Hey, I like my caramelized onions. It’s served rare and prepared with an onion soup bake, topped with gruyere cheese, Bechamel sauce and a dijon layer on the bottom of a toasted English Muffin. The muffin holds all the ingredients and flavors together really well, and it is served with a cute paper French flag mounted on a tooth pick poking out the top. The next off the menu phenomenon is the Egg McMuffin with Foie Gras. Again love the English muffin combo. The Dorade is light and served with tomato concassee and crispy artichoke. The fish was great, it just didn’t compare to the meats. Skip the sides, although they do come in cute little orange ceramic buckets. The mashed potatoes are as creamy as pudding and as buttery as can be. For dessert, Little Prince takes dough from the infamous chocolate man Jacques Torres to create his own chocolate chip cookie which is very flat and doughy. It’s placed innocently atop a glass of rum milk. At this point, you deserve this.
Little Prince is not the typical French restaurant I dread going to where half the table can barely read the menu. You might not even realize it’s French while you are there. Either way, I loved it and have been thinking about that steak tartare and burger ever since. Men will love this place, and it’s a good date spot, too. Bravo. Little Prince has got it in the bag.
p.s. If you’re lucky, maybe chef will let you sign the ceramic cow at the bar…
