PAPER magazine / Clandestino

This is a review that I wrote for PAPER magazine back in April 2006. Clandestino is a French wine bar on the Lower East Side of Manhattan.

Clandestino
Fresh-faced Parisian Laure Travers says her intention with the two-month old Clandestino was not to open a French joint but a neighborhood hangout. Despite her intentions, she's succeeded at both, and we're all the luckier for it. The minimalist shabby-chic bar is nestled among other Euro-New York institutions like Les Enfants Terribles and the Swedish Good World Bar & Grill. Clandestino has a downtempo vibe -- a combination of the best of downtown New York (exposed brick and full bar) and Paris (muted nicotine-colored walls, brass handrails and a short but varied French wine list). If you're feeling peckish, you can snack on a deliciously simple combination of poilâne -- a rustic whole-wheat bread that Travers has FedExed in from Paris -- and French cheeses and pâté. Wash it down with a good selection of draft beers, imported or otherwise: Hoegaarden, Guinness, Bass, Pilsner Urquell, Red Hook, Sixpoint Sweet Action Ale ($5-$6) or a cocktail ($6-$11). Travers has lived in the area for 10 years and is pleased that Clandestino draws a local crowd as well as new faces. It's evident from the decor and the menus that she's passionate about what she does. "It's kind of like organizing a little party every day," she says.