Tree

First avenue is full of cute little restaurants. I walk around this part of the East Village regularly, peeking into them, thinking sometime I'll try a spot or two. And I finally got my chance when my sister and I popped into Tree, a little French bistro. Tree is a cute and narrow restaurant, with brick walls and wooden tables. Apparently they also have a garden in the back. My sister and I thought we would have a wait, but they squeezed us into a table at the back, right near the kitchen. That was somewhat of a bummer, as I could see into the kitchen, but we were happy to have a seat. We settled in, eating the delicious bread, and splitting a bottle of wine.



For an appetizer, I had the Roasted Beet, Chèvre & Mache salad ($8).

I thought there would be less greens in the salad, but it was very delicious. The roasted beets and the chèvre cheese balanced each other nicely.

My sister had the mussels in white wine ($10).


They were nothing exciting, but were a rather large portion for an appetizer. Additionally, since the winter months are the best time for mussels, they were quite large.

After all that food, it was a good thing we decided to share our main course - the seared breast of duck, parsnip puree, pomegranate reduction ($20).

The duck was exceptional. Soft and tender, slightly rare, with bursts of juice from the pomegranate seeds....delicious! The parsnip puree rounded out the dish with its creamy and mild flavor.

With my family there's always room for dessert. We had the creme brulee ($8).

A sweet finish to a sweet meal. It was not the most original choice, but you can't go wrong with the classics. I will definitely return to Tree!

Tree is located at 190 First Ave between 11th and 12th Streets
212-358-7171