NYC Restaurants Pull Together To Support City's French Eateries

New York 1 News ^ | 4/11/03 | Elizabeth Gerst

[jimbo123]

France's refusal to support the U.S. and coalition forces in Iraq has some New York diners in a stew, and French restaurants have been feeling the heat. Now, an effort is afoot to get New Yorkers to change their minds.

NY1's Elizabeth Gerst reports.

Some of the city's top chefs and restaurateurs teamed up at Le Cirque Thursday, to encourage diners to say "Oui" to French cuisine.

The event, organized by NYC & Company, was an effort to bolster restaurants bruised by a backlash against France. Though some stopped short of calling it an official boycott, many acknowledged they have been hurt by anti-French sentiment.

“It's definitely something going on,” said Eric Ripert, a chef at Le Bernadin. “We lost a party of 20 people and the customer called us and said my customer is boycotting the French so we cannot come to your place.”

At Le Perigord, business is down about 50 percent, forcing layoffs for the first time in its history. La Grenouille, which is owned by an American, has still received some anti-French prank calls, and says bookings are slower. The owner, Charles Masson, placed a sign in the window to tame tensions.

“We've reminded our customers that although we do serve French cuisine and have been doing so for 40 years, the restaurant is an American corporation, many of our employees are American, and we pay taxes to the United States as well,” Masson said.

Industry-boosters say no matter who owns the restaurant, a boycott will backfire.

“It is absolutely against our own self-interest as a city to start singling out people because of their supposed nationality, when we know, for example, the owners of Le Cirque are Italian,” said Tim Zagat of Zagat Surveys. “Their employees are from all over the world, and they’re all New Yorkers. Do we want to hurt them?”

To spur spending, NYC & Company unveiled an ad which reminds diners to keep New York's melting pot cooking.

“Our strength is our diversity and there is room for everyone at New York's collective dinner table,” said Cristyne Nicolas, the president of NYC & Company.

But observers warn, until French-American tensions thaw, that dinner table may still have some empty chairs.

[aShepard]

"FREE bottle of NY State wine...."

Pheth! Ya get what you pay for!.

Now, a good California wine.....................

[ken5050]

All right, I was trying to make a point....andn BTW there are a few NY wines OK for cooking with...

[HamiltonJay]

The French may have already forgotten, but we have not!

Frogs can go to Hell.... Never trust a nation who will not even fight for its own Liberty. The French give Liberty lip service, while performing fellatio to the forces of tyranny.

[aristotleman]

Hurting American chefs, staff, proprietors, affiliates, suppliers, is pure stupidity.

Few, if any, "French restaurants" are owned by the french. Boycotting them is like shooting ourselves in the foot.

French food is sophisticated and diverse. Eat it if you like it.

Just don't order French wine, cheese, or any other French product.

[Atlas Sneezed]

I agree.

If these French restaurants took french wine off the list, and stuck to non-French ingredients, I'd support them entirely.

[Timesink]

Though some stopped short of calling it an official boycott

That's the great thing. There is no centralized boycott! Practically every person that is boycotting all things French came to the decision on his/her own.

[lawgirl]

WOOHOO!!!!!!!!!! capitalism at its best! America speaks with her buying power- good bye frogs!!!!!!

[Timesink]

sumptuous beige

Two words that should NEVER appear next to each other.

[jimbo123]

How many business people on expense accounts are going to take a chance on invite clients and customers to a French restaurant and risk having the conversation turn to to the war and politics instead of cordially small talk and business? French restaurants are no longer politically safe for business lunches and dinners.

[theDentist]

Maybe so. But in that event we're impacting Americans more than the French. We don't want to hurt our folks any more than ncessary. I guess it'll be up the the individual boycotter.

[Chancellor Palpatine]

This is one of the stupidest aspects of the boycott, about on the same level of pouring out French wine that is already bought. I'm no fan of France and bash them with elan, but come on - at this level, most restaurants aren't franchised and aren't corporate. They're overwhelmingly owned and staffed by Americans, merely serving up French cuisine.

[SirAllen]

But in that event we're impacting Americans more than the French

Not necessarily. Who's to say who is making the most money off these goods?

The fact is that any boycott hurts Americans somewhere, at least temporarily. There's always an American middleman selling the foreign goods, unless you are importing directly. So anything you boycott will hurt an American seller somewhere, so should we never boycott? Of course not. The great thing about free markets is that the Americans that are being hurt can easily move on to another venue, for example the same number of people in this country are still eating aren't they? So close your French restaurant and open an Italian one.

[lawgirl]

Very good point.

[oceanview]

Le Cirque is not a French restaurant, its continental.

I at at Lespinasse, it is (was) a fantastic place.

I've head Perrier and Evian sales are way down.

[oceanview]

head = heard

[Clemenza]

LOL, you'll need a sack of Valium for your first trip to Silicon Valley. Mexicans do the show at some of the Benihana's.

I went to one in Fort Lauderdale where the cook was Ecuadorian. Even here in New York, many Pizzerias are owned by Albanians or Greeks and staffed by Mexicans.

[Clemenza]

NY State produces the best Riesling outside of Germany up in the Finger Lakes. California can't make ANY drinkable whites worth sh-t. Cali should stick to Cabs, Merlots and Zinfandel. For whites, I'll stick with Portuguese Vinho Verde to wash down my Oysters.

[ladywolf]

Interesting. I feel saddened that patriotic French-Americans will be hurt by this. I agree with the logic of patronizing (as long is it isn't French corp. owned) but avoiding France's wines, etc. This has been a tough year for me personally. Never have I been so ashamed of my heritage - I despise Chirac - what a chochon! (pig). Yes, I am of French blood, but not the spineless snail-eating commies like cochon-Chirac who puts extra francs in his pockets while Saddam exterminates infants.

[Atlas Sneezed]

"One of Manhattan's premier French restaurants, Lespinasse, announced it would close next week because it couldn't turn a profit in the current economic climate."

To paraphrase a collegiate sophomoric cheer:
"More Beer! Lespinasse!"

I guess that Frenchmen have less military skill, less judgement, and less courage. It makes sense that they have Lespinasse."

[aShepard]

You've got to try the Cuvaison Chardonnay.

www.cuvaison.com/