From their terroir-rich wines, to their charming nonchalance regarding infidelity, the French make everything a little better.
Here to lend some français to the steakhouse scene: BLT empire honcho Laurent Tourondel and his just-opened Arlington Club, a massive new monument to beef, now open on the UES.
Meant to evoke pre-1963 Penn Station — when Penn had more dramatic steel arches, and fewer diesel-flavored Cinnabons — Arlington’s vaulted brick ceilings give it more of a catacomb feel.
But, a catacomb sequestering seven different slabs of dry-aged beef, from filet to bone-in ribeye to a 34-oz. côte de boeuf for two, all with Tourondel’s inventive sauces like jalapeño chimichurri and mushroom hollandaise. (Check out the steak menu)
Date not a carnivore? Don’t get up from the tufted navy leather banquet just yet – there’s a full raw bar and Touroundel’s Franco-Japanese sushi, like grilled lobster with avocado, jalapeño and thai basil.
In the rear: floor-to-ceiling salvaged wine refrigerators, which hold bottles of everything from Napa cab sauv to Argentinian malbec. The bar, meanwhile, is slinging signature cocktails divvied up, Bond style, by “shaken” and “stirred.”
Better get acquainted with the cocktail menu. And the new French Bond girl.
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