Profile

This venue is closed.

This venue is closed.

The owners of A.O.C. Bedford have elevated the tone of the space formerly occupied by Boughalem in a formal, Continental way. A.O.C. (it stands for "appellation d’origine contrôlée") is the official French designation for food products of the highest quality, and so the tables are covered with elegant, eggshell-colored linens, and if you order a bottle of Burgundy, it will be decanted at tableside, in the proper way. This is not normal procedure in this raffish sector of the Village (the absurdly raffish Shopsin's is right around the corner), but then A.O.C. Bedford does not always fit the usual small-restaurant mold. It’s really a big restaurant straining to escape a small restauran'’s body: The house suckling pig, and the paella, are both served in the classic big-restaurant fashion (for two) while there's an agreeable standard-issue, small-restaurant slab of duck terrine available as an appetizer. Desserts are strictly small school (small kitchens, as a rule, can't afford full-time pastry chefs) with a couple of exceptions. Best of all is the crêpes suzette—prepared tableside with all the trimmings, and expertly finished, in classic big-restaurant, uptown fashion, in a fiery cloud of brandy. — Adam Platt

Octopus, $13; paella, $56 for two

Related Stories

New York Magazine Reviews

• Adam Platt's Full Review (8/18/03)