Profile

It's impossible to dine at this Upper East Side brasserie and not think of Paris. Everything from the dining room's romantic lighting and stained glass partitions (reminiscent of the City of Light's subway entrance designs and handmade by chef/owner Philippe Feret), to the boisterous live jazz performed on wine-swilling weekends inspires a certain Gallic joie de vivre. The food follows suit, with bowls of fresh mussels piled in a creamy beer broth and market items like a lobster Niçoise appearing on a changing specials menu. The fondues are excellent for groups into sharing and the Morroccan chicken bisteeya, with chunks of seasoned poultry wrapped in phyllo and sprinkled with sugar, is both savory and sweet. Feret strays furthest from his homeland with a variety of dishes starring bison, a meat he obviously adores. A trademark burger of excessive girth—usually beef, but bison when available—is topped with frizzled onions and towers six-inches. — Jon Steinberg

Sun.–Thu., two courses, $22; three courses, $35

Brunch
Sat.–Sun., 11:30 a.m.–3:30 p.m.

Live Music
Thu.–Sat., 7:30 p.m.–midnight, jazz

Catering
Feret and his wife Cecilia also run Allure, a successful off-premises catering business that features video trays of Feret's own invention

Morroccan chicken bisteeya, $19; Julien's beef burger with frizzled onions, $15.50; classic cheese fondue for two, $34