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On a bistro-dense stretch of Fifth Avenue, Canaille keeps a cozy house with ten tables; a short, careful menu showcasing fresh, seasonal offerings; and a carefully curated wine list. Co-owner and Paris native Philippe de Crespi spent twenty years as a sommelier and fine-wine broker; the racks at Canaille are occupied by bottles from organic farmers operating small wineries in the south of France, many using biodynamic methods. On the gastronomical side, entrées feature Greenmarket ingredients and time-tested favorites, like a generous bowl of garlicky mussels with thin-cut, newsprint-wrapped frites; smooth puréed cod-and-potato brandade; and a fresh, colorful salad of local organic chiogga, formanova, and golden beets dressed with sherry vinaigrette. The bistro’s candlelit confines are sober and simple, with dark-wood wainscoting, a white tin ceiling, and butcher-paper-draped tables. But Canaille means “rascal” in French; only a real rapscallion could resist the pot de crème, a sublime, mousse-like bowl of dark chocolate dusted with powdered sugar and crowned with a single strawberry. — Laurel A. Fantauzzo

No tea or coffee is served—the better to whet your thirst for wine, including a $1,250 bottle of Chateau Leoville las Cases 1986, rated 100 points by wine expert Robert Parker.

Organic beet salad, $8.50; cod brandade, $8; moules frites, $16; chocolate pot de crème, $7