A Flourishing French Bistro Hiding in Plain Sight

Hailing from the 1980s, it's Quatorze on the Upper East Side

Quatorze, formerly Quatorze Bis

The Meatpacking District was far different in 1984 when Quatorze opened on its fringes. The name means “fourteen” in French, referring to the street upon which it was located, and the place immediately attracted actors (the Lee Strasberg Institute was nearby), artists (Roy Lichtenstein’s studio was a few blocks south), and gay men (Hellfire Club and Mineshaft were steps away). Two months out, the New York Times had already written a rare early review — pretty much a rave.

At that time, I lived in the East Village and went only once with my Voice editor, Robert Christgau, in the late ’90s — at the time it seemed way too expensive for me. The place cloned itself around the same time, as an Upper East Side bistro called Quatorze Bis. Soon thereafter, the original location disappeared, along with the underground clubs like the Cooler (2001) and the area’s most famous eatery, Florent (2008).

I had assumed that the Upper East Side location had disappeared, too, but was surprised to find it still exists — 1578 First Avenue, at East 82nd Street — as I was performing a routine scan of the neighborhood looking for new restaurants. And since the menu is rife with offal, some friends and I decided to convene a meeting of the Organ Meat Society there.