Zimmi’s (72 Bedford Street, at Commerce Street) opens in the West Village on Saturday, with a menu of dishes that chef Maxime Pradié knows well. But the homestyle Southern French cooking that he embraced growing up is “stuff you don’t usually find in restaurants,” he says.
Leading the opening with Pradié is Jenni Guizio, a former director of wine and beverage for Danny Meyer’s Union Square Hospitality Group (USHG). Guizio spearheaded the design of the space — for nearly 25 years it was home to the Brazilian restaurant, Casa, which is now in Tribeca. Guizio has managed over 15 restaurants and bars during her career; she is also the owner and founder of Zimmermann Farm, a rural estate for events and the former home of designer Marie Zimmermann, who is the inspiration for Zimmi’s.
Pradié was the chef de cuisine at Ignacio Mattos’s Lodi in Rockefeller Center when it opened, and before that, he cooked at Flora Bar. He grew up in New York City in a food business family: Pradié’s father, Jean-Pierre Pradié moved to the city in the 1970s from France and started the well-known charcuterie company Les Trois Petits Cochons with chef Alain Sinturel.
Katherine Goguen/Zimmi’s
Katherine Goguen/Zimmi’s
Pradié’s cooking at Zimmi’s is inspired by family, particularly his grandmother, who moved to France from Italy, first to Bordeaux and then to Provence, where Pradié spent summers learning how to cook. From her he learned to make pissaladière ($20), “essentially Niçoise street food,” says Pradié, “a dish with five ingredients” — caramelized onion, anchovy, olives, pastry, olive oil — that’s “greater than the sum of its parts.” It’s an item that will likely be evergreen on the otherwise rotating menu. Other dishes include barbajuan (Swiss chard, mint, and fromage frais, $13), ratatouille ($14), artichoke soup with foie gras ($32), pasta davia (linguine with pesto and beans, $26), and saupiquet d’agneau (lamb stew with olives and potatoes, $38).
Cory Holt is the manager and a beverage director, following roles at Musket Room and Raf’s, and before that, USHG’s Maialino. He’ll work with Guizio on the wine and cocktails. “Cory and I like working with wines with age,” says Guizio, and the wine list will reflect as much. They’ll also offer 100 wines by the half bottle, such as selections from Maxime Magnon. Prices range from $17 for a glass of Cassis (Domaine du Bagnol, $82 for the bottle) to $25 ($115 a bottle) for a Morgon Beaujolais from Jean Foillard. “We want to make wines accessible and allow people to buy in,” says Holt. “We’d also like for serious wine lovers to get whatever they want.” Reservations are live on OpenTable.
Maxime Pradié and Jenni Guizio of Zimmi’s.
Katherine Goguen/Zimmi’s
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