Yes, the Food and Drinks at Bar Bête Are Great, But...the Playlist!
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The second I sit down at a restaurant, I’m sizing it up. Does the room feel buzzy without being chaotic? Is the lighting warm and flattering? Was any thought put into the silverware and stemware? But as a professional musician, the most important test is the playlist.
When I walked into Bar Bête in Brooklyn for dinner with BA friends recently, I was struck by its style. The table was chic but not fussy. The wine list was smart and concise. The French-ish menu was modern without being pretentious. But it was the music that stopped me in my tracks. Are they playing The Black Angels? Bold! Butthole Surfers? Bush Tetras? Shut up!! Several times during dinner I had to stop myself from singing along. It got harder to resist after a few glasses of the very good wine from the smart wine list put together by Nick Ferrante, Bar Bête’s sommelier. I asked him who was responsible for the playlist and he shot me a wary look, as if I might complain. Turns out the sommelier is also the DJ.
A musician himself, Ferrante selected songs that had “energy and sounded good loud” to create seven different eight-hour playlists, one for each night of the week. Every playlist, dubbed Dinner-I through Dinner-VII, is meticulously crafted to include little to no repeats. On the night I was there, Dinner-VII went from one hip shakin’ hit to another as we ate a mushroom brioche laced with black truffle and an airy rolled omelette stuffed with peekytoe crab and seaweed butter. Even the inevitable bathroom break had me dancing by myself to The Cramps! Line be damned. I’ll be back to work my way through the rest of Bar Bête’s menu—and Dinner-I-VI.
Go there: Bar Bête
Rock out to Bar Bête’s Dinner-I playlist:
Originally Appeared on Bon Appétit
