Old-School French Bistro Bar Six Prevails in NYC’s Greenwich Village | Eater NY

"A fixture of Sixth Avenue and 13th Street since 1994, Bar Six—founded by Steve Tzolis and Nicola Kotsoni, who met in Morocco and married—took over the space of an earlier French bistro and retained much of the old, yellowed decor: well-worn wood, plush red banquettes, mirrors stenciled with wine and food suggestions, and a barroom that opens to the street (the best place to sit on warm summer evenings). The menu mixes classic bistro fare with North African touches: a prizefighter-sized steamed artichoke ($15) comes with fluffy aioli, cornichons, cocktail onions, and olives; a half-dozen briny East Coast oysters ($18) are served on ice with three sauces (cocktail, mignonette, or simply lemon); and the most shareable starter is a trio of Provençale–North African dips with pita—creamy hummus, an earthy white-bean purée, and moutabelle (a spicier baba ganoush). Skip the Moroccan meatballs, which arrive awash in tomato sauce and lack cumin; instead order the marvelous merguez sandwich ($18), with oversized grilled lamb sausages in a pita with fried onions and peppers. One-plate meals include a better-than-average BLT and a plain tuna sandwich brightened by tarragon, while entrees tend to be large: a half roast chicken mired in mashed potatoes is intentionally plain (and can be dry), but the chicken tajine ($28) in a spicy red sauce with chickpeas, raisins, sweet potatoes, and almonds—served with couscous, though I prefer to substitute fries—is a standout. French fries are central to the program (a giant heap accompanies the burger, which has declined somewhat over the years), and the simplest pleasure may be coming mid-afternoon to order just the fries ($8), sitting in the sunlit rear corner under the skylight with a glass from the short, well-chosen, often inexpensive wine list." - Robert Sietsema