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Read the press release here.

New French Restaurant To Serve Up 'Nymph Thighs,' Petanque and Foosball

 La Gauloise's signature dishes include "Things of Nymphs."
La Gauloise
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WEST VILLAGE — Feast on these thighs.

La Gauloise, a new French bistro coming to 2 Clarkson St., will serve up a rare delicacy that it calls Cuisses de Nymphes, or sauteed frogs legs, that's an homage to a legendary French chef.

The tender limbs are cooked with garlic butter and parsley purée and cost $15, owner George Forgeois said. It is based on a receipe developed in 1908 by famous chef George Auguste Escoffier, who called his dish Cuisses de Nymphe a l'Aurore, or the thighs of the dawn nymphs.

Other classic French fare on the menu includes stewed rabbit, escargot and roasted bone marrow.

The 40-seat bistro will eventually feature an outdoor pétanque court, a vintage foosball table, and the dining area will be decorated with antiques, newspapers and posters from 1960s France that Forgeois has accumulated over 20 years worth of trips, he said.

"I've decorated La Gauloise with these finds, specifically ones with a '60s vibe," Forgeois said in an email. "They're all treasures to me."

Outdoor seating will be offered beginning in April with views of the Empire State Building, Forgeois said.

Forgeois opened his first restaurant called Jules, a jazz venue and bistro, on St. Marks Place in 1993.

“When we opened Jules, we had $300 in the cash register and nothing in the bank," Forgeois said. "We almost didn’t make it. The first month, we ran out of food for an entire week before we could afford to purchase more. We didn’t have enough money for wine for two weeks.”

Since then, he opened Cafe Noir in TriBeCa in 1995; Le Singe Vert in Chelsea in 1997; Bar Tabac in Boerum Hill in 2001; Cercle Rouge in TriBeCa in 2004; and most recently Clarkson in the West Village in 2013, just around the corner from La Gauloise.

Gauloise is a sort of return to his roots: "a classic French bistro — lively and casual, but with great food and service," Forgeois said, 

La Gauloise, 2 Clarkson St., at Varick Street. 212-675-5535. Open March 11. Hours: 5 p.m. "until late."