FLATIRON — A French chef with a trio of coveted Michelin stars under his hat opened a fowl-friendly new restaurant in the Flatiron on Thursday.
Antoine Westermann, a chef from the Alsace region of France, celebrated opening night at Le Coq Rico, also known as the Bistro of Beautiful Birds, at 30 E. 20th St. on Thursday, bringing his bird-heavy menu to New York gourmands.
Fixtures at the bistro include a range of foie gras dishes and a quarter rotisserie chicken. But the centerpieces of his work are the whole birds — chickens, ducks and guinea fowl raised humanely and served whole.
In the name of transparency, the menu even includes the number of days each bird spent on earth.
In addition to the foie and the fowl, Westermann’s menu includes an entire section devoted to eggy creations, aptly dubbed “Eggz.” Brunchers can sink their teeth into eggs poached, deviled, fried and scrambled, and salad stalwarts get to choose from greenery sprinkled with chicken livers, sautéed chicken or chicken bouillon.
The new restaurant is Westermann’s first foray into New York. He currently operates a bistro of the same name in the Montmartre section of Paris, along with several other restaurants in the City of Love.
Westermann received a prestigious three Michelin stars in 1994 for his work at a restaurant he owned in Strasbourg, France. In 2006, however, Westermann relinquished his stars, saying the rules and regulations of the guide was hemming his creativity, according to a spokeswoman — a complaint to which other prominent chefs have recently flocked.
