Swingin' In Kingston

Le Privé at Le Canard Enchaine may be the perfect jazz club—French cuisine, elegant yet cozy bistro atmosphere, fans suspended from the high tin-patterned ceilings, a small bar, and a late-night ambiance that’s surprising in uptown Kingston, where even the Dunkin Donuts closes at 7 p.m. on Saturday night. When I arrived at 11 p.m. last weekend, the Francesca Tanksley Trio was in full swing, the dinner crowd was just beginning to give way to the bar crowd, and the waitress was happy to take my dinner order. It was like walking into the one live saloon in a Hollywood ghost town, and finding that saloon is in fact a cafe specializing in fine red wines. Outside, you could almost hear the tumbleweeds rolling down Fair Street; inside, there were muted conversations and "Blue Monk."

This might seem odd, but it means a lot to me to dine in a French restaurant where the staff actually speaks French. When I was in elementary school, we learned French each year. In fact we learned French from scratch each year, monotonously counting to ten, asking each other what time it was, and saying idiotic things like "the tractor red is in the field green." Every year there was a new French teacher, and every year we started over again at the beginning. We never got to the point of actually using the language to converse.

Then one year, we got a new teacher who believed learning should be made relevant to the real world. She brought in a stack of French menus and we spent the semester learning how to order crepes, request more bread and express disgust at the escargot dishes in French. Finally, at the end of the semester, came the big event—we all piled into a van and were driven to a real French restaurant to test out our skills. Imagine our disappointment when the waitress couldn’t even say "bonjour."

That’s why I took Latin in high school. It’s also why, despite Le Canard’s delicious food and Tanksley’s flying fingers, I was most impressed by the fact that when the Maitre d’ had words with the bartender, he had them in French.

Le Privé is posting an ambitious schedule of jazz every Thursday, Friday and Saturday night, three sets each night. July 11, be sure to catch Warren Bernhardt and Mike DeMicco; July 24 and 25, the Jean-Michel Pilc Trio will perform. Sets are at 8 and 10 p.m. and midnight Saturdays, earlier on Thursday and Friday evenings. There is no cover, but you’ll want dinner once you get a whiff from the kitchen. For more information, call 339-2003. n

--Todd Paul