Where is this place? We’d just crossed the same railroad tracks for the third time, and my Uber driver looked worried. Finally, down a potholed industrial street in the Bywater neighborhood, I spotted the wood fence I’d seen on Instagram, with “N7” stenciled in red. I pushed open the swinging gate to a different world: In front of me a vintage red Citroën was framed by a lush garden; to my right a former tire shop was covered with old gallery posters and French maps. I grabbed a seat at the copper bar and ordered a glass of chilly Loire Valley Chenin Blanc from an all-natural wine list. Was this a secret restaurant or the set of a Truffaut film?
N7 is a bit of both. Named after the Route 66 of France, filmmaker Aaron Walker and chef Yuki Yamaguchi’s spot is part roadside wine bar, part living movie. Next to me, a young woman reading A Confederacy of Dunces sipped Champagne and dunked golden pommes frites into velvety aioli. On the patio, two lovers started their second bottle of Côtes du Rhône, sharing dishes like sake-steamed mussels with garlic and duck à l’orange from a Gallic menu that gives longing glances to Japan, Yamaguchi’s birthplace.
Ten minutes later I was eating crisp, delicate escargot tempura and slathering crunchy pork katsu with tangy beet purée while scoping out the intriguing “Can to Table” section of the menu. N7 serves dozens of fancy tins of seafood—lobster rillettes from France, calamari in spicy ragout from Portugal—straight from the can with baguette, Parisian picnic food par excellence. At that moment, time stood still. But everyone has to return to the real world at some point. At least now I know the way back here.
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