Z Cuisine and A Cote Bar a Absinthe

Patrick DuPays opened Z Cuisine in lower Highland in 2006, just before the hot, hot neighborhood became better known as LoHi. The tres charmant bistrot for hipster Francophiles and displaced Parisians peddles plates that are nearly too pretty to eat, not least among them a gorgeous charcuterie board stamped with French and local cheeses, pate de champagne, pork-shoulder rillettes, an assortment of chutneys, candied pecans, petite cornichons and olives. Follow that up with French classics — such as a heavenly foie gras smooth and creamy like duck-liver butter — and seasonal fare from DuPays’s greenmarket menu. In 2015, Z Cuisine and À Côté Bar à Absinthe merged, so that the entire menu is now available at the corner spot, while the cozy dining room two doors down will be reserved for special occasions.