Cafe Select.(Restaurant review)

Oyster Bar aside, the anticipation of delicious food and pleasing ambience is not usually accompanied by thinking, "Ah, the train station." Yet in Switzerland, from Bern to Basel to Zurich, some popular restaurants have been housed in der Bahnhof. At the Swiss bistro Cafe Select, in Nolita, the latest venture of the restaurateur Serge Becker--a partner at La Esquina, the taco stand/cafe/secret subterranean tequila den across the street--there is an unmistakable air of European metropolitanism. The space is decked out with wooden and black leather banquettes, red and black Formica cafe tables, and a marble bar with a kiosk selling Swiss snacks, like Shorley apple soda and Basler Lackerli biscuits. Broad windows and the substantial Rolex clock hanging in the middle of the room lend to the appealing a la gare feel during the day; the lights dim to an amber glow at night, abetted by a carefully curated, eclectic playlist (creditable to the co-owners, the Swiss d.j.s Oliver Stumm and Dominique Clausen).

The menu is rife with unrecognizable Swiss-German appellations for homey Swiss soul foods, like Chaschuechile (a delectable EmmentalerGruyere-Swiss-cheese tart with a caramelized crust) and Fladli soup, a fortifying beef consomme garnished with savory ...