La Vie Est Un Bistro is a Silver City gem with Caribbean flair

An unassuming storefront on Yankie Street in downtown Silver City affords visitors a true bistro experience: The door to La Vie Est Un Bistro opens onto a 28-seat dining room that is welcoming and informal; a selection of wines that are eclectic, affordable and unpretentious; and meals that are simple, hearty and elegant.

At times, chef Jason Pierre, a Haitian native who previously worked for Western New Mexico University and opened his place at the end of 2023, serves as host and server as well. Even when the bistro is staffed, Pierre enjoys visiting guests to talk about food and drink, the town, events in the news and even politics.

The tables are spaced well apart and the dining room is rarely full, thus not noisy; but in this easygoing atmosphere, assisted by Pierre’s ebullient humor, I typically see diners connect with each other during their meals, although not to an invasive extent. The solo diner finds good company here yet remains free to enjoy lunch or dinner on their own.

The French-influenced selections are fresh, crafted to order (including the salads) with cooking technique that is on point. During a slow lunch day, Pierre took a breather and asked me what I think of the goat cheese and sage cream sauce from which I fetched ravioli that had not simmered a moment too long ($15.50), a sauce with a zesty balsamic vinegar glaze adding color to the plate and a cheerful lift to every bite.

Pierre works Cajun and Mediterranean elements into his menu, offering chicken souvlaki with lemon potatoes and tzatziki ($17.50) or, for dinner, lamb over a sweet potato puree with veal bone demi-glace ($32).

Sunday brunch includes southern-style fried chicken with waffle, syrup and cream ($16) or creamy grits with spicy shrimp ($16) among omelettes, fresh fruit, croquettes and other items. On Sundays only, La Vie Est Un Bistro serves an early Caribbean-style dinner as well.

You might get lucky and be enlisted as a guinea pig for an off-menu tryout, as I was for a recent Saturday night dinner. After I started with a hearty cup of soup with shredded chicken, lentils and vegetables ($4.50), the experiment began.

Pierre had some salmon trout, which he served to me over a buttery roux with mashed potato for body and a hint of curry seasoning, an improvisation that paired handily with a South African pinot gris that was on hand.

What would work better, the chef wanted to know. Is this roux too soft? (Not at all.) Is it well-balanced against the fish? (Yea verily.) Next time, perhaps a bit of this, and not so much of that. In Pierre’s house, a good meal is a conversation, an element of life lived well.

La Vie Est Un Bistro (“Life is a bistro”) makes good on its name. Tucked quietly off of downtown Silver City’s historic Bullard Street, we find an authentic expression of bistro in cuisine and style.

La Vie Est Un Bistro is a Silver City gem with Caribbean flair