Barbette, that comfortably aging dame, started as an ingénue coffeehouse, but Uptown’s pierced-and-tattooed set pounded on the door for lunch and dinner until the savvy proprietor (who also owns Bryant-Lake Bowl and Red Stag Supperclub) obliged, trucking in an egalitarian assembly of wines and sending out equally comfy French classics, from croque monsieur to the best steak frites in town. A theatrical burgundy curtain at the entrance sets the stage for the bistro follies, performed amid the dark, dreamy tables or near the window where passers-by can see.