One need not be a partisan to believe our Republic is at a dangerous crossroads, although bipartisanship is what has always made this country capable of enduring everything from world wars to depressions.  Remembering how it all began—and how difficult those beginnings were—has been well preserved in the Jamestown Settlement and the American Revolution Museum at Yorktown, Virginia.

    In several respects, what is very new about Jamestown is what is very old, meaning that constant archeological progress is being made using the most modern technologies to trace the history of this 17th century settlement. Created in 1957, Jamestown Settlement, like nearby Historic Colonial Williamsburg, was made to be a living history museum that contains a recreated James Fort, a Powhatan Indian village, and replicas of the original English settlers’ ships, the Susan Constant, Godspeed and Discovery (left)

The archeological excavations go on at the adjacent Historic Jamestowne (note the last “e”), run by the National Park Service and Preservation Virginia. (Preservation Virginia is the group that supervises the archeology. The Park Service owns the other acreage.)

    The settlement was established on May 14, 1607, to be permanent, although several failures and abandonments occurred, as well as a war that annihilated the Paspahegh Indian tribe in the area and in 1676 the burning down of the town during Bacon’s Rebellion.  It immediately became Virrginia’s colonial capital; the first slaves  arrived in 1619. But by 1699 Jamestown’s power had declined as the capital relocated to Williamsburg, and in the next century Jamestown ceased to exist as a working settlement.

    The galleries and exhibitions are beautifully done at Jamestown, starting with the docudrama “1607: A Nation Takes Root,” and the exhibits focus on the three cultures--native, European and African (the  Powhatan Native American  was the “parent” culture and a Pocahontas exhibit just closed this winter), “The Crossing,” and “From Africa to Virginia.”  The history of Jamestown as a tobacco-producing colony is described—it was often used as cash, which led to wealth but ultimately a lack of diversity in the economy.  Outside, the Powhatan Indian Village features houses and archeological artifacts of how the Native Americans lived prior to the arrival of the English.  Layer by layer more is being revealed every year, and the sight of so many students digging carefully through centuries of dirt and building materials is inspiring.

    A new exhibit, "TENACITY: Women in Jamestown and Early Virginia," will open in November this year.

A copper alloy figure from the Kingdom of Benin at the Jamestown Settlement gallery.

         Meanwhile, at Yorktown, where the last battle of the Revolutionary War was fought, they have a new, state-of-the-art American Revolution Museum that sprawls over 80,000 square feet of the rolling landscape and offers art work, historic dioramas, films and a recreation of the white-tented military camp of the American army, which, with help from the French army and fleet, roundly defeated the British on October 19, 1781. Washington’s troops pierced the British outer defenses, bringing to bear such a force of artillery that the British general Lord Cornwallis was forced to negotiate a peace to end the war, resulting in the finality of the Treaty of Paris in 1783. 

    The Yorktown attraction is known for its collection of uniforms, firearms and living history, with military artillery firing each day at 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. Shows on the food culture of the Colonial and Revolutionary era are held throughout the year, and a working farm demonstrates the way people harvested, cooked and ate from homemade utensils.

    The museum’s 22,000-square-foot layout leads from one era to another, its walls and floors first showcasing British Colonial America as of 1763 and an interactive map of the United States in 1791. Famous battles are described, how they began and developed, in a 170-seat museum theater, beginning with the film “Liberty Fever” in a moving panorama containing live-action movie scenes. The “First Great Victory”—the Battle of Saratoga in 1777—is actually shown within an army tent, while “The Siege of Yorktown” is shown on a 180-degree surround screen theater at the American Revolution Museum at Yorktown.

    From there “The New Nation” and “The American People” bring our history up through the 19th century and how the new country was so influenced by immigrants and internal migration westward.

    One expects grand yarns and great victories out of the American Revolution, but I was delighted by some of the lesser artifacts that told the story in more endearing ways, like the first portrait of a black slave, named Ayuba Suleiman Diallo, by William Hoare circa 1733; the first book of poems by an African-American woman named Phillis Wheatley, albeit by a London publisher in 1773; a silver teaspoon stamped with the motto “I love liberty” (1773); and a lap desk once used by Gen. Francis Marion, known as the “Swamp Fox.”

         Both Jamestown and Yorktown show how hard curators, linked into the newest technology, have worked to bring history alive for visitors, with a clear and obvious mission to entice and entertain young people whose urge is never to turn their eyes from their iPhones. In the sound and light, shadow and music of these stellar museums lies both the truth and the emotional commitment to our ancestors

    A little over a year ago François Latapie opened Little Frog on the Upper East Side at a time when construction of the way overdue Second Avenue Subway was disrupting every business in the area.  Noise, dust, steam, barriers and trenches made it impossible to put tables outside or draw traffic. Still, Little Frog succeeded largely by appealing to neighborhood regulars, many of whom knew Latapie as the suave, effusive fellow who had once been maître d’ at Le Cirque and La Goulue.

    Now that the subway is done, the Yorkville neighborhood is back to being fairly quiet, a good place for a stroll along broad East 86th Street, and I was so happy to see that the German meat store Schaller & Weber, the Hungarian restaurant Red Tulip and Heidelberg German restaurant are still open on a block in Yorkville that once teemed with Eastern European groceries, cafes and restaurants.

    Little Frog is a handsome, long slip of a white brick-walled room, seating 75, with a cheery bar up front, green tufted banquettes, bentwood chairs and the requisite tilted mirrors. The sound level in the room is pretty good, but the piped in music is wholly unnecessary. No one goes to a French bistro for the canned music, unless it’s Piaf or Aznavour.

    Latapie is the consummate host, a gentlemanly mix of French gentility and American affability, and Chef Xavier Monge proves that consistency in every dish is really the key to this kind of cuisine.  He works hard to obtain first-rate ingredients, evident in yellowfin tuna tartare with seaweed salad, wasabi dressing and sesame tuile ($22).  Frogs’ legs (right)—once a staple of French restaurants—make a welcome re-appearance at Little Frog, nicely garlicky, sprinkled with parsley and served with tatsoi greens ($16).  Asparagus out of season are risky, but Monge somehow sources very good ones, which he nestles in a buttery pastry shell with a lustrous Hollandaise mousseline ($16).

    There is also a small section of tapas (all $10), which include hot shishito peppers given a delightful sweet glaze ($10) and thinly sliced pink Iberico ham on a crunchy garlic-swabbed baguette.  Fat tiger shrimp get a shot of sea salt to perk them up ($10), and best of all was a plump fritter enclosing oozing Comté cheese (below).

    Among the “Butcher’s Choices” is a deliciously juicy roasted chicken scented with herbes de Provence and served with green beans, garlic and shallots ($25). It’s good to see Monge does not hold back on the garlic as too many French bistro cooks do.

Rack of lamb ($42) is available for one person, given some hardy ballast with merguez sausage and couscous.  As it should be, hanger steak is nicely chewy and full of flavor, which we ordered au poivre, with hand-cut French fries ($36).  I’m always hesitant to order the ubiquitous branzino on a menu, but Little Frog’s is one of the best in the city, grilled whole and boned, served with arugula and a beurre blanc tinged with lemon and tobiko roe ($29). As a side dish, have the macaroni gratin in a béchamel sauce ($10) or the sautéed wild mushrooms, with more garlic persillade ($13).

    All the cherished classics of French bistro desserts are here: an ethereally light île flottante (right), a good crème caramel and terrific chocolate croustillant. Only an apple tart was disappointing, for its lack of caramelization and its soggy crust.

In addition to the food menu, Little Frog’s wine list has changed for the better, now more gently priced than before, and, among its fifty bottlings are an applaudable number under $60 and only a handful priced over $100.

    So, Little Frog survived all the bureaucratic red tape and deep-down subway construction put in its way. Latapie’s faith in his neighborhood and his well-known hospitality have made Little Frog the true French bistro this stretch of Yorkville really needed.

Open for dinner nightly, for brunch Sat. & Sun. There is a $29 three-course fixed price dinner with wine from 5 p.m. to 6:15 p.m. nightly.