Balthazar

Balthazar...3 years of having lived in France draw me to this "brasserie" as often as my stingy pocket can afford, and as often as I can find a seat. Keith McNally may have some fancier fare in NY but this is the most surefire way to feel like you've just stepped off the Rue Montmartre and into a nouveau monde. If you're in the mood for a quiet romantic dinner, I suggest going elsewhere. You will walk in and be swept through a maze of tables and busboys and waiters and when you get to your seat, realize you're practically in the lap of the couple sitting next to you. By the end of dinner you're certain to know where they're from and what they're doing that evening. But don't let this shy you away. The food and service are well worth the pains of little to no real estate. From the moment you sit down to the moment you say goodnight someone will be refilling your bread basket, refilling your water glass or pouring you wine.
Menu memorables: For the first course the onion soupe gratinee is a perfect balance of onions and gruyere, and the steak tartare won't leave you feeling you've just had your year's worth of sodium. I can't pass up an order of steak frites, and here the frites almost outweigh the steak in their amazingly perfect thickness and crunch. The braised lamb shoulder was tender and cooked to my medium rare and though I usually avoid the vegetables, could not pass up red peppers drenched in wine sauce. You will leave Balthazar full and happy, wishing to step out to the banks of the river Seine.

80 Spring St. (SoHo/NoHo/Little Italy) between Broadway and Crosby St.
212-965-1414