That room!  In a city of great rooms, be they ballrooms or private clubs or soaring public spaces, there’s a special fondness for the city’s dining rooms which are both majestic and comforting at the same time.  To walk into Balthazar – no, even before you enter, there’s a sense of place about the establishment’s red awnings and the energy bursting out over the threshold into the street – and then, as soon as you pass through the set of double black doors, it’s as if you’ve entered a party in full swing.  Not unlike the opening montage of the film Moulin Rouge, where le tout Paris appears to be having the time of their life, so too does Balthazar seem to capture the best of New York’s energy.  Everyone’s having fun and everyone’s dressed well, and there’s a smorgasbord of types as extensive as Balthazar’s brasserie menu.  You sink into the red leather banquettes and survey the scene: those gorgeous mirrors, that aged bar, and the towering plateaux de fruit de mers sprinkled around the room.  An urn of seasonal flowers, or rather, an arrangement the size of a flowering bush.  The multi-ethnic staff complementing the multi-ethnic patrons – it’s a melange of New York’s best.  And the food—  The food is exactly what you want it to be.  Steak frites, and more frites—  Maybe the best frites in the city.  And brasserie-standard salads, with beets and goat cheese, and a delicious fennel ravioli with parmesan crisps.  Profiteroles and pot de creme – it’s all dependable and comforting – and you loiter over coffee, because even when it’s after midnight, the party at Balthazar is still going on.