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.
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