Balthazar

Balthazar is Keith McNally’s masterpiece, an evocation of a Paris brasserie that out-glows anything you’ll find near the banks of the Seine. Yet for all its visual impact and despite McNally’s uncanny skill at creating a place that remains hot longer than most of its patrons’ relationships, the smudge in this postcard is that every American not in Paris seems to want to dine here, meaning tables have been planted everywhere — some so close to the front door that those seated there will get coat-smacked silly. In that case, dash into Balthazar’s superb bakery, grab a baguette, and make do with a walk along the Hudson.