NYC Tastes

Les Halles was one of the first restaurants I dined at when I moved to Manhattan. I didn't know anything about Anthony Bourdain at that point.  I honestly didn't know much about NYC food in general. I had come to the city jobless, with very little savings and no real plan for the future except that Mr. T (my then college boyfriend) had landed a decent job here.  We spent most of that first year inside our tiny apartment, getting out occasionally to "brown bag" a beer in the park or hit up Gray's Papaya for their Recession Special.   Not exactly fine dining but the kind of entertainment that fit our budget at the time.  So when Mr. T's sister said she would take us out to a great NYC restaurant for dinner, we were beyond excited. I can still remember walking up Park Avenue and seeing the shiny moonlit writing on the front window that said  Les Halles .  We pushed open the door and entered into what I can only describe as complete chaos....

Les Halles is only four blocks away from us but the hordes of tourists that clamor to it ever since Bourdain’s fame keep us away most nights. However last Thursday I was walking home from work with Mr. T and the thunder and lightening started to light up the sky. We had been planning to eat dinner out and Les Halles was right in front of us. I’m terrified of lightening so it was an easy decision. We walked inside and took the last two seats at the small wooden bar up front. I started out with a crisp, refreshing glass of Sancerre while Mr. T went with a boring Stella. I love how Les Halles truly keeps the French tradition of things. The bread basket arrived sans plates of course. Something I have to remember when we go to Paris- put the damn bread right on the table to eat. Mr. T ordered the staple Steak Frites. A buttery, well seasoned and perfectly tender cut of meat with a side of frites and salad. For $19.95 this is one of the most delicious deals in the city. ...

The weather was so nice last Thursday I decided to take myself out to dinner. Mr T was out of town on business so I figured I deserved some good food and quality alone time with a big juicy steak :) Les Halles happens to be right near my apartment so when I saw there were lots of open tables outside I had a seat. I came here once about 5 years ago, before Anthony Bourdain became so huge and the place wasn't overrun with tourists. I remember thinking the fries were unbelievable so I was pretty excited to try those out again. I sat down and waited for a little over 10 minutes for the waiter (kind of a long time when the place is empty). I asked him about one of the glasses of wine and he proceeded to try and upsell me from a $7.50 glass to a $17.50 glass of wine! I politely refused his suggestion and ordered a very nice Côtes du Rhône. As I was contemplating my dinner order the bread arrived. It was pretty average bread basket but the butter took it up a notch with its rich creamy te...