Balthazar is one of my favorite destinations for a wine bar. The French brasserie atmosphere is punctuated by its warm red color, Parisian style waiters, and European newspapers displayed on a table.  I love it all, especially the cheesy crostinis that come with the wine; they represent a nice starter for a French apéritif experience. Lucky for me, I recently develop a new kind of affection for their Petit Dejeuner.

Half of their menu consists of a number of choices of eggs. Soft boiled organic egg, eggs benedict eggs norwegian, eggs florentine, eggs en cocotte, omelette…
The second part is a mix of french toasts, crepes, bagels and cereals.
The sélection of viennoiseries is reminiscent of old-fashioned european pastries, but still very eclectic, with some pains au chocolat, tartines, croissants (plain, almonds, ham and cheese), brioches, foccacia, scones, sticky buns… A new entry on the menu also attracted my attention : american doughnuts. They are available for $2 a piece.

The Petit Déjeuner is clearly a French oriented breakfast. However, you still have options should you choose to adapt you “little lunch”. The English version is available with eggs, bacon, beans, sausage, mushrooms, tomatoes and fried bread.

I passed on cocktails (Bloody Mary, Mimosa et Bellini) and simply enjoyed a hot chocolate. Filled in a small cup, and accentuated with unctuous cream, it was delicious without having an overpowering chocolatey flavor. Don’t get me wrong, a hot chocolate served in NYC with a super strong chocolate taste is not bad. But this variant, with subtlety and finesse, is just too rare. Many of the hot chocolates in the city are very syrupy, almost like melted chocolate without hot milk. Here at Balthazar no doubt about it, the milk is in the cup.  I only have doubts regarding the price of the cup. Almost $4, whereas the bowl is at $4.75.

Eggs en Cocotte was definitely the preferable choice compared to the French toasts, which were served with crispy bacon. The first one was genius whereas the second one suffered from a lack of love. A little more attention on them would be nice. A fresh strawberry, some mint leaves or at least something more colorful would definitely help the plate. As for the texture, I thought they were a bit dry. I had to ask for the maple syrup to make them softer.

The eggs en cocotte went way beyond all my expectations. Small pieces of toasted bread surrounded the ramekin and the soldiers invite you to go deep inside the dish. Creamy on the inside and crispy on the outside, the plate was everything but boring. The cheese softly covered the eggs and the mix between the thyme and the cream was very well balanced. It was for sure a very simple dish but how nice it was to enjoy a very well executed simple dish!

Balthazar
80, Spring street
New York, NY 10012
212 965 1414