Benoit Bistro, New York City

Last week I met up with a friend and former co-worker to catch up and have lunch. We picked Benoit Bistro on 55th Street between 5th and 6th Avenues - right down the block from the Peninsula Hotel.

A traditional French bistro, the menu is filled with staples like escargot, foie gras, cassoulet and pate. We started off immediately with two glasses of Caravelle Rose (and proceeded to order four more) while we perused the menu.

Table side they have a little card of hors d'oeuvres for sharing - small plates. We checked off three including a tasting of Mayo Eggs (one a version of deviled and the other a mini eggs Benedict); seared Daurade tartar and crispy pied de cochon with tartar sauce that were delectable. And I loved the Daurade - so fresh!

For our lunch we decided to split a Heirloom tomato salad with red onion and basil and then share the roast organic chicken for two with garlic cloves and pomme frites.

The salad was very simple and so nice. There's no doubt we're in the middle of tomato season in the Northeast and the Heirlooms are incredibly sweet. I loved the red onion to give an offset to the sweetness and we had no trouble polishing off this course quickly.

 When I told Alan we were coming to Benoit for lunch he recommended the chicken for two if Megan was on board. She was and Oh My God am I happy we ordered this dish. They presented us with the entire chicken all golden brown and juicy table side before whisking it away to be broken down and arranged in this lovely pan. Is the picture making you hungry? It should be - one of the BEST chicken dishes I've ever had anywhere and more than that, it could go up against many of the standby bistro dishes and come out on top. Simple preparation to perfection seems to be the name of the game at this Alain Ducasse restaurant and they mean business. Incredible. Go and order the chicken!

The fries were pretty damn good too...we ate all of them. Every single whole and little broken piece from the bottom of this generous serving.

For dessert we ordered off the pastry trolley (oh yeah, a trolley baby!) and selected a lemon tort and a chocolate ganache covered lava cake. Both were good - I think Megan liked them more than I did but if you've ever read this blog or know me you know I'm not a huge fan of dessert.

I put this pretty high on my list - service was exactly what I expect...attentive yet fading nicely into the background. Never had to wonder if my water would be filled or look far to ask a question but nor did they interupt the flow of our conversation. The food was fantastic and simple - a nice change from some of our more formal experiences. I really liked it - so go try it!!

Jenn's Rating: 89
Zagat: 21-21-20