Lost City Asks, "Who Goes to La Grenouille?"
It took me 25 years of living in New York to get to La Grenouille. Now that I've been, I will be back many times. It easily established itself within five minutes as one of my favorite New York restaurants. There's some sort of magic going on in that beautifully lit, flower-strewn place—a combination of lighting, service, decor, food, conversation and company—that makes life good for the couple hours you're in there. Unlike most of the hot new restaurants today, La Grenouille sends me away becalmed, happy and satisfied. I don't mind spending $100 there on a dinner with that payoff. Here is my Eater column: Who Goes There? La Grenouille Is 52nd Street New York's most civilized street? Yes, there are long stretches of soulless office buildings on the one-time Swing Street. But over on the east edge, near the U.N., you have the dignified Le Perigord. Near Fifth Avenue, in the Seagram Building, is magisterial yet modern The Four Seasons. And on either side of Fifth Ave...