New York New Wave: The Manhattan Bistro Moves Beyond Balthazar

Concept art for Lafayette, opening next month. Chefs will often be the first people to tell you that they don't chase trends, that their restaurants happen regardless of what others in the business are doing. That may be true, but nevertheless, it's almost as if late last year, the collective appetite of New York willed French food back into vogue. In October, Times critic Pete Wells lamented that "bistro cuisine has fossilized" in New York while other cuisines pushed forward before declaring Ca...