Eating in New York City: French Roast

French Roast is a 24 hour bistro which attempts to mix the food of a European bistro with the needy sensibilities of middle of the night New Yorkers and the decadent gluttony of American appetites and it does so seamlessly and with some success. While there are is some disagreement over the quality of one or the other, the only thing that can be said is that 85th St. & Broadway is a nicer neighborhood than 11th St. & 6th Avenue. So it's really no surprise when people rave about the "feeling" of the Upper West Side and people commenting on the downtown location always say that there is just a little something that seems out of place. It's got to be that the downtown location is littered with customers from NYU and the people who work there are not as vested in the success of their restaurant as are people who work uptown. Or so it seems to me.

Anyway, both French Roast locations have a great deal of breakfast offerings, lunch specials, dinner selections, decadent desserts, and late-night food alternatives that make both an excellent place to go if you are ever in need of something a little a bit different any time of day or night. I will approach this review with the disclaimer that I don't visit here for dinner too often but that's because they're dinner menu consists of things I would never eat; or so I think. Duck Confit, Marinated Squid and Fennel, La Moelle (beef boned with marrow and toast) and Mussels just are not my thing. But that could be me just being close minded, like my mother always told me I was.

However, French Roast has a number of options for both breakfast, lunch, dessert, and late-night all of which make it a great place to visit practically any time. One of my favorite times of day to visit French roast is for brunch as their Tomato and Avocado Salsa Omelette or their Steak and Eggs are both excellent options for anyone who is looking for a creatively prepared and delicious meal. Also for lunch and sometimes late-night they have Brie, Tomato and Arugula on up a Baguette which is just excellent and their Grilled Chicken Breast, also on a Baguette is enough to satisfy any mid day appetite or late-night cravings you may have.

One of my fiancée's favorite things is Eggs Benedict and she often has a difficult time deciding between the Benedict or Florentine when she's ordering her eggs. I'm sure if she ever noticed the French toast or Belgian waffle or Pancakes all with fresh fruit, she'd have an even more difficult time deciding.

Whether you're looking for Macaroni au Gratin at three in the morning or you want to find a place to sit and have some excellent drinks at midday, you can be sure that French Roast will have whatever it is that you're looking for, day or night.