Chez Georges

The one that started it This is the essential stop. Of all the restaurants McNally visited during that first Paris trip, Chez Georges was his favorite. He remembered the garlic and butter in the air, the red banquettes, old mirrors, handwritten menus and formally dressed waiters. You can see the ingredients of Balthazar before Balthazar existed. Go for the complete room rather than a single fashionable dish: snails, egg mayonnaise, steak, sole and something unapologetically French for dessert. Tables are close, the mood is warm and the whole place feels resistant to time. Reserve ahead.