The rose-hued light glinting off the downward-tilted gilded mirrors, the high-backed red leather banquettes, the patina on the walls that look aged with decades of smoke, the wafting aroma of snails in garlic and butter — it all evokes Paris in a visceral way. So do the servers dressed in all-black with white aprons, some of whom say their uniforms make them feel they’re in a play instead of a dining hall. But, then, Balthazar from the beginning has been a kind of theater, the play always the same and always different, on a set where 10,000 customers have crossed the tiled floor every week for the past 20 years [ . . . ]

More at source: Balthazar NYC French Restaurant Turns 20: Why Its Influence Endures – Thrillist