Lafayette Takes On Balthazar With Brilliant Chicken: Dine

Next time you’re waiting three-deep at the bar for a table at Balthazar, consider Lafayette, a 10-minute walk uptown where the thinner (so far) crowds are happily sucking shrimp heads and quaffing $21 flutes of Billecart-Salmon Champagne.

Credit Andrew Carmellini -- the guy behind Locanda Verde (an Italian trattoria) and The Dutch (an American chophouse) -- for opening a Balthazar-competitor that’s quieter, quicker and less cramped; where the bartenders graciously transfer your drink tabs and where the main event is chicken for two. Lafayette’s another winner.