Les Halles

A huge snowstorm is forecasted for tomorrow. Since I may stay inside all day, I feel justified in having eaten two days' worth of food this evening.

My dining companion wanted to go to Les Halles because of his special fondness for French fries. Although he will eat anything from McDonald's shoestrings to tater tots, he especially appreciates the crispy, greaseless numbers at Les Halles. Tonight he mixed together a great portion of ketchup and Dijon mustard into which he happily dipped an entire plate of fries.

We began our meals with big tureens of onion soup topped with melted gruyere, and escargots appropriately swimming in garlic butter. I sopped up every last drop of the butter with hunks of crusty baguette.

The main course was a very difficult choice. Les Halles offers a selection of traditional French entrées such as cassoulet and choucroute, as well as a long menu of grilled Black Angus meats including hanger steak with shallot sauce, beef tenderloin, and prime rib. The entrance of the restaurant sports a glass display of rillettes, frankfurters, pâtés, blood sausage, and other meats. My companion ordered a 14-oz. New York sirloin with béarnaise sauce, mesclun greens and fries. I wanted something lighter and enjoyed my simple preparation of dourade. The firm-fleshed fish was grilled with olive oil and salt and served with grilled zucchini. (I was soon to sabotage the lightness of my meal with a great amount of well-salted French fries.)

After a couple glasses of Pinot Noir Rion and Sancerre Blanc, any remaining inhibitions we may have had against ordering dessert soon disappeared. We decided against the profiteroles and crème brûlée in favor of a Valrhona chocolate mousse and a warm banana chocolate tart in vanilla sauce. At this point, the lights had dimmed so much that I could not see exactly how many layers there were in the tart. Judging from taste alone, I gather that there were three: a dense chocolate bottom, a layer of bananas and a sweet dark chocolate ganache. I also finished off the dollop of whipped cream.

Now I'm ready for the snow!

Les Halles: 411 Park Avenue South. (212) 679-4111.