Raoul's

Raoul’s is a New York bistro for the books, and is only getting better with time. Opened in SoHo in 1975 by two brothers newly arrived from Alsace, France, this French bistro quickly became a clubhouse for the art world with notables like Julian Schnabel, postmodernist David Salle, flamboyant dealer Mary Boone, and fashion royalty Anna Wintour regularly stopping by. They came for the fine French steaks with crispy frites and the undemanding bohemian atmosphere. Today, the classic orders are still the draw. The steamed artichoke, the frisée salad with lardons of bacon and a poached duck egg, the organic chicken with jambalaya risotto, andouille sausage and bell peppers, the thick, tender steak au poivre with pommes frites, these are your various stages of seduction. And then there’s the sexy crowd—artsy, business and model types all milling through the dark front room and aphrodisiacal atrium out back. It’s all this and the laid-back austerity that will keep the impossibly sophisticated set coming back for generations to come.