Click photo to see entire album.

My love for Balthazar is not a secret. I always question how much of my enjoyment of their food is connected to their warm, well worn, perfect environment. I try so hard to not let things like decor affect my enjoyment of the food, but I admit with Balthazar it’s a difficult web to untangle. So, with my admittedly possibly biased viewpoint, onto breakfast.

It was a quick meal. Perfectly cooked bacon, scrambled eggs and asparagus in pastry dough, and buckwheat crepes with ham and gruyere. As usual the food matches the decor. It’s very well executed and completely coherent with the French bistro identity. The ham and gruyere were a lovely combination, salt, smoke, tangy cheese, against the slightly rustic crepe texture. The scrambled eggs were seasoned a little unevenly, but in the spots where they were right, they were quite yummy.

And as nice as the atmosphere is at Balthazar, I am still convinced that if you fed me their food in my garage, I’d enjoy it just as much.