Downtown has Balthazar, Upper West Side has Café Luxembourg and the Upper East has Orsay. And I would say the Upper East Sider’s are the luckiest. The classy and chic brasserie on 75th and Lexington doesn’t fool around when it comes to their food. Yes of course you can rely on the old standbys of croquet monsieur and French onion soup (with crispy cheese on top) which was delish by the way but they offer a menu with an amazing variety of salads, sandwiches, steak, chicken and fishes not to mention their Japanese style tartare which is mouthwatering. And if you don’t believe me you can ask NY actor Alec Baldwin who ate there recently and requested just a plate of tuna tartare and steak tartare and ravaged it. I had the lobster club and my heart skipped a beat. The restaurant is gorgeous and comfortable and transports you right to Paris while the bar area is warm, welcoming and social so if you’re single and looking to mingle check it out any night of the week. Go for Wednesday’s Prime Rib Special or Sunday’s all you can Mussel’s and Frites. Orsay has something for everyone including the hotties from Real Housewives of NY Ramona and Sonya, who just filmed, wined and dined, as well as the Governor of California who couldn’t resist a visit. Restaurants like Orsay don’t come around often and they definitely don’t stay around unless there’s a good reason, like its good. www.orsayrestaurant.com