The midtown power lunch died of COVID. The new power lunch spots are the downtown dinner favorites that regulars double up on for lunch, showing just how casual they are about it. One name looms large over that scene: Keith McNally. He’s NYC’s resident restaurant provocateur.
McNally, whose Instagram is required viewing for those looking for restaurant insider info and/or controversial opinions, has an unreal portfolio: Balthazar, Pastis, Morandi, Minetta Tavern. He also used to operate Odeon, Schiller’s, Nell’s, and plenty of others. Any ten best list written in the last two decades has probably had his name on it. McNally is an anarchic, funny character, but he owes his success to exactitude. Dude likes what he likes. That’s why he’s extremely particular about chairs and why he’s buying seating for his home and his businesses from the same person, Annick De Lorme, a French bistro chair maker he’s transformed into an unlikely food-world power broker.
“When we opened our store in 1980, Keith was one of the first to come in,” says De Lorme. “He liked one of the chairs and had them in his homes in New York or Martha’s Vineyard or London. We developed a great friendship over the years. Now, whenever he opens a new place, we work together.”
The chair is the same design style that Maison Gatti created in the 20s, with a bent wooden frame, tied together, with vinyl ribbons woven tightly to form the seat and back. The color and pattern of the woven sections is where De Lorme comes in to customize anything for her clients.
Over the last few years, the sort of French bistro style McNally does so well has become a touchpoint for interior designers, who are increasingly looking to the hospitality industry for cues. McNally-core is a pretty apt description for the aesthetic on display in Midnight in Paris/NYC influencers (or hope to be influencers)/the see-and-be-seen crowd. This feels like part of a cycle. Like chunky sneakers and cicadas, French casual dining and bistro fare get popular every 10 years. De Lorma’s business is now struggling to keep up with demand. Her wait list has gone from six weeks to six months.
The product is basically the same as it has always been.
“These chairs have been made since the 1920s,” she says. “ The design never really changes, except for the weave of the chair seat and backs.”
Spotting De Lorma’s work in the wild isn’t too hard. Bathalzar’s street side dining. The woven tables at Pastis. Le Bilboquet. Le Charlot. No wonder companies like West Elm are hawking all new woven and wicker-styled furniture. The resurgence of the bistro chair is upon us. Take a seat.
