La Goulue, R.I.P.

On a rainy Monday evening, Orsay radiates warmth from the body heat of packed patrons. Upper East Siders, families and couples alike, huddle over perfectly charred onion soup, buttery escargot and bloody steak frites at the famed East 78th Street brasserie. Restaurateur Jean Denoyer custom designed Orsay"s august Art Nouveau arches and chandeliers, based on one he found in an antique shop in Paris. The whole brasserie reeks of his style and manner: Parisian Art Nouveau meets New York City chic. Denoyer does not just create his eateries; he embodies them, and has been doing so since he opened La Goulue in 1973. Since then, he has helped define New York"s gastronomical landscape by bringing the casual brasserie and bistro concept to a city where French dining had been limited to white tablecloths, maître d"s and unpronounceable entrÃ&Copy;es. Denoyer"s restaurants stretch from East Coast to West, and include the aforementioned former (and soon to reopen) La Goulue and Brasserie Ruhlmann in New York, Le Colonial in Chicago and L"Escale in Greenwich, Conn. Tonight, he is seated in one of the leather banquets in the back of the restaurant, smug and snug in a perfectly tailored charcoal wool suit. He is being photographed and says the lowball of gin on the rocks is strictly for show, as he brings it to his lips for a taste. OT: Why did you bring the French brasserie concept to Manhattan? Did you see a great need or a market for a more casual interpretation of the French culinary experience? JD: Yes. A place like Chantarelle, for example, that"s been around in New York since the "70s, is somewhere you go for a very special meal or a special occasion. You don"t eat there every day. You can"t. I wanted to create a place you could eat at every day, a place you go to when you are very hungry and want to have fun. This [gesturing to the surrounding restaurant] is neither a Michelin star restaurant, nor does it want to be. OT: The difference between a brasserie and a bistro is so often misconstrued. Can you define the difference? JD: â??Bistro is a Russian word, â??bystro, which means quick. So a bistro started as a place for fast food, sort of like the McDonald"s of the 19th century. A bistro is a place you go to get a fast, good and reasonably priced meal. â??Brasserie, on the other hand, comes from the word â??brass, which means brewery or a place to drink beer. Orsay, where we are now, is a brasserie. OT: Which seems odd since most people here are drinking wine. JD: Well, I"m just giving you the etymology. People have done with it what they will. OT: How do you feel about Roman Abramovich allegedly spending about $50,000 on lunch at Nello, another French bistro on Madison? Did you have similar experience with clientele at Goulue? JD: I think it"s ridiculous. I think establishments like that are ridiculous. Wait, don"t write that down. OT: Too late. JD: Well, frankly, I don"t even believe it. I don"t believe that actually happened. It"s just ridiculous. Nothing like this has ever even come close to happening at Goulue. The average check at Goulue was $65. OT: With all due respect, I find that hard to believe, considering that many entrÃ&Copy;es at Goulue reached the $40 or $50 range. JD: Well, yes, but this is why I say â??average. The average bill. Many people would come in and get a drink and a soup or an appetizer. Not everyone got three courses. And yes, when there were large groups the bill could reach up into the thousands. But that was rare. OT: La Goulue was always packed. It was a bit of a shock to me, and to many others I"m sure, that La Goulue closed. JD: This was a shock to me too, both times it happened. It is hard to close down a business that is doing so well. But I was more depressed the first time it happened. Now that I"ve lived through it once, it still came as a shock, but I am handling it better this time. OT: Can you tell us why you closed? JD: Simple: The landlords don"t know that the party"s over. They are ruining Madison Avenue because of this mentality, as many places are being forced to close down due to such high rents. Also, many high-end designers are popping up and they can pay a lot more than a restaurant can. That"s the reason we closed the first time too, when we were on 70th Street. Prada is now where we used to be. OT: Are there any ideas as to where the new La Goulue will open? Is Madison no longer a possibility? JD: No, it is still a possibility. We will most likely open two blocks from where we were. Maybe on Madison, maybe off Madison. I think the new one will be a mix of the original one on 70th Street with the old-timers, and the one on Madison. -- Transcript has been edited for clarity.