A hint at avoiding the smokiness is to enjoy lunch at Benoit. Upon recommendations from dear friends (you know who you are ) I wandered over to Benoit on Tuesday evening and found it completely full for the night so I politely asked if I could reserve for lunch tomorrow. He said fine, took my name down and said to show up at 12:30. I found myself in traditional French bistro heaven on 08-Oct-2003 for lunch and it was wonderful. The food was introduced and items were sampled and I felt much like the over stuffed goose getting ready to become holiday dinner myself... From the openers of brandied field mushrooms to the cassoulet, the soups, the cheeses and the desserts... Yum. The bistro was full by 1pm and only one smoker lit up at about 1:45pm. Most of my meal was smoke free and I was quite happy as the food was so good. Thank you for your original review.
