Description
There are a few windows at this vampirishly romantic restaurant, hidden down a dim and narrow alley in the Financial District, but they're few and easily covered. The glow of the back bar at Gitane has a Midas touch, turning the bottles of liquor into liquid gold (some of them, frankly, are) and warming up even the ashiest pallor. Loosened up with a cocktail, warmbloods are easily lured up the stairs to the dining room, which is dominated in uneven bricks and damask, sultry even at cocktail hour. Bridget Batson's Spanish-, French- and Moroccan-tinged California cuisine - her imagination spiked by olives, chorizo, and saffron - is as rich and sensual as the surroundings.
