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Midtown's legendary La Côte Basque may have traded in her murals and carpeting for a new look in 2004, but there's plenty of the old girl left in Jean-Jacques Rachou's 21st-century Brasserie LCB. Surrounded by the energy and clatter of micro-tile floors, black leather banquettes, bistro mirrors, and Veuve Clicquot-orange walls, the menu is pure old-fashioned southern French excess: Individual escargots swim in jiggers of pine nut-studded garlic butter; steak au poivre wears a heartburn-inducing overcoat of peppercorns; potatoes dauphanoise are more cream than potato; and cassoulet is a meat-and-fowl feast set in a bowl of excruciatingly salty Tarbais beans. Rachou offers highbrow items like oysters and caviar, as well as traditional brasserie fare, like choucroute, quiche Lorraine, and pigs trotters with foie gras. But more is not always best; some dishes, such as frisée aux lardons, are rich yet bland. Like the menu and the clientele, budget-friendly sippers sit shoulder-to-shoulder with once-in-a-lifetime bottles on the extensive wine list. Desserts are old-school to the hilt, flamboyant affairs that might be spiked with Grand Marnier, topped with a jaunty cookie, served in a silver goblet, or maybe all three. — Colleen McKinney

Sun, noon-3pm

BYOB
$25 corkage fee

Escargots de Bourgogne à la Méridionale, $12; soufflé au Grande Marnier, $8.50

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Best of New York Awards

• Best Old-School French Restaurant (2005)

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