It came as a shock to learn last week that I have a number of symptoms associated with ‘Untreated Francophilia.’ They vary in both severity and in the type of activity one chooses to engage in. Less acute symptoms, for instance, might include planning the next trip to Paris, within minutes of having returned home from France. Markedly more severe symptoms include the stalking of French restaurants, cafes and patisseries wherever you happen to find yourself.  Experts say the only cure for French Stalker Syndrome is total immersion in French culture -- a month of two in the south of France would be therapeutic.

But finding it impossible to jet off to France any time soon, I head downtown for a few hours to check out a new French outpost in the Flatiron District, Le Coq Rico: The Bistro of Beautiful Birds.