Frankly, the New French isn't all that French; the spare, light-filled warehouse dining room is more Soho than Seine, the menu is more modern than moules et frites. Still, until a thoroughly French restaurant manages to enchant us for more than a single course (Brasserie Zinc does lovely appetizers, La Fougasse charming desserts), when we crave French it will always be the New French for airy, crusty, homemade baguettes, chunky, thick pâtés, gilded-looking pieces of halibut perched on tender greens, and a chocolate soufflé as light as moonbeams on Montmartre.