But you’re almost certainly not here for the food or the room or the service, and there’s a friendly, bemused atmosphere here, as if it’s everyone’s first shift every night. The upshot is that George, wearing a gray suit and some tattoos, works the room, with plenty of opportunities to set things right with charismatic charm, shaking hands, hugging shoulders, bringing drinks. It’s tempting to say that Faux illustrates some fundamental difference between father and son—claiming that Keith is good at the whole restaurant thing while George is not—but I’d be inclined to be less certain and say that what we’re witnessing is a difference between innocence and experience. When you’re in the beginning stages of life, like George McNally and his friends and their friends’ friends, full of potential and nothing, the room itself doesn’t matter, and the food doesn’t matter, really, as long as the fries aren’t soggy and as long as there’s a martini on the table. you yes In the room, you are the scene, you are both the moth and the light. Great food, attentive service, a well-designed interior and an elegant mood – these luxuries can come later as a compensatory bulwark against the gentle indignities of time.
During my visit, about half the space in Fox’s seemed to be occupied by pretty young people, perhaps strategizing over bouillabaisse on when to move the party to the bar downstairs. I suspect that over the next few months, as the novelty of the place wore off, Keith’s loyalist—Bracerati? – Their curiosity drives them to visit, and there will be fewer and fewer of us left. In the cab back uptown, they would agree that they were definitely excited for young George and wished him every success, and maybe they’d find something quicker in whatever restaurant he opened next. One night, after dinner, I stepped onto Church Street, happily downing a cocktail and a half with a rather strong shot of Baba rum, and almost collided with a group of young women, their legs as long as deer, the New York night sweeping behind them like a glittering train. ❖