The faux-Parisian pleasures of Pastis and Balthazer now include a couple of charming artists daubing oil paints in the corner.

Since the day Balthazar opened its carefully antiqued doors three years ago, Francophiles have cooed knowingly over the details Keith McNally captured in his Parisian-style brasserie - the brass railings aux Deux Magots, the cloudy mirrors, the late-night oysters. One could only complain, perhaps that both Balthazar and its more informal follow-up, Pastis, lacked true bohemian spirit, populated as they are by well-fed celebrities rather than starving artists.

As if in answer to McNally's prayers, that's no longer entirely true: Elizabeth Bisbing and Elinore Schnurr, both artists, if not starving ones, have recently been setting up their oil paints and table-top canvases in the corners of both boites. They paint restaurant-goers s they flip through their Wall Street Journals (longing, no doubt, for an International Herald Tribune) or power-breakfast over a brioche.