How Trendy New York Restaurant Balthazar Serves 1,500 Meals A Day

Famous Manhattan restaurant Balthazar serves a dizzying 1,500 people per day.

Willy Staley at the New York Times spent 22 hours at the eatery to see how the staff accomplishes this impressive feat.

His report illustrates the staggering numbers behind one of the most popular restaurants in New York.

We selected some of the most mind-boggling facts.

• Balthazar's weekly meat order contains "80 pounds of ground beef, 700 pounds of top butt, and 175 shoulder tenders."

• The restaurant orders 500 pounds of "insanely expensive" peanut oil for its fries every week.

• In a busy week, Balthazar spends $90,000 on food for 10,000 guests.

• 10% of guests order Balthazar's famous steak frites, as many as 200 orders per day.

• The staff chops and peels 600 pounds of potatoes every day.

• Balthazar's prep cook, Alvino, can peel a potato in 6.4 seconds.

• On the day that Staley went to the restaurant, waiters earned $345 in tips. That's before the $5 they're paid per hour.

Staley was impressed with the restaurant's operations, calling Balthazar a "highly efficient, well-oiled potato-chipping machine."