My husband and I will be staying at 52nd and Madison in Manhattan in a few weeks and plan to meet friends for Sunday brunch. We haven't seen them in a long time, so we'd like a place where we can relax and talk--and have good food! We were thinking about the Park Avenue Cafe, Norma's (in the Parker Meridien), or Lenox Room. Are those good choices? Any other recommendations?

Sarabeth's, on Madison in Carnegie Hill, is excellent.

Norma's is excellent, be sure to make a reservation. Sarabeth's is good as well, but not as good as Norma's IMO. Also, no reservations at Sarabeth's and wait can be long.

Just to clarify the geography, Norma's is not on the Upper East Side.

The Park Ave Cafe, around 63rd Street I believe, and Lenox Room, on 3rd in the mid-70's, are.

In my opinion, the Mad Ave Sarabeth's is much better than Norma's, but the wait can be long (supply & demand), and you might sit next to Woody Allen (which could be a positive or negative for you -- ha ha).

We went to Norma's after seeing a ton of raves. I guess I just didn't get it. Seemed like a sort of breakfast menu to me, decent but not great food (too big portions for my taste) and VERY expensive for what it was.

I'd agree it's hard to beat Sarabeth's.

Duh, left out a keyword above. "Seemed like a TYPICAL sort of breakfast menu. . ."

Just reporting back! We chose the Park Avenue Cafe at 100 E. 63rd Street and were very happy with it. We arrived on a VERY rainy Sunday, and they let us inside 15 minutes before the restaurant opened and gave us mimosas at the bar--a gracious gesture. The interior glowed despite the miserable weather, the food was very good, and we weren't rushed; we had plenty of time to visit with friends. All in all, a pleasant experience.