Dear friends
We will be staying ten days in New york and we would like to have lunch or dinner in two very nice restaurants. Most of the time to we buy food at a nice place to eat at the hotel or eat wherever we are visiting.But as eating can be a very nice experience (and also expensive) we would like some advice about where to eat good food in a nice place
even if costy.
Thank you
Marcia

There are literally thousands of restaurants in New York. So, how about answering these questions to narrow the field somewhat:
1. What's your price range?
2. Why type(s) of food do you prefer?
3. What areas of the city?

Hi, Howard
As for the area all of NYC would do. As for the food,the only food I would not want is latin american food as that is what I have at home...As for the price range we could pay about 200 dollars or a little more considering we do not plan going to a lot of places.
What I actually dream is good food ,exciting desserts and also a nice enviroment and friendly service. A place to remember.It could be lunch or dinner.
Thanks for all your useful informations
Marcia

Il Mulino (make reservations in advance). Lunch set us back about $125 (w/out drinks) but would go back in a NY minute (pun intended). Check them out at Zagats or other critics choices.

At that price, you would have a wide choice of outstanding restaurants, so much so that I'm almost reluctant to single out any! Perhaps my best suggestion would be to get a copy of Zagat's Survey of New York Restaurants and look through it. I would assume that you can obtain a copy of it at a bookstore specialzing in travel.

Hi Howard
I have read all Zagat online and really the problem is that the choice is so wide that you get lost. I imagined to spend as much because I think prices in New York are so high that you have to allow a margin if you want to have something real good.May be I am mistaken. Anyway I would love to have some advice because it is different when you have been to a place and when you read about it.
Thanks again. I have already one choice: Il mulino
Marcia

Hi Marcia -

It sounds like you're looking for personal opinions, so once you get a few suggestions you'd be well advised to search for reviews like those on www.nytoday.com, or newyork.citysearch.com, then compare with what you get here on the Fodor's forum.

My own few top dining choices in NYC would be as follows: for romance, try Alison on Dominick or March. Alison is on the far west reaches of Soho - I haven't been there in three years, but it was fantastic. Very romantic, and the service is impeccable. French-American food. March is on the Upper East Side (well, near Sutton Place) and is absolutely beautiful. Again, romantic and impeccable service, delicious French/American food with Asian influences.

For a really terrific lunch you couldn't go wrong with either Gotham Bar and Grill or Gramercy Tavern. If you check out the prix-fixe lunch section in Zagat, you might find that you could afford one more nice lunch than you thought you could - I am pretty sure Aureole is still offering their $20.01 lunch, and that's another truly wonderful place.

A few other suggestions to throw into the mix, depending on what you're looking for. I love Asia de Cuba, which is on Madison in the high 30s. The decor is really cool, and it still attracts a fun, hip crowd - although I don't know if that's what you're looking for. The food is really, really good, and it's all about sharing with your dining companions. If you're at all interested in Japanese food, do try to get a reservation at Nobu. Amazing.

You'll get lots of advice here! Have fun!

L

The problem is, Marcia, that you're probably going to end up with too many suggestions! I would start with the three most popular restaurants with the Fodor's raters: Union Square Cafe, Grammery Tavern and Gotham Bar and Grill. If you want steak, there's no better place than Peter Luger's in Brooklyn.
Also, you can't go wrong with the restaurants that are top rated by the Zagat's crowd--Le Bernardin, Chanterelle, Nobu, Jean Georges, Daniel, Sugiyama or the above-mentioned Peter Luger's.
And, that's just a start!!!!!!

How far in advance do restaurants like Gotham, Gramercy, etc., take reservations?

Dear friends
Thank you for all the advice.I will study all the places and try to decide.Howard ,i read in past forums that you recomended Chez Josephine. Is it still an idea?
Marcia

Marcia, Chez Josephine is a definite and loud yes. It just that when you threw the figure of $200 for dinner for two, I was like a kid in a candy store. I was responding as if you had said, "Howard, here's $200 for dinner. Where would like to go?"
Chez Josephine has it all--good food, fine ambiance, excellent staff and, above all, the most gracious and charming maitre d' in the city--co-owner Jean-Claude Baker, one of Josephine Baker's rainbow children.

Oops, I posted prematurely. Marcia, Chez Josephine will cost the two of you, with a drink or two, around $60 a person. Make reservations at least two weeks in advance (especially for a weekend). 212-594-1925.
Mona, these restaurants usually take reservations 30 days out. And, it's advisable to call the first day that you can!

Actually, Union Square Cafe and Gramercy Tavern begin accepting reservations exactly 28 days (four weeks) in advance, usually at 9 AM. But if you call too early, they'll just tell you when to call back for the dte you want. You can also get on waiting lists at these places. It's not really that hard to get a reservation sometimes if you're just two and are willing to go early or late. Or to go for lunch.

For people coming from out of town or, especially, overseas, sites like opentable,com work really well (according to friends who have used them). You might have to have a little bck-and-forth about available times and dates, but you don't have to worry about time differences or international phone calls.