Help selecting NYC restaurants for dinner...
 

My family and I will be in NYC from 5/27-5/30 and are looking to make reservations for dinner on Sat and Sun nights. For Fri night, we will probably have a late dinner at Rachel's American Bistro (it is near our hotel - the Belvedere). Anyways, based on the menus and nymetro.com, I've narrowed it down to these restaurants:
Tao
davidburke & donatella
BLT Steak
Ouest
The Red Cat

I'd appreciate any feedback at these places. We are looking for unique NY experiences like we've had at the Gramercy Tavern and Union Sq Cafe. Oh, and we are having brunch at Balthazar on Sun and lunch at Pastis on Mon.

Thank you!

ttt

Of the restuarants you listed, the best two in my opinion are davidburke & donatella (Upper East Side) and Ouest (Upper West Side).

I know the former's menu is available on-line; perhaps that will help with the decision.

Recommend Pietrasanta over Rachel's. They're about 3 blocks away - 47 & 9th (northwest corner. Same owner, but different cuisine. Pietrasanta has excellent fresh pasta dishes (my favorite there) really good salads and entrees. I was disappointed in Rachel's - food was good but not special; vegetables with the entree were disappointing. That was about 3 years ago and haven't gone back, although lots of folks are fans.

Atmosphere is more intimate in Rachel's; Pietrasanta gets very noisy pre-theatre, but if you're going after 7:30 it should be fine. Not a tourist spot, rather a very popular pre theatre restaurant. Reservation is a must if dinner desired between 6 - 7 PM.

Gekko - I was leaning towards those two so thanks for the opinion.

Aunt_A - I am such a pasta lover so maybe we will go to Pietrasanta instead...

While I like Red Cat, I don't think it is on the same level as the other places mentioned (it has more of a neighborhood feel). One of Bradley and Abram's other places, The Harrison, is more on the GT/USC level, if you are willing to make the trip downtown.

DB&D is very, very good and quite inventive. However, it might not make the best choice for someone who is looking for more basic meat and potatoes or someone that doesn't like places that can best be described as "a scene." Personally, I think it lives up to the hype. But, I've got a few colleagues, people who I know to be fairly serious foodies, who found it a bit overdone.

Tao is interesting and the food is very good. However, you're paying up for Chinese food that might be a step below a nearby spot like Tse-Yang or Chin-Chin. Again, if you're ok with a scene, it's a good spot. If you just want good food and care less about "the scene", better spots exist.

Ouest is always very good. I would suggest Nam or Boa 111 instead of Tao. They're both VERY good Vietnamese places. Boa 111 is on the lower east side, so it is definitely a different scene, but the food and prices are great.