Onera and Dona sound good to me. I'll follow up on reservations etc.

As a possible alternative to the type of restaurant I previously mentioned what about Big Nick's (DH enjoys a good burger) or Good Enough to Eat (do they serve breakast items later in the day or just to lunch). Would either of these make a good midday lunch stop (probably before the Natural History Museum)?

"He's not much for shopping but I have asked that he pick me up some chocolate. La Maison du Chocolat or Richart. Any other suggestions?"

I feel that La Maison is the better choice than Richart.

BTW, having just returnned from Brussels and tasted and taken home a bunch of great ones from Pierre Marcolini, I was happy to know that Marcolini has just opened a store here in NYC along Park and 59th. These Marcolini chocolates are so good that, in my view, are giving those by La Maison a run for their money.

If you're interested in doing something very "New York," why don't you buy hot dogs from the hot dog cart in front of the museum and either chow down and people watch from the steps or cross the street and park it in Central Park? Cheap and authentic!

Also, I agree with the others...visiting 2 art museums as well as the AMNH is very ambitious for one day...good luck!

Christina

Sunday lunch near the museums? Then go no farther and sample The Bar Room at the MOMA.

The dishes are Alsatian-inspired (by chef Gerald Kleuther) and are very good, albeit just slightly bigger than tapas-sized servings. The service and overall food quality are as top notch as you would find in any Danny Meyer's run restaurant hre in New York.

Yes, the Modern has really good food. Probably packed at lunch Sunday, though.

I wasn't refering to the Modern. I was recommending it's less formal sibling, The Bar Room.

Because unless things have changed, I don't believe the Modern is open for lunch on Sundays.

The dining room at The Modern is closed on Sunday. The bar room at The Modern is open on Sunday.

Sorry, I was agreeing with the suggestion of the Bar. But it would probably be pakced for Sunday lunch.

That's what I thought you meant, but I thought my post would clear up any confusion about the two or which is open and which is closed.

ekscrunchy, I think it's travel-related for me to ask, How was Spigolo? I actually had dinner across the street from Spigolo last night, at Turquoise. Spigolo, one of my favorites in the city, was PACKED.

Excellent seafood at Turquoise. The owner suggested an off-the-menu combination of sea bass, tuna & scallops that was delicious.

Oops. Just saw your post-dinner post about Spigolo. Glad you enjoyed it. Heather takes good care of her customers (as does her husband, the chef). I think Spigolo definitely deserved Bruni's almost unprecedented accolades.

Walking across the park from the MoMa to the Museum of Natural History? Someone else chime in here if I'm wrong, but isn't the MoMA in midtown like at 55th or 56th. The Met is roughly across the park from the Natural History museum and that walk is totally doable. however, walking from the MoMa to the Natural History Museum is not advised.

I had a very very late lunch this week at Isabella, and while it was not extraordinary, if one doesn't want to walk too far from the natural history museum, i would definitely recommend it. I've also eaten at the bar room at the modern and it's definitely haute cuisine and very unique. I liked it, my mom wasn't so much into it.

i think you need to do a little bit more of rethinking about travel time and locations and maybe rearrange your day.

williamscb13 is correct about the walk across the park. The Museum of Natural History is at 79th and MOMA is at 54th. So, counting the distance across the park, it's more than a 2-mile walk.

People sometimes talk about walking through the park b/w the Met museum & Natural History. Is he perhaps confusing MOMA and Met?

IF the plan is to go to MOMA right when it opens, BUY TICKETS ON LINE There are a bunch of fees associated with it, service fees, printing out the ticket fee etc. but when he just waltzes past the hundreds of people lined up both inside and outside of MOMA, all the fees are worth it. Check out MOMAs website for more info. www.moma.org