We will be at the Guggenheim on Sat. and the Metropolitan Museum of Art on Sun. and need recommendations for nearby restaurants for lunch. Just looking for basic fare - burgers, sandwiches and salads are fine. We did eat at the Guggenheim the last time we visited but are looking for somewhere different this time. Thanks.

Not quite your basic fare, but Cafe Sabarsky at Neue Galerie is not to be missed.

I've also eaten at the Petrie Court Cafe inside the Met - good food, nice setting.

That's not an area with a ton of restaurants - most are Lexington or further east. For basic Italian you might try Serafina's at 79th/Madison.

Pastrami Queen, between 85th and 86th on Lexington for deli sandwiches. Lexington Candy Shop on Lexington between 80th and 81st for burgers and old-fashioned ice cream sodas.

The food bar in the Met itself isn't half bad, and it will save you time. The area is not thick with restaurants. Rents would be too high. Most of the decent ones are on 2nd avenue, a 10 minute walk away.

I believe the delicious Pastrami Queen has moved to a new location ... but I don't recall where it is.

As a prior poster said, most of the restaurants are east of Lex, on 2nd & 3rd Avenues.

Take a look at www.menupages.com for many, many options.

You're absolutely right about Pastrami Queen. It's now between 78th and 79th on Lexington. Still relatively convenient to the Met but not as close as before.

I liked E.A.T. on Madison at about 81st. It's owned by the folks who run Zabars, and has sandwiches on great breads and really good soups and salads.