Dh and I are traveling to NYC for business on September 23-27.

We really will not have much down time - but Sept. 23 IS his Birthday. We have an early day on Monday - and need to be clear and "on". I would like to try to make sure I have reservations for dinner - but not sure on where to try and book. We get into JFK at 5:00 pm. I was thinking of doing the Helicopter from JFK into downtown as a surprise treat for him.

We are staying at the Marriott - I am not 100 pecent sure on the location (I know it is not the Timesquare one)... I will verify.

We are having dinner out on Wed and will be back in the city in Oct for a family wedding as well as our 11 year anniversary - budget is around 150.00 for the two of us plus tip. No big drinks that night...

We like ALL food - These were recommended by a cousin from NYC:
Jean George, Daniel, Boulet, Babbo & Del Posto. Felidia is really good too, as is Aqua Grill for Seafood. Traditional Steakhouses would be, Spark's, Wolfgang's & Keen's...

Thoughts?

Which Marriott?

Your cousin mentioned some of the more expensive restaurants in NYC.

Felidia is terribly over rated. Instead of Acqua Grill try Acquavit.

For steak consider what many consider the gold standard Peter Luger's and the Strip Joint.

Sparks IMO is overrated. Peter Luger is overrated too, but it's probably the best in town, when it's on its A-game. The last time I went there tho it was subpar for Luger, but still excellent. Babbo is great.

I don't know if all of those restaurants will be within your budget and not sure all are open on a Sun. night. You really have to make SOME decision either about kind of food and atmosphere you want or the location, in order for us to help. Otherwise we'll just either comment likes/dislike from your list or give you more names. I'm not sure that would be helpful.

I'm not sure you can do a steakhouse in NYC for $150 for two. A steak (with nothing else) is at least $40 at most of the places you mention, so you'd have to limit yourself to 1 glass of the cheapest wine, one side, and maybe coffee. (Be aware that Peter Luger takes only CASH if you decide to trek all the way over there.) It's also difficult that this is a Sunday. Jean-George, Daniel, Bouley are definitely out of your price range. Babbo might work if it's open and you can get a table; Filidia might also be in your range. I don't know Aqua Grill or Del Posto, though I know the latter is pretty expensive.

I love the idea of Aquavit (one of my favorite restaurants), but it's definitely out of your range. If you are really careful, you could do Tabla, which is a great restaurant. If you raise your limit to $200, you can do most of the restaurants on your list if you stick to a single glass of wine or a cheaper bottle.

Thanks for the feedback - regarding what we like - we love all different kinds of foods so that is not an issue.
Having said that we are going to Nobu on that Wed. (with the cousins who gave me this list). So perhaps a steak place... and if I need to do 100.00 a head that would be okay. It is not really an issue - I was thinking since I will not be ordering a bottle of wine with dinner (need to be clear headed in the am) I might be okay with 75.00 a head. (before tip)I am going to look into Aqavit...

I do not know what Marriott it is - I did not make the reservation (we have to stay at that one) I am sure I will find out.

I cannot do the helicopter from JFK - they only run from what I can tell on weekdays.

I am going to get him Charger tickets for his b-day but wanted to take him out that day. I hate the thought it was just "another day".

I believe Aquavit is either $85 or $92 per person (it's a prix-fixe), so it may be over your budget. If you don't drink any alcohol, you can probably do the steak places for $75 per head before tip.

Your budget for the restaurants you listed are not realistic (especially if you intend to order wine). I highly recommend Cercle Rouge in Tribeca. It's a little quiet niche downtown. It has a wonderful vibe to it - great french food that's very reasonably priced.

Thanks again everyone! As I said we are not drinking that evening due to the time we have to be up in the am - so that is not an issue - we also do not generally eat deserts.

The Marriott is:New York Marriott Financial Center located on 85 West Street, New York, New York 10006.

Doug - thank you. I am not "set" on the budget - it is flexible - so going over is not an issue.

So you'll be downtown. Some interesting options but many places down there are closed on Sun. night. You might be best heading to Tribeca.

Tribeca Grill
Upstairs at Bouley
Aquagrill
http://www.aquagrill.com/dinnerpage.htm

I second the vote for Aquagrill. It has been a few years since I ate there but my dining companions from that evening consistently rank that meal in the top 10 that we have had in the city. Other Tribeca options are Fresh and Landmarc. Landmarc is definitely in your price range, the food is consistently great and you will have plenty of room in your budget for wine. Landmarc does not mark up their wines like so many other restaurants do and they have a very nice selection. I am always pleased with my meal there -- make sure to go to the Tribeca branch as the Columbus Circle Landmarc hasn't gotten the best reviews. Fresh is wonderful seafood. I had a fabulous meal there in the spring.

For expensive French food, I'd skip Jean Georges and Daniel, and instead go to Le Bernardin, which I think is far better and more consistent. They only serve seafood, so that would have to be okay with you. You'd go considerably over $150 for two people, even more than with the other options you've listed.

Felidia is fine, but not really destination dining in my opinion.

Babbo is one of the few places that I find to be really consistent, in terms of food quality, over the years. It's an extremely difficult reservation to get - you'll have to start calling the moment reservations become available, and hit redial over and over, hoping that you can get through. You can also try calling the afternoon before, and see if there's a cancellation. But I really prefer just to show up and hope to get one of the non-reservable tables in the bar area. If you go right when they open, you'll probably get one. I also find Babbo's waitstaff to be among the more pretentious in the City, and their maitre d'hotel is a legendary jerk among NY foodie circles. But the food's good. And, notably, Babbo is open on Sundays.

I haven't been to Bouley for a while, but I've never found the food to be particularly impressive there. David Bouley closed his legendary first restaurant in 1996, and I don't think the second incarnation (basically a renaming of the old Bouley Bakery) was as ambitious or as successful a project.

I once liked Tabla, but I think it crashed and burned years ago.

The New York foodies recently have been buzzing about 11 Madison Park, which historically was never much of a food place, but recently hired a new chef. I haven't yet checked out the new chef myself.

You might try posting on www.chowhound.com, too. You'll get an awful lot of opinions over there.

dawnnoelm, I almost forgot to mention this: many of the restaurants that you're interested in are on www.opentable.com. That's a site that you can use to see which restaurants have reservations available for a time you're interested in, and you can actually make the reservations there too. It's a lot simpler than calling a lot of places to see if they have a table.

I also recommend Chantarelle -- but their price fixe is $95 ... and their tasting menu, which I've done before I think is $125, so it's more then you want to spend..... I also really like Acquavit, although I haven't been there since they've been at their current location, anyway, their price fixe is only $40 mon-fri. Lots of places have good pre-theatre deals.... I've done the price fixe at Petrossian's (near Carnagie Hall) and loved it. For closer to downtown the Gotham Grill is popular and acclaimed...but they only have a price fix lunch ($31)--their whole menu is online, wonderful place. As for steakhouses, we have always gone to Smith and Wollensky as our steakhouse of choice (my Dad always preferred it over Peter Luger, but could just be because it was more convenient!) Good luck!

hawksbill - we might have similar tastes, because I wholeheartedly agree with your post concerning, babbo, bouley le bernardin, et al - but i must tell you - in the past year we have had two quite wonderful meals at Tabla - one in the restaurant, one in the Bread Bar. I had been once when it first opened and had not been impressed - but I tell you, Floyd Cardoz has reworked things and the food and the service were excellent. Really give it a try if you haven't been in the past 18 months. And if you have . . . well, I guess that's what makes horse races . . .

dawn - you've gotten some really good suggestions, and if you're not drinking (or sticking to one glass of wine each) you could definitely make it out of Babbo, splitting an appetizer, each having a pasta or a main course and each having dessert - you can check out menus at www.menupages.com

Have I mentioned lately how much I love this forum? I have received excellent recommendations and have been playing around with OpenTable to see what we can secure. Our cousins are no longer able to meet us for dinner on Wed. night - so I am going to take some of these recommendation and plan a nice dinner for dh and I that night as well - and we CAN drink wine then

US Helicopters is running a $99 special for airport transfers through October 31st from either JFK or Newark.

I'd jump all over that. It is only about $30 more than a cab.

all the places mentioned in the original post are top tier nyc restaurants. expect to pay between $150-$300 per person, closer to 300 if wine is involved.

a quick summary of my favorites for certain cuisines:

steakhouse - peter luger, for sure
italian - roberto's in the bronx (better than babbo, imo)
seafood - mylos, perhaps
french brasserie - les halles

also, the Spotted Pig is a fantastic place to eat if you don't mind a bar atmosphere, and cramped seating.

enjoy!

mp - thanks for the tip about Tabla. It has been more than 18 months since I've been there, and I'd be delighted if they managed to resurrect the place. I always liked the room quite a bit. It might be time to try a return visit.