New York _ Restaurants critique
 

I'll be in NY soon with my late 20's daughter for a few plays and an opera. So many restaurants, so little time! We have our favorites, but we have decided we ought to try some new ones (for us). We're having a hard time! Le Bernardin, Nice Matin, Spice Market, Stanton Social, Gramercy Tavern. What do you think?

Thanks all!

You may have better luck with this quesrion on the message boards at www.chowhound.com

have a great time Cabo! My Mom and I are going to NYC in a few weeks ourselves - will be fun, mother-daughter shopping weekend! we are going the weekend after Thanksgiving. If I find anything interesting when I look, I will post here, and definitely let us know how your trip goes!

Why is Nice Matin on your list? This is not close to being one of our best restaurants. Do you want great food or a scene?

Nice Matin is on the list because of some good info we got....somewhere. We love good food AND a scene! We're from San Francisco! What are your suggestions? Thanks! We'll cross off Nice Matin and keep looking for ideas.

I really enjoy the Tavern Room at Gramercy Tavern. No reservations, but you can sit at the bar. Very nice atmosphere, great food, and unlike the main dining room, you don't have to order an entire several-course dinner. If you show up in the afternoon for a late lunch/early dinner, you might have no wait at all. I don't know if the tavern room is open all day on weekends or just on weekdays; I have only done this on weekends.

Le Bernardin is an excellent choice. Assuming you like fish, the various preparations they have there are outstanding. (I'm sure you already know this, but if you don't like fish, stay away!) Their sommelier is also very, very good.

Have you been to Daniel before? That's another good option. Additionally, La Grenouille is a little old fashioned, but it's a nice choice for a mother-daughter lunch.

Have fun!

Better food AND a scene would be Babbo, Lupa, Balthazar, and Thor. Bette is a real scene and reports on the food are surprisingly good but I have not been so cannot comment directly. Le Bernadin is not scene-ey. On the Upper West Side instead of Nice Matin you might like Cesca; the food is excellent and it is a spirited place. Or Ouest. I can't understand why neither of the those two do not get mentioned more often on Fodors.

"...why those two do not get more frequent mention here." Sorry!

pps. You really should check chowhound.com, as the OP suggested. You will get more detailed and up-to-date food info from locals on that board.