My husband is taking me on a trip to NYC for my 50th. This is the first time we've been there together in almost 20 years. We have two of our three "special dinners" planned, at Nobu and Il Mulino. What's a suggestion for the third (it's a important consideration for us, because who knows when we'll be able to visit again?)No specific cuisine, just wonderful food!

Still to me possibly the finest restaurant in New York -- Le Bernardin. Simply perfect so long as you like fish and seafood.

I have to sort of laugh at your first two choices. Be sure to do Nobu first for the tiny, tiny portions so you'll be really hungry for the gigantic tablesized portions they'll give you at Il Mulino the next night. Two extremes here. (By the way, I had a simply awful meal at Il Mulino, but apparently it was a reallllllly off night. I loved the place, just hated the food.

Thanks for the recommendation. We both love seafood, so it sounds perfect. Actually I'd tried both Nobu and Il Mulino with our daughter on a mother/daughter trip last year. We loved both, so we thought Dad had to try them. We went to Il Mulino for lunch, and we didn't eat again until the next morning. We loved the food and the service was wonderful. Maybe you should give Il Mulino one more try at lunch? I heard it's a much more relaxed atmostphere then.

Le Bernardin is a good option and one of the finest restaurants in the country, let alone New York.

I'd also say that La Grenouille, across from St. Patrick's, might be a great place to celebrate a memorable event. The combination of food and ambiance are spectacular. (Although, I heard an as yet unconfirmed rumor that it may be closing.)

Hmmmm - We may have to make this four "special dinners."

I encourage you to try something new in a different neighborhood, WD-50 on 50 Clinton Street (Lower East Side). The reviews have been fantastic and the cuisine has been described as the most inventive & creative in New York.

Be adventurous!
And Enjoy

I just read a couple reviews of WD-50. Sounds wonderful! This is making my choice very difficult ...

I have a special place in my heart for La Grenouille. It is a lovely restaurant and one that treated a very young person (me) and the group I persuaded to go there with great attention, kindness and a total lack of pretention although at the time it and Lutece were the epitome of New York restaurants. The grace with which we were treated and the incredibly presented classic French cuisine has been a standard to which I have compared all other restaurants for years. I hope that they do not have to close. I do have to recommend Le Bernardin as well. It is probably the best restaurant in the city at this time. LMF

Interesting about WD-50. I did a google search and found reviews on a couple of websites -- New York Metro.com and New York City guide and got some comments like desserts being "perfectly OK" and soup that was "a little bland" and a comment that "some things simply don't work". Not quite the raves I was expecting. But it does sound very trendy and certainly creative.

Ah, Lutece, LMF!!! Whatever happened to that wonderful place? I had forgotten all about it.

That lovely garden room still lives at Lutece. I haven't been for a few years now and it is now managed by ARK which boggles the mind.

Lutece and the Lorelei (tacky looking little chikee hut bar and restaurant) in Islamorada Florida are owned by the same entity. Hmmmm. LilMsFoodie is speechless.

(found this intriguing information by doing www.lutece.com)

There was also a negative review of WD-50 in Gourmet magazine. I can't quote it as I don't have my copy anymore, but the gist of it was that the creative combinations don't work.

Re: WD-50. Just because a food combination is unexpected, it doesn't necessarily mean it will work. I am so tired of melange of this and coulis of that purporting to be fine cuisine.

Many chef's have skills today but have little taste. For every Norman Van Aken or Alice Waters there are legions of wannabes who do not possess "Le Bec Fin".

This trend is thankfully slowing for which I am grateful. Simplicity in cuisine requires skill and attention to detail. LMF

While I am very fond of Le Bernardin, I would recommend Gramercy Tavern instead. Fabulous food and service in a wonderfully warm atmosphere. The food is great at Le Bernardin, but the ambience is a little corporate and stiff.

I would also consider Babbo as an alternative to Il Mulino--the pasta is to die for, and the menu is much more creative.

Chef Wylie had a few early opening jitters -- and the very early reviews reflected this -- but has since moved forward. My three dinners there have been extraordiary.

We had an almost three hour lunch last week at LeBernardin. There was nothing "stiff" or "corporate" about our service, however, I'm sure if you were stiff business people doing a power lunch, the service would go along to suit.
Our waiter had an amazing French accent and we asked where he was from. We chatted throughout the afternoon about his home town in Brittainy and other things and places in France. We chatted about the things we were doing in New York and he told us about his previous travels to the US even though he has only been here nine months this time. It was probably as familiar as we've ever gotten with a server anywhere, and he was truly friendly, not just "doing his job". Hardly what we'd expect at a place like that.

Thanks for all your fantastic input. I've been trying for the last three days to make a reservation at Il Mulino and the line is busy. Is there a certain time of day that they do pick up the phone? Babbo definitely sounds like a nice alternative.

If Babbo is also a no-go, try Felidia. It is an east Midtown Italian and is exceptional.

By chance you have an AMEX Platinum card, call their concierge service for help. I've used them several times for hard to get tables.

Le Cirque... great food and service

Nancy, I learned how to do the reservation at Il Mulino. We were in New York and tried calling for three days at all hours and could only get a busy signal. Finally I got on the subway and went there in person in the late morning, walked in and made a reservation for a couple of weeks later. Oddly enough, no one was on the phone, but it was sitting there off the hook. I think the busy signal is part of the "mystique".

I suspected as much about Il Mulino. The problem is, we're in California, and I know we'll never get a table if we wait until we get there. I guess we'll be going to Babbo or Felidia for Italian food.