I went to the Mesa Grill a few weeks ago and it was bad. I mean scrape your plate into the garbage bad. NEVER again. Are you a fan of the show Top Chef? The 1st season winner has a restaurant called Perilla. I haven't tried it yet but I've read good reviews.

What about Les Halles Brasseries? Two locations - the home base of Chef-at-Large Anthony Bourdain, author of the best selling Kitchen Confidential (Bloomsbury, May 2000) and host of The Travel Channel’s "No Reservations".

We ate at the one downtown and it was very, very good and reasonably priced.

Some good choices posted,
IMO Babbo and del posto are tourist traps.Sorry to those who rave about both.Again,IMO,Jean George felidia,GordonRamsey,Chanterelle,Acquavit,Bouley,D aniel,Le Bernadin,Gramacy tavern, are all great options and some are open for lunch which will be less expensive than dinner.Per Se is my favorite restaurant in NYC but is still expensive for lunch

If you can get a table at Babbo I would go for it. The idea that the place is a tourist trap is just plain wrong. I have been there quite a few times and never got the impression that my fellow diners were lowly tourists! (Heaven forbid!!) I would guess that there are a lot more tourists at Per Se than at Babbo! Who cares if the food is great and your fellow diners keep their clothes on and their voices at a volume less than shreiking?

I would second the recommendation of Gotham. I cannot imagine that you would be less than pleased there. Le Bernadin is always a great option. Jean Georges and EMP are great as well.

For clarification,I was not knocking tourists who visit NYC as we are all tourists at some point.I was objecting to restaurants that take advantage of people visiting any city.

If you haven't made reservations already, many of the restaurants mentioned here will already be booked so your choices will be narrowed down. I would start making phone calls now to see what may be available.

Not only do I think the Babbo food is uninspired, the attitude by staff is unforgivable. Actually had a waiter chastise me for ordering something that I had read about in a review. His comment...."spare me the TV tourists".

I vote for Gotham if you must do a <i>name</i> restaurant.

My vote goes for anything Batali - DelPosto had the best pork loin I have ever eaten, Lupa is magnificent (but they are heavy on the spices), Casa Mono has very different tapas, and Babbo is superb. But, I also love PerSe, Bouley, Danube, Eleven Mad, Il Mulino, Gordon Ramsey, Robuchon.
I did NOT like Perillo's. Very safe, boring, and not so much flavor.

I had lunch at Lupa a few months ago and loved it (particularly, the pasta with cauliflower sauce), but I must admit I was with a group of college friends for an annual reunion, so the company may have had something to do with it. I recommended it to a co-worker and he, his wife and mother were not impressed.

Everyone I know who has dined at PerSe has said it's fabulous. Personally, I'm happy with a $50 lunch at Lupa; no matter how good the food is, I can't bear to spend Per Se's kind of money on eating out.

My favorite dish in Rome is Bucatini Amatriciana. I order it there every chance I get. Lupa's version is as good or better as any I've ever had in Rome. I can't go to Lupa and NOT get the bucatini, if only to split as a starter for two of us.

And Gotham Bar and Grill was one of the first &quot;celebrity&quot; restaurants. How many years ago was it that I first saw Alfred Portale being featured on TV as starting that trend of stacking ingredients in a dish? I keep forgetting how great a place it really is -- not controlled by the trendy seekers, but just plain wonderful.

Yes Patrick! Forgot about that one. Absolutely add Gotham to the list By the way, I am off to Rao's tomorrow night. Gotta keep being nice to these friends!

Don't credit me for that one, Bugswife. I was reminded of Gotham by the posts above, but somehow the past few trips to NYC I keep forgetting it. And I think they still do that wonderful bargain three course lunch for just over $20.
On the other hand I have YOU to thank for the Lupa suggestion a couple trips back. Now I'm addicted to that bucatini.

I too really enjoy Babbo and would never tire of eating there.

Also had one of the best meals at Mesa Grill - and I could care less if Flay himself cooks it. I just like good food. :)

I was just at Lupa for lunch on Saturday. Superb as usual. They have a dish with kale and pecorino, which is the same thing they do with brussel sprouts when they are in season. To die for.

I would not say that Babbo is a tourist trap or takes advantage of people visiting the City. This is New York -- the food is pricey. Every time I have eaten at Babbo the food has been phenomenal and the service has been impeccable. Lupa is also fantastic and should remain on your list. While it is difficult to get reservations at both places, they often have last minute cancellations and it is worth it to call the day of and see if there is anything available.

Some of my other favorite meals have been at Telepan, Gotham B&amp;G, Balthazar, Cru, Cafe Boulud, Town, Eleven Madison Park... I could go on and on since there are so many amazing places here, both celeb and non-celeb. My experiences at Mesa Grill have been mixed and I thought Olives was mediocre. I haven't been to Gramercy Tavern since the Tom Collichio days but a friend of mine just went and said it was great and revived.

How far in advance to restaurants like those mentioned in this thread take reservations? (specifically Lupa, but could be others)

Love the selections I am seeing, Balthazar, Gotham, Babbo.

A huge thumbs down to Bobby Flay's restaurant, students in the kitchen and it was nothing you could not get at an other chain, suburban style. HUGE DISAPPOINTMENT when we went for lunch. Think I even had a grilled meat served to me burnt. Would not go back unless I heard he put seasoned chefs in the kitchen.

The good news about August is that it's relatively easy to get a good reservation time at a top restaurant. I just reserved 11 Madison Park for next week at 8 (granted, a weeknight). But many of the top restaurants close for the last week in August, and the top chef is rarely present that month even when the restaurant is open.

For what it's worth, I don't see any recommendations for Tom Colicchio's restaurant Craft. He's a food celebrity now as a judge on Top Chef, and I'd place Craft among the city's better restaurants. (He was the original chef at Gramercy Tavern.) By the way, Anthony Bourdain has no affiliation with Les Halles anymore.

A month in advance for most. Per Se is two months.

The THEME is &quot;celebrity&quot; restaurants...SO....I have to say that my favorite is Babbo, which I have had many a great meal there.

Ohh yes I LOVE Gotham, and now that I have heard so much about Gramercy Tavern..I HAVE to try that now.

If anyone could recommend others that are like Gotham PLEASE do!

As far as celeb restaurants are concerned, in my travels I have found that they are as good relative to the time the CELEB actually works it!

I remember in the past Emeri doing a dinner for my wife.....it was AMAZING...absolutely INCREDIBLE....but when he is not there...well it is good by certainly NOT amazing!