A friend's son will be attending Columbia University next fall and I want to give him a gift certificate for dining out in NYC as his high school graduation gift.

I know about Restaurant Assocaites and the restaurants affiliated w/that group (and they do offer a gift card) but would appreciate info any other NYC restaurant groups or organizations you know about that might offer a gift card.

Thanks in advance.

You might try the BR Guest restaurants, which include several very popular places (Blue Water Grill, Ocean Grill, Dos Caminos, etc.). You can buy gift cards online:

http://www.brguestrestaurants.com/

Ocean Grill is on the UWS and not too far from Columbia, so he can check out his new neighborhood. Dos Caminos and Blue Water Grill are also in fun neighborhoods (SOHO & Union Square).

www.arkrestaurants.com
has about 9 --among them is the Bryant Park
Grill facing the same park behind the
NYC Public Library & El Rio
Grande @ 3rd & 38th St
GC's made be purchased by calling
212-206-8800, x19

Is he going to be eating with a group of friends, or with adults? That would definitely impact the type of restaurant I would recommend.

Another vote for BR Guest, which offers a wide variety of restaurants, including a favorite of young people, Dos Caminos.

Thanks for those recommendations- very helpful.

Regarding type of person he is and type of dining he'll be doing: He is a very food savvy young man. He was been raised in Santa Monica and is into film-making and playwriting, he has had two plays of his produced at Young Writer's workshops. My friend, his Mom, is very food saavy and has raised him to be also. He has his 18th birthday party at Chinois on Main in Santa Monica (his choice).

So I'd like nice restaruants where he could take a date but maybe also some places he could go hang w/friends more casually and have good food also.

Thanks again for your very good help!

Instead of giving restaurant gift cards, why not give him and American Express Gift card, that way he can use it on restaurants and/or school books. There are a few restaurants up by Columbia, but they are more local hangout kind of places and I would think that will generally be where he and his friends might hang out.

There's a Starbucks, that might be another idea, I know they have gift cards as well.

Hope he enjoys his time here in the city.

Another option could be the beanstalk restaurant group. The own Mermaid Inn, The Harrison, and (my favorite) the Red Cat. The Harrison and Red Cat are pretty sophisticated places that would both be excellent for dates. The only downside is that you have to buy a certificate for the individual restaurant, so he can't choose himself:

beanstalkrestaurants.com

I really recommend BR Guest - they have restaurants in a variety of neighborhoods with different vibes. He can decide if he wants a more raucous atmosphere or something a bit more romantic.

An Amex gift card is also a great idea, but for a college student, that might be going directly to the bar fund vs. a nice dinner;-)

another great idea- thanks wantsomesun.

I am sure others will disagree, but for someone who is truly food savvy, the BR Guest places, with the possible exception of Fiamma in Soho, are really not going to cut it.

Obviously they aren't the most highly regarded restaurants in NYC, but for a young person who is new to the city they provide the most options. The food is fine, and all these restaurants are immensely popular.

Another good group place for a casual meal is Dinosaur BBQ, which is in Harlem near Columbia.

We're talking about a student, are we not? I don't care how "food savvy" he is, BR Guest is the right choice.

I looked into the Am Ex gift certificates, and Am Ex also has a Dining Card that comes inscribed w/the person's name and that can be used at any restaurant that takes Am Ex credit cards. That would give him lots of variety also.

Thanks very much everyone. I wish I was going back to NYC sooner...this is making me hungry for it!

That sounds like a great solution. You might want to tell him about menupages.com and newyork.citysearch.com to find restaurants.