mclaurie, we'll be there in June. There is a good article about the exhibit and D. Draper in Architectural Digest.

Gekko, you might want to read my previous post from today, you might relate to it. Others have given me great suggestions, I don't need anything from you.

I hope the OP will not make too much of my question here, but I, too, am curious as to where one can get an all-inclusive $26 "nice" lunch with wine here in NYC. I'd be happy to know where.

Although I participated with some recommendations, those are not necessarily the places that I would suggest for those seeking a quality establishment (the recommendation was simply based on the cost requirement and needing some OK food to get by with whatever house wine is available).

Billyboy, my request was not for an "all inclusive" lunch. I wanted a salad (or maybe a sandwich) and a glass of wine. I had no idea the subject would ruffle so many feathers, but it was worth it to hear some suggestions from the sane people.

I don't believe feathers are ruffled. Amused perhaps, but not ruffled.

As the original poster indicated, he/she is "unfamiliar with the area."

Hence the request for the &quot;many&quot; restaurants in NYC where he/she has previously had &quot;a light lunch (salad, good sandwich, or panini etc) and a glass of wine for under $20 each,&quot; as the original post requested. Perhaps, armed with such knowledge, we who <i>are</i> familiar with the Upper East Side can offer comparable suggestions.

I understood your request. &quot;All inclusive&quot; refered to food-wine-tax-tip for the $26 ceiling that you imposed.

By the way, grantop, if you are really interested here's how you can get FREE tickets to the Dorothy Draper exhibit at the Museum of the city of NY. Simply go to this site:
http://www.greenbrier.com/draper/

Register for their Dorothy Draper weekend at the Greenbrier resort -- only $1775.00 per couple and you will get FREE tickets to the exhibit in New York!

Isn't that helpful?

PS, I'm looking forward to the exhibit myself (without the Greenbrier weekend, however).

Neo, WOW! how can we possibly pass that up?? LOL Thanks for the link, it was fun to check it out.

Enjoy the exhbit, should be a good one!

Does the original poster care to share where &quot;We've had many lunches like that in NYC before...&quot;?

Now, in addition to the info being helpful with suggestions, I'm just plain curious.

Gekko,
We were anticipating a dinner at Cafe d'Alsace during our recent NYC visit (Sat 29 Apr actually), but savvy son went earlier with a group of business folks and was appalled by the lack of Alsatian wine and overall quality.
He thought the focus was Alsatian beer which is not to our taste.
We went to Hearth instead - the starter wine there was an '04 Albert Mann Auxerrois.
M

mikemo, I know what you mean. When I saw the post about Cafe d'Alsace a couple days ago, I googled and mainly found comments about the beer including a whole article about their beer &quot;sommelier&quot;. I couldn't find any references to their wines which made me think it was a non issue.

Hearth is a very good restaurant in the LES. It's our reliable stand-by.

Marco is a terrific chef that makes use of carefully-chosen ingerdients on his great dishes. I recommend sitting by the counter overlooking the kitchen to watch your food being metiulously prepared.

Paul, his partner, is so knowledgeable with wines (especially those that are not your run-of-the-mill types) and changes their by-the-glass offerings as often as the menu changes, which is seasonal. He once poured us an off-the-menu '95 Pegau Laurence and a beaufully-drinking Henri Bonneau Celestin (couldn't remember the vintage) that he had opened in the cellar that night.

Your post just reminded me to make our way back soon for another nice dinner.

Great food, great owner/staff and terrific wines to match.

No, Gekko the OP does not wish to share anything with you because you are acting like an ass.

N and b_b,
Hearth (followed the Auxerrois with a PT Duoro 51 varietals and an Austrian Tba Riesling with desert) and The Tasting Room were two of our best meals ever (we had been to Tasting Room a couple of years ago when they had the stunning Pisoni Pinot Noir on the list).
Highly recommend both.
M (SMdA, Gto.)

As I assumed, the &quot;many restaurants&quot; the original poster has tried with lunch &amp; wine for &quot;under $20&quot; were just a fantasy. So sad.

Perhaps when one is willing to face reality, one can repost the question and start this &quot;discussion&quot; anew.
:)

We've been meaning to try The Tasting Room. Also heard good things aboutr it from friends. Damn, so many good places here, not enough time!

Admittedly, I haven't tried any proprietary Pisoni PNs, but have recently started stashing away other producers' juice from Gary's and Pisoni's. Loring, AP Vin and Roar makes very good use of Gary's grapes.

Oy, what a thread. Bill boy---<b>Sarabeth's</b> FIRST location to my knowledge was and <i>still</i> is at Madison &amp; 92 st. The one at 74th is in the Whitney.
http://www.sarabeth.com/restaurants/

As to the original request, I think some of you don't know how to read. Grandtop said a <b>light</b> lunch. We don't all need gourmet food at every meal. Some of us are happy with an appetizer salad and a glass of wine. Not every meal has to be a gourmand's delight.

Hi grantop,

I was just on the UES on Friday and had a nice lunch at Island, which is on Madison between 92nd/93rd. They have tables on the sidewalk (they open up the front of the restaurant) I had a tuna nicoise salad with yellow fin tuna which cost about $16. There were lots of other salads and burgers in the $12-$16 range. I'm sure a glass of white wine would be a nice addition (although I had iced tea) and you could have a nice lunch with a glass of wine for around $20.

Across the street was also Bistro Du Nord and Pascalou with tables on sidewalk. Ah, what a pleasant afternoon it was up there on Carnegie Hill on Friday!

Island is an option. Last week I believe I noticed it features about 15 wines by the glass, ranging from $8-18. A $12 caesar salad and low-end sauvignon blanc, and bingo! $20!

Of course, the original poster requested &quot;under $20,&quot; but that's pretty darn close! Bon appetit!

Thanks kangamom, nice to hear a first hand report regarding Island. That's on my list as well as your other suggestions, they all sound like they will be appropriate for what I have in mind.

Another plus for Island - if choking results from failed dentures or other geriatric failing, or if one has a stroke from a bill over $20 each, Mt. Sinai Hospital is oh-so-close! Double win!

:)