Patrick

Thanks to all the responses (especially from Caitlin and Howard) I feel that I have just eaten my way through Manhattan. Our 5 nights broke down to these treats:
Dinners (all after theatre): Osteria del Circo -- great food, superb atmosphere, and my apologies to Caitlin to whom I said our experience before there was too stuffy and expensive. I guess I was confusing it with the move of the old Le Cirque to the Palace and the opening of Cirque 2000 about the same time as the opening of Circo. It was indeed casually elegant and a fun evening.
JUdson Grill: Made even more special by the fact that one of the bartenders is a long time friend, but unfortunately left for Florida the same time I flew to New York. His parents had alerted him I was coming, and we got the VIP treatment from management to wait staff (everyone wanted to know what James was like as a teenager). Superb food.
Joe Allen's: always great, casual, and fun. The best liver and onions in the world.
Esca: quite the seafood spot. Raw tuna with the most incredible drizzle of oil, and grilled baby octopus, and monkfish in "crazy water". Well, it was remarkable food, although the service was a bit "off" that late at night (after 11:00 on Monday night--no one seemed to be in a good mood.)
Le Metarie: great recommendation. Best rack of lamb I think I have ever eaten. A spectacular St. Emilion by the glass, delightful wait staff, and superb casual atmosphere. Actually, we both think it was our best meal of the trip which ironically was also our most expensive. (My starter was a special ravioli stuffed with foie gras and wild mushrooms at $24 and my partners main course was a special venison at $36), but both were worth every penny.
Lunches: An American Place: probably our second best meal, really special, but should have been our dinner.
Grammercy Tavern: in the grill for lunch. WOW! Great place, although I should have asked more about the "bacon cassoulet" thinking it would be more traditional with duck, etc. Instead it was mushy beans with a slab of salt pork oozing grease. (Actually that just sounded worse than it was), and the special cherry/pear crumble for two was so sweet I could barely force it down. Nevertheless we loved the place, and our other dishes were superb. (Where but in New York would one have two totally different dishes of grilled baby octopus in one day?)
Antico Borgo: a nice, fairly inexpensive place with a great casual atmosphere on 13th which we chose because it was so near our matinee of Dinner with Friends. Average to better than average food.
Heartland Brewery: a real cheapy, which we always go to for the buffalo burger with blue cheese and sauteed onions and a wonderful home brewed oatmeal stout!
Biggest disappointment: missing our final lunch at Virgil's real bar-b-que because we found out on Tuesday morning that our flight at 3PM was cancelled and we had to get to the airport to make other arrangements. Eating at TGI Friday's at LaGuardia was a far cry from what we had been anticipating at Virgil's, one of our old standby lunch places.

lisa

Thanks for the report Patrick! I enjoy Osteria del Circo and Joe Allen's very much too. I'll try some of the others you listed.

stan

Wow...what a binge! Sounds like you had a great culinary trip. I often do the same when I want to experience the restaurants of a new city/country. But, if I may ask a personal question, how many pounds did you gain in Manhattan? I often put on 5-7 lbs on such a food extravaganza.

Caitlin

Patrick, it sounds like you had some great meals, and I'm glad it worked out well for you. Happy you enjoyed Osteria del Circo; to be honest, my last meal there (in June) was disappointing, but I think you can do well if you stick to the regular menu, as specials seem uneven. I do like to go with visitors from out of town because the decor and atmosphere are fun. Judson Grill is wonderful and never disappoints. I'm sorry to hear that your Gramercy Tavern experience was mixed (but glad you liked it overall), because the only quibble I've ever had there is that they oversalt their green salad. I'm a bit surprised about the oversweet dessert, given that Claudia Fleming is considered one of the best pastry chefs in the city and the desserts are usually very well balanced with nuanced flavors. Next trip, think about trying Eleven Madison Park, another Danny Meyer restaurant that I'm very high on after a couple of very nice meals. Going back next weekend and can't wait. Thanks for reporting back, Patrick!

Caitlin

I forgot to add, why TGIFriday's at LaGuardia? Was the new Figs outpost there closed?

Patrick

Oops, my mistake. The TGI Fridays wasn't at LaGuardia, it was at JFK. After LaGuardia "closed" due to high winds, we had to shuttle ourselves over to JFK and change to a flight from there. That's where we ate lunch. But I saw a big sign at LaGuardia that said "Coming Soon-Figs". You mean it has already opened?

Caitlin

I think LaGuardia is a bit behind with signs, because, yes, Figs is open and has been for around a month. It was well-covered in the local media and food writers seemed pretty pleased with the food. I don't see how it could be anything but a vast improvement on the fast food chains that seem to make up LaGuardia's concessions. Of course, I'd have been thrilled with a Wendy's or whatever the time our flight got cancelled when everything was closing after we had sat on the plane for four hours with inly a bag of pretzels, and then were stuck there for the night (the cat sitter already had our bed at home). All we got was bagels and candy bars...

howard

Patrick, I'm delighted you like Le Metarie, one of our favorites. I agree that it's exepensive, which is why we don't go as often as we'd like.
I'll try to come up with an equally good recommendation for you next trip.