Can anyone recommend a good restaurant (meal for 2 under $150--no wine, steakhouse preferred, but not necessarily) between our hotel--Helmsley Park Lane and the ESB. Our plan is to walk from the hotel to ESB with dinner somewhere in between. We'd like to do the whole watch the sunset and see the city light up thing so any advice on what time to arrive at ESB would also be helpful. We will be visiting on a Tuesday in early July.

Well in July you'l be hard pressed to get to the ESB in time to watch sunset etc unles you eat an early dinner. Suggest youtake a bus, do the ESB and THEN have dinner.

Sorry - I can;t help with steakhouses - we don't do those.

There are several steak houses in between. Ones that I've been to and liked are:
Capital Grill - 42nd betw Lex & 3rd(I know it's a chain, but it's a good one)
Palm - 2nd Av and 44th
Sparks - 46th St netween 2nd and 3rd avs.
Ruth Chris is also in between but I'm not a fan.

There are several others as well. You can look up restaurants and read user reviews on menupages.com.

I just want to add that menupages also posts menus.

Sunset is about 8:30 in early July. To get to the top of the ESB by then you would have to be on line at least an hour and possibly more in advance. Giving yourself time to get there - it means you would have to finish dinner before 7pm - meaning you would sit down no later than 5 in the afternoon.

Really suggest you go to ESB first - then have a dinner at 9:30 or so instead.

Or, better yet - go to the Top of the Rock with timed tickets - and be closer to the restaurants, giving time for a relaxed dinner afterwards.

Thanks for the suggestions. I will check those out. Already looked at Palm--it's on our maybe list. Any feedback on Ben Benson's? I found that one as well. We will be eating early--9:30 for dinner is much too late for us. And, I know everyone here says forget about ESB and do TOTR, but this is our first time to NYC and we really want to do ESB. I've read you can buy advanced tickets, they are not timed, but does that help with the wait time?

Ben Benson gets high marks from some. I haven't been recently enough to give a pov. Bobby Van's (west 50th), Del Frisco's and Keen's are other options.

PS, the Palm on 2nd ave. is not really convenient or in the area you requested. There is an outpost of the Palm on the west side, but it's not that great. I think Del Frisco's is one of the better options.

Well if you want a very early dinner you need to check with these places when they serve. In NYC many more upscale places don;t serve all day - just lunch, then close - then reopen for dinner. And if they do that 5 is the earliest they would be open - many don;t open until 6p - since 8 or 8:30 is a typical hour for going out to dinner in NYC. (Many people are in work until 7 or later.)

I forgot abotu Del Friscos, that is a nice one as well.

Read user comments on menupages.com. I find them quite useful.

Bobby Flay makes some mean steaks at Bar Americain (52nd and 6th)

Del Frisco's would be my top choice in the area you are looking. Plus, the room has a great setting with a two story dining room with floor to ceiling windows.

I think the steaks at Ben Benson's are very good too. You won't go wrong with either one.

I have been to Ben Benson's many times and it is always good. Bar Americain is great -- probably the best steak I have had in NY in quite some time, plus everything else on the menu is wonderful as well.

Another vote for Ben Benson's And it you decide to do the TOTR you are right in the area!