Looking for a good suggestion for a Sunday night dinner after The Crucible matinee, which ends approximately at 5:00PM. It doesn't have to be in the theater district as we will have plenty of time to go elsewhere.

Considering Bridge Cafe, any other suggestions???

We will be dressed nicely, casual dressy, but not nice enough for a restaurant with a coat/tie requirement for men.

Price range around $100 or a little more, for two of us. This will be our last dinner in NYC as we return home the next day.

CORRECTION... Am I getting excited about this trip or what.

Looking for Saturday dinner suggestions, not Sunday as I wrote in my post.

Since this will be our last dinner, up to $200 for two is fine also. As long as it is not super dressy, with good food and service of course.

Nina: I work in Manhattan and often take clients to lunch. Recently went to Thalia on 8th Avnue at 49th St.

Beautiful inside and terrific food, right in your price range. Look it up in a book caled Zagat . . . go to zagat.com for reviews.

$100, $200, Saturday, Sunday? Please verify that you will be in NYC.

David, thanks for the suggestion. I did check Zagat for Thalia, and also found numerous reviews on Citysearch.

Marnie ... I posted 'NYC' and as that was not an error, I did not change or correct it. Some of us make errors, catch them, and try to correct them. Others, well I guess they are always perfect. Do you have any restaurant suggestions, or were you just trying to embarrass me?
I can do that all by myself ;-)

The original amount that I posted, $100, was of course without wine and cocktails. That is why I increased it to $200.

Consider Picholine ... we ate there last year and it was a meal I'll remember all my life (along with eating at Emeril 10 yrs ago, before he became a celebrity!) Picholine is incredibly elegant without being stuffy, and the food was exquisite without being 'precious,' as a friend of mine says. It's getting lots of press so, if you're interested, make reservations soon -- and do save room for the cheese course!

Thanks Harriet, Picholine was one of the ones that we were considering. I have heard nothing but excellent reviews about it.

We wanted to stay dressy causual for that evening, and I think that they require a jacket. We will be out and about all day and at the theater, and my husband doesn't want to wear or carry a dressier dinner jacket and necktie all day. We also don't want to return to the hotel before dinner. He will be wearing a jacket, but it will be more casual. Drats... but I see where he is coming from.

I would recommend Rene Pujol (W 51st St.) as the food is really wonderful and seems to fit the rest of your specifications. Very good service but not pretentious at all. I've seen people in jeans and sweaters at dinner although most are a bit more dressy. And if you like chocolate, the melted chocolate souffle dessert is sooo good!

Check www.newyork.citysearch.com to see comments.

We've eaten at Picholine several times (wonderful!) and my husband always wears his one and only black linen sports jacket and no tie and has been fine. (And a short sleeved shirt under the jacket.) And I'm always in black pants with a fairly nice, but casual, top.

I don't know if that helps or not, but just wanted you to know that, in my opinion, Picholine is not a formal dressy kind of place.

Esca! 403 W. 43rd. 212-564-7272. Call now. Usually you need to book a month in advance for pre-theater, but for an early Sunday dinner you might be in luck, or you could go shopping first and make your reservation for 7:30. Pasta and seafood to die for and they have outdoor tables if the weather is nice. Same owners as Babbo.

Choices, choices, choices. I checked Citysearch for Rene Pujol and I don'think that I have ever seen so many positive reviews. The only negative one was that they were closed for vacation!

Now, all I have to do is decide between your wonderful suggestions. We are already booked for other evenings, not pre-theater, as we like to make our dinner our evening's entertainent if the restaurant is special.

We are already booked at Balthazar (ANY OPINIONS), and Chez Josephine, and L'Ecole. I will probably book Rene Pujol also, and will decide on several others based on your suggestions. I will be booking in the next or so. Picholine, Escal and Thalia are now high on my list.

Thanks again.

These tired old eyes misread Esca! as Escal.

I have just made reservations for Esca and Picholine. When I asked, Picholine informed me that a jacket is required and if the maitre d' didn't like what my husband was wearing, they would lend him a jacket. My husband will love that!!