food for everyone

A Guide to the Best Restaurants in New York

Where ever will I wear my Prada Dress?...

Bring that designer ensemble out of the cedar chest for Christian Delouvrier's Lespinasse. Montrachet is not so swank but the food is rich and glorious and the event deserves some dressing up.

It's Good Friday...

When meat isn't on the menu, try Pearl Oyster Bar for a taste of the sea that will make a sailor homesick, Oceana for the incredible chowders and Barney Greengrass for a Sunday breakfast that is full of neighborhood charm and fresh nova. Blue Water Grill is a favorite of mine, with a hip crowd to watch and a wonderful raw bar.

Curtain for Miss Saigon is at eight...

Before theatre eats should begin in the theatre district, at Sardi's surrounded by pics of celebrities from Patti Lapone to Bernadette Peters, sure to put you in a thespian frame of mind. Café Luxembourg has a scrumptious prix fixe and they know how to get you to the theatre on time. Joe Allen's is a favorite theatre haunt on restaurant row and celebs like Al Pacino are known to make appearances for business meetings.

100 ways to eat an egg roll...

Die-hards should take a worth-while trip to Grand Sichuan International in Chelsea for the spicy and exotic selections. For Pan-Asian lovers, I suggest Rain for a moderately priced culinary foray with a trendy crowd and the California-Asian stylings of Lucky Cheng's with their unusual selection of wait staff that make the evening an experience unlike any other.

I'm unemployed but I still want to eat out...

The bar at Le Cirque 2000 offers a tasty $25.00 lunch and you still get to tell your friends you ate at LeCirque. Cucina & Co. in Rockefeller Plaza offers a $19.95 three course dinner for two and the pre fixe at Gotham Bar will only run you about $20.00.

I really just want to spend a lot of money...

Try the $700.00 caviar appetizer at Petrossian, just once. You'll be talking about the Beluga and Ossetra at cocktail parties for years to come.

You know what they do to baby cows...

Josie's is a noisy combustible environment but is a perfect vegetarian eatery for the organically-challenged.

I'm dating a guy named Tony...

For a real Italian experience, go to Gino's on Lexington Avenue. The crowd is mostly regulars and the wall paper is a landmark but the marinara is just like Mama makes.

Maybe we'll see Madonna...

Mercer Kitchen with its sleek décor is a celebrity magnet, attracting everyone from Jerry Seinfeld to Gwenyth Paltrow. Balthazaaar is always good for a celebrity sighting of trendy design-mavens out for dinner before hitting the clubs.

I want it raw...

Aside from the obvious and always exceptional sushi at Nobu, try Ruby Foos on the West Side, with its chinzy and lush surroundings and a little hole in the wall called Little Tokyo in Times Square.

She's the most dreamy girl I've ever seen...

To make a romantic and lasting impression, try Alison on Dominick Street. A cozy, spare environment with a delectable menu that will get the sparks flying.

My father only eats steak and potatoes...

The Homestead, Sparks and Peter Luger's, of course, are unparalleled havens of charbroiled beef, but also, try an Argentine steak house called Pampa and the tried and true Gallagher's in Times Square. (Make friends with the maitre'd, he'll make sure you get the corner booth)

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