700 5th Avenue (55th St-Peninsula Hotel)
212.903.3918
www.peninsula.com/New_York/en/Dining/Fives/default.aspx
Notes: Very pretty room in the Peninsula Hotel, tastefully furnished. Beautiful views of Fifth Avenue. Excellent breakfast, brunch and lunch.
200 5th Ave (bet 23rd & 24th St)
212.229.2560
Notes: Mario Batali’s massive Italian food hall and market houses an extensive array of stations where you can munch on, among other things: bread, cheese, seafood, pizza, prepared foods, wine, coffee and gelato. It’s always pretty crowded, but grab a table where you can stand and enjoy a tasty meal or a snack.
77 Worth Street
212.226.1444
Notes: Diners are served a progression of wildly imaginative small plates at a counter that frames an open kitchen. While the technique and thought that goes into each dish is more than admirable, the food was not as tasty or memorable as the visual artistry.
WD-50 New American | Lower East Side
50 Clinton Street
212.477.2900
Notes: Chef Wylie Dufresne uses cutting-edge culinary techniques in his science lab-like kitchen to prepare dishes that not only make you think, but often boggle the mind by creating dissonance between sight and taste/texture. I’m not a huge fan of this style of food, so for me the presentation was more spectacular than the food itself. But if you appreciate the artistic and technical aspect of culinary science, by all means experience the thrilling, thoughtful skill of WD-50.
42 E 58th St (bet Madison & Park)
212.888.2288
Notes: The food is good, but more impressive is the cool ambiance, great club-like music, and the towering golden Buddha floating over the koi pond.
