208761 Mon Mar 22 19:48:18 -0800 2004 7 18 Manhattan 0 1111920 My husband and I will be in Manhattan next week. We travel to the city fairly frequently and he used to live in Soho. I have a special fondness for the high-end boozy lunch. Any suggestions? Quite flexible on price, prefer under $150 for two, excluding wine. Suggestions on post-prandial walk also appreciated. Our last lunch was at the excellent Gramercy Tavern. Requirements: Lunch available M-Th, Good wine list, pre-fix lunch is nice but not required. Food must be hound-worthy. In LA, this would all be accomplished on a sheltered, leafy patio in glorious weather. Would like the NY-equivalent: an interesting or iconic room. Mon Mar 22 19:48:18 -0800 2004 0 JudiAU 1 1111926 At that price, you should be able to dine anywhere for lunch. I would go to Le Bernardin. Mon Mar 22 20:03:06 -0800 2004 1111920 0 EatClerk 2 1111999 I had an excellent meal at Petrossian recently. It's a nice room though not iconic. And it's only a block from the park. And Caviar is the specialty. I'm a cheap date as I don't much care for 'fishberry jam' as Patrick Dennis called it. Link: http://www.menupages.com/restaurantdetails.asp?areaid=0&restaurantid=5016&neighborhoodid=0&cuisineid=0 Tue Mar 23 13:48:26 -0800 2004 1111926 0 Jane G. 1 1111951 Only one place to go for a high end lunch Bouley Tue Mar 23 09:57:59 -0800 2004 1111920 0 caz 1 1111958 Aquavit would generally meet your requirements, ie chow-worthy lunch available, interesting room. I think the wine list is pretty good (not my point of interest there but I've had a few nice glasses there). For the booziness you could expand your horizons a bit and have some aquavit with your lunch. They have enough variety to match any food on their menu, and it'd certainly be a change of pace from wine. From there, you can easily walk up 5th Avenue past Tiffany's, etc towards Central Park. Walking in the park or up 5th towards the Met would be pretty nice (rain notwithstanding.) Tue Mar 23 11:01:32 -0800 2004 1111920 0 dude 1 1111976 For iconic room, go to the Four Seasons. You can't beat the icons that stop in for lunch... Tue Mar 23 12:13:24 -0800 2004 1111920 0 JoeM 1 1111988 You, my friend, are a lady after my own heart. I too LOVE me a boozy, pricey, 'proper' lunch. My last was at RM - great, sophisticated seafood by Rick Moonen, formerly of Oceana. We then walked into Central Park. I also did the same at Jean Georges once and it was fabulous - light streaming into the bright, open room. beautifuul wine list and sommelier. And the park is right outside once again. let us know where you chose! Tue Mar 23 13:10:44 -0800 2004 1111920 0 chowgal 1 1112017 For me, my favorite boozy lunch spot is Artisinal. It's a bit more rowdy than some of the other selections in terms of noise level and ambience but here is why i love it; First, they have well over 100 types of wine by the glass. Next, their cheese selection is unrivaled in Manhattan. Finally, you can choose to eat either tapas style (Gougeres sp??, Fondue, Salade Nicoise, French Onion Soup, cheese, etc) or go all out with a full on app/entree/desert set up. The place is always hopping for lunch. Most of the tables are enjoying wine with lunch...not always the case at yout biz-lunch options. At the bar, there's always a few classic 3-martini garmentos slugging back a few to dull the edges off their afternoons. Its a quick and easy stroll down Park South/Irving to Union Square or Washington Square. Enjoy. Tue Mar 23 15:05:39 -0800 2004 1111920 0 MARK M