Need fine dining with casual dress code recs.

[hungryphish]

Hello Chowhound, this is my first post, but I am an avid reader/lurker on these chowhound boards and I will never go to any city without consulting these boards. My friends and I are from St. Louis, MO, mostly in our mid twenties and we love to travel. I am a self-proclaimed budding foodie and I am always taking on the role of making sure my friends and I eat well while we are on our getaways. This summer we will be seeing a series of rock concerts on the east coast by the band Phish and I am making sure we have some great meals.

We will be in NYC from June 1-6 and are staying at a sweet vacation rental in park slope. The group will be about 4-6 people on average and most of the meals are going to have to be lunches because the band is playing in Long Island and I will be leaving the city everyday around 3-4PM. I will be able to squeeze 2 dinners in though (they aren't playing on the 1st or the 3rd), but one of the dinner slots will be taken by Peter Luger's (never been). Lunch is open for all 6 days, and I need to come up with spots that have casual dress codes. After all, we are on vacation (on phish tour) and don't feel like bringing any work clothes. Price doesn't matter. Here is kind what I would like to be able to get out of this trip:

-italian (convivio? lupa?)
-seasonal american
-upscale indian
-asian fusion (thinking momofuku ssam lunch?)
-really good cocktails
-pizza (i'm definitely doing di fara at least once, but we will be noshing on this stuff quite a bit)
-late night spots for after the show (post 1AM spots or 24HR spots)
-really nice brunch for a day
-park slope delivery options
- 1 really nice dinner besides Luger's. must be able to wear jeans. I was thinking GT but i'm doubting you can wear jeans in there.

I know that's a lot of advice to request but hopefully you guys can help steer me in the right direction. Thanks!

[prdct]

Don't forget to check the outer boroughs board for Park Slope recs.

[LeahBaila]

-italian (convivio? lupa?) L'ARTUSI, BABBO (if you've never been)
-seasonal american - NOUGATINE (CLASSIFIED AS "NEW AMERICAN")
-upscale indian - DAWAT, TAMARIND...IF YOU'RE OK WITH TAKING IT DOWN A NOTCH, HEAD TO DHABA
-asian fusion (thinking momofuku ssam lunch?) - DEF HIT SSAM FOR LUNCH
-really good cocktails - EMPLOYEE'S ONLY
-pizza (i'm definitely doing di fara at least once, but we will be noshing on this stuff quite a bit)
-late night spots for after the show (post 1AM spots or 24HR spots) - CAFETERIA, STANTON SOCIAL
-really nice brunch for a day - ELABORATE ON "REALLY NICE"
-park slope delivery options
- 1 really nice dinner besides Luger's. must be able to wear jeans. I was thinking GT but i'm doubting you can wear jeans in there.

www.thelunchbelle.com

[hungryphish]

Thanks for the quick responses everyone! As, I said, price doesn't matter.

Leah, I'm glad you said something about Babbo because Batali is a personal hero of mine but I have read a lot of reports on here that choose other places. I have also been to Mozza in LA and LOVED it. Will nice jeans/shoes (no sneakers) be ok for a dinner @ babbo? Is babbo open for lunch?

As dar as indian goes, i'm totally ok with taking it down a notch, in fact I would prefer it if it's going to be more authentic. We have awful Indian food here in St. Louis.

When I say "really nice brunch spot" I would like a place that will really wow my friends. A place where we can sit for at least a couple hours and sip bloody mary's and mimosas and eat fancy egg/hollandaise sauce dishes.

[LeahBaila]

Hi there, make sure to use www.menupages.com to look up menus and addresses.

Your attire will be just fine at Babbo! It's dinner only.

I would highly recommend Dhaba for Indian. The meal I had there was one of the best I've had in a long time (across all cuisines).

For brunch, you may want to look in to: Five Points, Stanton Social, Freeman's, Cookshop, Hundred Acres, Almond, Mercer Kitchen, Thor

www.thelunchbelle.com

[kathryn]

Best brunch in NY
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/598414

[kim e]

I really like Stone Park for brunch (although I hear dinner is good) and Al di la (dinner) in Park Slope. Momofuku Ssam is an excellent choice, but it strikes me as more of a dinner spot. You can wear nice jeans in the Tavern Room for GT (but no T-shirts/sneakers), but not main dining room. If you get there around 6 to 6:30, you shouldn't have to wait too long for a table. The Tavern Room is great, but you shouldn't consider it your nice dinner since the price point is so good. At the same time, I can't think of a really nice spot that jeans would be appropriate. Upscale Indian...Tamarind maybe? Dawat? I feel like you could do "downscale" Indian and get really great food, and more authentic to boot. GT is seasonal American. For Italian, I defer to other hounds. I've only been to a few, more casual spots. Gradisca is probably my favorite.

[kathryn]

Neighborhood and price preferences? How much are you willing to pay?

Also, not all places are open for lunch on the weekends, which might make the Saturday lunch a little trickier, so maybe that's your nice brunch day?

[andibrooke22]

Check out The Mermaid Inn at: http://www.themermaidnyc.com/

Mostly seafood, but the menu is amazing. Wine list is good too, with very little mark-up. It's a great spot!

[c oliver]

If you search here "manhattan dress code" you will get more info that you thought existed on the subject :)