Pre-theater, not Italian, not too adventurous, not too expensive...

[cjd260]

...and that won't make me want to drive a teaspoon through my temple?

My in-laws are visiting us this weekend, and seeing Promises Promises at the Broadway Theater (53rd/Broadway). I know that there have been dozens of pre-theater threads, and I've taken part in many of them, but their requirements are beyond my expertise:

They're not the most adventurous eaters, so I don't think I can do Seasonal (sorry RGR), Casellula, Mexican (so no Hell's Kitchen), Thai or sushi;

we did Italian the last time they were in town (and my wife and I last weekend), so I'd prefer to stay away from Italian this time (though Trattoria Trecolori is my current back-up plan);

they'd prefer to keep prices down - somewhere around $50-$60 a head all-in, including a glass of wine, is probably the upper limit.

Meanwhile, I would very much like to enjoy this meal, meaning delicious food and a decent atmosphere. French or American would seem to be the safe bets, but Nougatine and Marseille are booked, and I haven't heard much (good or bad) about Brasserie Cognac.

This is getting to be an impossible mission, but does anyone have a suggestion for a magical restaurant that could fit all of the above criteria? If I could pick up Aquagrill or Perry St. and drop it into the middle of midtown that would probably be my ideal, but as of now I'm stumped. Any suggestions would earn my eternal admiration and gratitude!

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Casellula
401 W 52nd St, New York, NY 10019

Trattoria Trecolori
254 W 47th St, New York, NY 10036

Aquagrill
210 Spring St, New York, NY 10012

Brasserie Cognac
1740 Broadway, New York, NY 10019

Nougatine
1 Central Park West, New York, NY 10023

[Striver]

Consider West Bank Cafe (42nd and 9th). Contemporary American with some Italian touches, pleasant relatively quiet ambience, nice wine btg selection, good service, consistently good food - and definitely at your price point. Only downside is that it's at the other end of the theatre district from your show.

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West Bank Cafe
407 West 42nd Street, New York, NY 10036

[cjd260]

Thanks for the suggestion - it does look like it would be perfect, but their latest reservation was at 4:15. Trattoria Trecolori's latest reservation was at 4:30; Marseille was booked solid. (This is what happens when someone who normally eats around 9 doesn't realize the number of people who do pre-theater on a given Saturday.) I ended up reserving at Brasserie Cognac after all, and will report back.

That said, if anyone else has any last-minute ideas, I'd love to hear!

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Trattoria Trecolori
254 W 47th St, New York, NY 10036

Brasserie Cognac
1740 Broadway, New York, NY 10019

[Striver]

We haven't eaten at Print yet (11th and 48th), but it's definitely on our list and sounds like it might work for you. You can check out their availability on Open Table.

[RGR]

While the food at Brasserie Cognac won't blow your gustatory socks off, it's actually more than decent.

Brasserie Cognac photos: http://www.flickr.com/photos/11863391@N03/sets/72157621755915389/

You could check to see if Benoit has any availabilities. We had an en excellent meal there last year.

http://www.benoitny.com

[cjd260]

Thanks, RGR - I actually settled on Brasserie Cognac after reading your report on it from last year, and I was counting on the overall not-badness of it. I'm a fan of Benoit (particularly their bartenders, who are better than they need to be), but they had no availability.

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Brasserie Cognac
1740 Broadway, New York, NY 10019

[RGR]

If you read my notes re: Brasserie Cognac, my major problem with our meal there involved my steak. It arrived medium rare as I requested but tepid. When I raised a complaint, the manager came over. My mistake was believing him when he assured me that sending it back would not result in it being overcooked. Foolish me! Of course, when it was returned, gone was that perfect medium rare. I probably should have complained again, but I was hungry and decided to just suck it up. The meat had good flavor, so I'm sure if it had been served initially at the proper temperature, it would have been excellent.

[edwardspk]

How about Bar Americain?

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Bar Americain
152 W. 52nd Street, New York, NY 10019

[RGR]

The one meal we had a Bar Americain was quite awful Really annoying since it was also very expensive.

[cjd260]

My experience at Bar Americain has never been "awful," just never anything close to worth the prices. I've gone there a couple of dozen times on expense-account lunches and vowed never to spend my own money there.

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Bar Americain
152 W. 52nd Street, New York, NY 10019

[chow_gal]

OK, sounds like you're desperate, so I'll throw out a bunch. Each may be lacking one of your criteria, so take it fwiw:

Landmarc - TWC
Blue Ribbon Brasserie and Grill Uptown - 58th
Insieme - Italian, I know
You could prob get out of db Bistro Moderne at $60 a pop if not big drinkers
If you go more east - Oceana

EDIT: Sorry, I saw this dinner already happened. Thanks to OP for the post-report.

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Insieme
777 Seventh Avenue, New York, NY 10019

Oceana
120 W 49th St, New York, NY 10020

[cjd260]

So after all of this we ended up at Brasserie Cognac and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. Scallops were phenomenal, drinks were very well mixed, and my steak was the proper temperature and very tasty. I can't say that the apps (gougeres and calamari) or desserts (souffle and crepes suzette) were phenomenal examples of their kind, but they were very adequate and surprisingly well priced.

One other slight surprise: I ordered my steak medium rare, and it arrived medium rare. I'm used to medium rare on a steak frites at a French restaurant equating to rare at an American restaurant, so while I don't view this as a complaint, it's something to keep in mind.

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Brasserie Cognac
1740 Broadway, New York, NY 10019

[RGR]

Thanks for reporting back, cjd260. Pleased to hear that you enjoyed Brasserie Cognac. Given my experience with the steak, it's good to know that they can get it right.

As to the issue of doneness, my experience in French restaurants in NYC has been that when I order a steak medium rare, they do arrive that way. I've never had one that turned out rare.

[mborogrrl]

Will Brasserie Cognac be noisy mid-week? Thinking of trying it for similar reasons as cjd260.

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Brasserie Cognac
1740 Broadway, New York, NY 10019