Jean George restaurants for lunch

[sidd]

I have only eaten at Jean-George's main dining room. I am curious what the food at the other (less expensive) restaurants are like - Nougatine (i heard that the kitchen is the same as JG), Perry Street (how does its lunch compare to Nougatine & JoJo), Matsugen, JoJo, Mercer Kitchen, etc . I realize that the cuisines are not necessarily comparable, but still wanted a sense of which ones were the best deal.
Also, I think Nougatine and JG are the only ones that serve the lunch pre-fixe on Saturday - is that correct?
Which pre-fixe dinner do chowhounders like the most (among the $38 ones)?
Thanks,
S

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Jean Georges
1 Central Park W, New York, NY 10023

Perry Street
176 Perry Street, New York, NY 10014

Mercer Kitchen
99 Prince Street, New York, NY 10012

Matsugen
241 Church Street, New York, NY 10013

Nougatine
1 Central Park West, New York, NY 10023

[heWho]

I'd highly recommend the Nougatine pre fixe lunch. Great food in a nice setting at a reasonable price... how can you go wrong?

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Nougatine
1 Central Park West, New York, NY 10023

[trishottawa]

I have been to both Nougatine and Perry St for lunch and much preferred the food at Nougatine.

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Nougatine
1 Central Park West, New York, NY 10023

[City Kid]

I love both Jean Georges and Nougatine for lunch, but actually prefer Nougatine -- the room, the vibe, and much of the menu. You can't go wrong either way. For details on who serves what meals and when check their website.

[hcbk0702]

There's really no reason to choose any of the other restaurants over Jean Georges for lunch, unless you want to dress casually; there's a huge difference in food quality and level. Perry St would be the best after Jean Georges, over Nougatine and JoJo. Perry St also wins among the $38 prix fixe dinner deals.

Matsugen, naturally, is completely different from the other restaurants. I think the lunch deal is worthwhile, but would much rather go for 15 East's $29 lunch.

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15 East
15 East 15th Street, New York, NY 10003

Jean Georges
1 Central Park W, New York, NY 10023

Matsugen
241 Church Street, New York, NY 10013

Nougatine
1 Central Park West, New York, NY 10023

[RGR]

You can dress very casually for lunch at Jean Georges as well. When we had lunch there last month, there were quite a few young guys dressed in jeans (not of the spiffy designer variety either) and t-shirts.

[hcbk0702]

Which I think looks rather ridiculous. Jean Georges doesn't really enforce their dress code during lunch (in contrast to dinner), but I wouldn't dine in a T-shirt and jeans in the main dining room ever.

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Jean Georges
1 Central Park W, New York, NY 10023

[RGR]

I'm not sure they have a dress code for lunch. They only require a jacket a dinner, but if there is a prohibition re: jeans and t's at lunch, they certainly don't enforce it. In any case, I agree that they are inappropriate.

[bronwen]

T-shirts are not acceptable at these great restaurants. Jean Georges' dining room is so beautiful it should be respected!

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Jean Georges
1 Central Park W, New York, NY 10023

[RGR]

Jean Georges and Nougatine have separate kitchens. Ironically, the Jean Georges kitchen is at the far end of Nougatine's space, while Nougatine's kitchen is in the basement. I think the food at Nougatine is excellent.

Nougatine photos: http://www.flickr.com/photos/11863391...

We've also been to the flagship for lunch and dinner. Have never eaten in any of the other J.G. restaurants.