District
The Muse Hotel, 130 West 46th Street between Sixth and Seventh Avenue.  212-485-2999. Average main course $27, Pre theater prix fixe $42. Theater décor inspired with seeping curtains. Sumptuous beef Carpaccio with Porcini, fired quail eggs and truffle buttered toast; Pan roasted sea bass with sweet and sour eggplant and red pepper coulis.   

Corner Bistro
331 West 4th Street at Jane Street. 212-242-9502.  Average burger $4.50. Big wonderful juicy burgers, grilled cheese and crisp shoestrings.

Washington Park
24 Fifth Avenue at 9th Street. 212-529-4400. Avenue main course $27. Five course prix fixe $59. Jonathan Waxman opened the Washington Park in the space formerly occupied by the Rose Café.  The menu changes frequently reflecting the seasons and creative California cuisine that won Waxman fame.

Blue Smoke
116 East 27th Street between Park Avenue South and Lexington Avenue. 212-447-7733. Average main course $11. The décor is rustic with a touch of modern. Danny Meyer owner of high class restaurants such as Gramercy Tavern really pulled off a winner here. Relax and dine on succulent ribs smoked on premises.

Virgil's Real BBQ
152 West 44th Street between Sixth Avenue and Broadway. 212-921-9494. Average main course $16. Hickory smoked baby back ribs, biscuits and gravy so good you'd think you were in the South rather than midtown Manhattan.

Blue Hill
75 Washington Place between Washington Square West and Sixth Avenue. 212-539-1776. Average main course $24. The roast chicken is something to rave about. Dan Barber the owner works with co-chef Alex Urena to keep the food house packed every night.

Gramercy Tavern Restaurant
42 East 20th Street between Broadway and Park Avenue South. 212-477-0777. Three course prix-fixe dinner $58. A Flatiron fame.  Prix-fix menu only in the very elegant dining room.  Budget minded diners take your seat at the front of the tavern for great food.

Landmark Tavern Restaurant
626 11th Avenue at 46th Street. 212-247-2562.  Average main course $30. This restaurant was an Irish waterfront saloon 130 years ago. It's truly one of New York's treasures.  Dine by the fireplace in one of the rooms decorated in period furniture and enjoy wonderful Irish soda bread with dishes like Chicken Pot Pie.  This was the setting for ABC's Spin City and it will be the setting for great food and good times for years to come, we certainly hope. A favorite of Readio for romance, style and food.  The location is somewhat out of the way but it's worth the trip.

Gotham Bar and Grill Restaurant
12 East 12th Street between Fifth Avenue and University Place. 212-620-4020. Average main course $30. Chef Alfred Portale piles on the elegance in his hearty dishes.  Squab on a bed of creamy garlic custard and spinach with golden potatoes so great you'll have to come back time and again. This restaurant is pretty with its large columns in the dining room, but it's comfortably casual.