I am hosting a surprise small cocktail party & dinner for my best friend's 40th birthday. He is straight and lives with his wife in NYC and I need to have the party there. The problem is that I live in Dallas and have not been around New York enough lately to know of a good spot to have this. It'll be for 10-20 people and I don't mind spending some money on this, just not Le Cirque.

If any of you know a good place where a mixed crowd (straight but for me and my partner) can meet for drinks and then have a nice dinner (or two places) and maybe has a private room, or a great view, or something else to make it special or interesting, I would appreciate any suggestions.

Thanks

A couple of questions: Is there a specific type of food you prefer? And are you looking for a boisterous celebration or a more quiet, subdued affair?

by your stating "not Le Cirque", you're probably crossing out higher end restaus.

But if you're not... the new restaurant at Time-Warner center (at the Mandarin Oriental in the building) "Asiate" would be memorable.

I was there recently. The food has been getting rave reviews and the view is really spectacular. You get haute japanese/french cuisine with a beautiful view of Central Park from 30 stories up.

[ January 24, 2004, 08:47 AM: Message edited by: ung ]

I love Mercer Kitchen for that type of thing. The recently-opened Biltmore Room is great, too, but probably diificult to get into after the rave reviews.

My favorite place in NYC is the Judson Grill. It is over on 51st or 52nd close to Rockefeller Center. Awesome food. Great setting. Very solid wait staff. It is not cheap, but nowhere close to Le Cirque.

I also recently ate at Cite just a block or two away from Judson Grill. Very nice meal, good wine, and a pleasant experience. However, it would not be my first choice.

There are a lot of great places that are mid-range.

Probably in the $80-100 per person range for dinner, with tips, wine, etc. Does that help?

As for type of food, nothing is off limits. All of us love everything and enjoy a simple, great steak as much as something we can't pronounce and have never seen before.

I can't decide between boisterous and subdued. I can go either way on this, as it depends on finding a special place.

Thanks for the suggestions so far.

[ January 24, 2004, 05:10 PM: Message edited by: sjtexasex ]

Keep in mind that, beginning at 8:00 pm, Cité serves a three-course prix fixe ($59.50) dinner which includes unlimited amounts of four different wines (and they're not cheap jug wines, not at all).

http://www.citerestaurant.com

http://www.citerestaurant.com/wine_dinner.html

Doesn't his wife have any suggestions, based on what he might best enjoy, or is she out of the loop on this party as well?

Yes, I did the "wine dinner" at Cite, and they serve very solid wine selections. I knew them all and they were mostly my favorites.

Both Cite and Judson Grill will fall in the $60-100 category.

My favorite restaurant in NYC is Del Frisco's. Great food (steakhouse and bar), and I've always had great service (which is so hard to find), whether it was a party of two or fifteen. My understanding is it's very different than the original in Dallas--very New York in decor. Two levels, and if you make sure to get in the right areas, great views of Radio City and the surrounding street scene. Now, I haven't been there in a couple of years, so I don't know if anything has changed, but I used to go fairly regularly, and it was always consistent.

Is "Cafe Un, Deux, Trois" still around? I think it was somewhere around West 45th St. or so. Neat French brasserie atmosphere and great seafood.