Lunch Deals At Manhattan's Best Restaurants

Though I'm sad to report that some of my 10 favorite deals have ended or changed (related articles have been updated), I am reassured by the fact that many great lunch deals still exist. Here is a good sampling of lunch deals at some of New York's finest:

By STEVE CUOZZO, New York Post

June 11, 2008 --

ANTHOS, 36 W. 52nd St.; 212-582-6900. Its three-course, $28 lunch option is remarkable at a Michelin-starred place whose chef, Michael Psilakis, pioneered forward-Greek cooking and made this month's Food & Wine cover as one of the best new chefs in America.

BENOIT, 60 W. 55th St.; 646-943-7373. Alain Ducasse's new bistro isn't very expensive, but a daily $28, three-course menu (mounted on each table) is cheaper still, offering three courses in each category.

BLUE WATER GRILL, 31 Union Square West; 212-675-9500. One of the few places where a $24.07, three-course lunch is worth the trouble.

CHANTERELLE, 2 Harrison St.; 212-966-6960. Chef/owner David Waltuck offers a three-course lunch for $42, with three choices in each category at this TriBeCa classic (where lunch entrees run to $32 if ordered separately). The dishes vary from day to day, but include items from the $95 prix-fixe dinner menu, such as striped bass with wild mushroom broth.

CHINATOWN BRASSERIE, 380 Lafayette St.; 212-533-7000. At this colorful and trendy setting near Astor Place, the prix-fixe lunch is cheaper than in the real Chinatown, offering a choice of four dim sum dumplings plus an entrée for $12.

ELEVEN MADISON PARK, 11 Madison Ave.; 212-889-0905. Daily "market menu" lets you sample brilliant chef Daniel Humm's work for just $38 for two courses - yesterday, it was beet veloute and lamb belly.

GOTHAM BAR & GRILL, 12 E. 12th St.; 212-620-4020. Alfred Portale's perennial favorite can be raucous at night. It's more civilized at lunch, when entrees run to $28. But the three-course special is just $31, including such favorites as miso-marinated black cod with bok choy, shiitake mushrooms, sticky rice and soy lemongrass ginger sauce.

LE BERNARDIN, 155 W. 51st St.; 212-554-1515. It's hard to believe you can lunch for just $40 a head in a place with three Michelin stars, four New York Times stars, and the Zagat Survey's highest food ranking. The current City Harvest option buys you fluke, sauteed cod with broccoli rabe, chorizo and garlic cream, and chocolate peanut dessert, plus the house's signature salmon spread and cookies.

LE CIRQUE, 151 E. 58th St.; 212-644-0202. Who knew you could eat at the Maccioni family's legendary celebrity hangout for $28? That's the price of a great two-course menu in the spiffily redesigned café section, where choices include grilled dourade and monkfish.

LA GRENOUILLE, 3 E. 52nd St.; 212-752-1495. At the city's prettiest traditional French restaurant, the three-course lunch is a mere $55, compared to $95 at dinner. And you can spend even less - the a la carte option lets you order single courses such as grain-fed roast chicken ($29).

MICHAEL JORDAN'S STEAKHOUSE, Grand Central Terminal mezzanine; 212-655-2300. You can spend $40 for a single cut of meat here - or $24 for a three-course lunch that offers petit filet mignon and pan-seared wild striped bass among entrées, as well as a great view of the terminal floor.

MILOS, 125 W. 55th St.; 212-245-7400. At night, the city's priciest Greek place can easily set you back more than $100 a head, thanks to its fish-by-the-pound policy. But the $39, three-course lunchtime "business" menu is a steal and includes one of the joint's signature whole fishes simply grilled. A three-course option for just $24.07 is too limited.

OCEANA, 55 E. 54th St.; 212-759-5941. The luxurious seafood temple's three-course, $48 lunch has long been one of the city's best bargains, offering nearly as many choices as the $78 dinner menu. But a new, three-course option for $33 is simply shocking.

OSTERIA DEL CIRCO, 120 W. 55th St.; 212-265-3636. I blink every time I have the three-course, $28 lunch, which offers four generously sized choices of appetizer and entrée.