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.

My Ten Favorite Deals in Manhattan (Part 5 of 5)

9) Shun Lee Palace - $24.07 for three courses

I have been a huge fan of Chinese food since my first trip to the Great Wall Restaurant for my very first birthday party. I was placed in my high chair and given a bowl of rice to eat, as my palate wasn’t yet ready for the likes of moo goo gai pan.

I must have not appreciated the beauty of white rice yet (i.e. it’s great when you want to eat 2000 of something) so I decided I’d test out its value as a projectile. I proceeded to toss the rice every which way but into my mouth and soon there was a small mess in our general vicinity.

After throwing my stash of grains all over the restaurant from my assassin’s perch, the waiter, not-so-kindly, came over to our table and asked my family to leave immediately and never come back.

We heeded their warnings, but have sampled many other Chinese restaurants since. After hundreds of meals, in easily over 100 Chinese restaurants from Hawaii to Prague, without question, the best several Chinese meals of my life have been at Shun Lee Palace on 55th Street between Lexington and 3rd Avenues.

Shun Lee has a mixture of familiar Chinese-American staples (Sweet and Sour Pork, Orange Beef, Lemon Chicken) as well as several dishes not found anywhere else I’ve visited (Szechuan Style Alligator, Slippery Chicken, Sweetbreads with Black Mushrooms, Ants Climb On Tree). The significant difference between Shun Lee and everywhere else I’ve tried has been the ingredient quality (impeccable) and skill of the kitchen in letting those fantastic meats and vegetables shine.

As can be expected, Shun Lee is a pricey restaurant where one could easily spend $50-70 a person for a three course dinner. Luckily, those in the know can go for lunch, where a delicious and filling 3 course lunch will only run you $24.07.

I highly recommend starting off with the Chicken Soong, a lettuce leaf filled with diced, stir-fried chicken and vegetables in a fantastic sweet and savory sauce. This dish is so good in fact, that I now make my own version at home at least once a month. It’s quite tasty, but I still haven’t matched the perfect mixture of crunchy vegetables and balanced sauce that Shun Lee manages to create.

While you really can’t go wrong with any of the entrée choices, the Peking Prawns are particularly memorable for their ability to frame the succulent crustaceans in a slightly spicy and savory sauce that manages to work as a foil to their sweetness without overpowering it.

For those who love lamb, the Hunan Lamb is one of my favorite preparations I’ve had for this flavorful meat. Very tender and juicy slices of roasted lamb are slathered in a piquant, flavorful sauce that works very well with the natural flavor of the meat. Other good choices I’ve had include the Mo-Shu Pork with Chinese Crepes (just plain fun to eat) and the Heavenly Fish Fillet (while not divine, pretty damn good).

Dessert is your choice of either fresh pineapple (refreshing and light) or ice cream (go for the pistachio).

Every time I’ve gone to Shun Lee I’ve walked away feeling very full and happy and feeling like I really got a great value for my dining dollar.

Insider’s Tip: There is a second location on West 65th Street and Broadway, but this location does not have the lunch deal. They do, however, serve a mean Dim Sum that the east side branch does not offer.



10) Gray's Papaya Recession Special ($3.50 for Two Dogs and A Papaya Drink)


Whether or not we are in a recession is a matter of constant public debate.



One fact that can't be disputed is that Gray's Papaya's recession special is one of the great deals in New York City.


Though the hot dog may have a humble pedigree, Gray's and a few others in the five boroughs (Nathans, Papaya King, et. al.) take this simple sausage to a new level.







By using high quality meat, seasoned perfectly and cooked correctly, these hot dog palaces churn out frankfuters so delicious that people don't laugh when Papaya King proclaims their weiner to be "tastier than filet mignon."






Gray's Papaya cooks their franks on a foil covered griddle. This allows for the dog to have maximum contact with the heating element, giving the weenie its signature flavor and snappy crunch that could never be achieved by boiling a frankfurter würstel.











In addition to two delicious dogs, your recession special comes with the truly refreshing eponymous 14 oz. papaya drink; a match made in dog heaven.

Like a beer and a burger or red wine and steak, the sweet, milky papaya beverage is a perfect foil to the spice of the hot dog. You'll wonder why you've never had this drink at a cook-out before.

Best of all, sampling two of New York's finest edible canines and one of it's signature drinks will only set you back $3.50. Recession or not, that's a special deal.



Insider’s Tip: There are three Grey's Papaya locations (539 Eighth Avenue at 37th Street, 402 Sixth Avenue at 8th Street, and 2090 Broadway at 72nd Street) and each is open 24 hours a day. That means you could be eating there right now. What are you waiting for?

My Ten Favorite Deals in Manhattan (Part 3 of 5)

5) The Secret Lunch Take-out Menu at Pamplona

Created as a "courtesy to the neighborhood" (though they don't exactly check ID's), this New York Times two star restaurant is serving up Sandwiches ($5.95), Salads (Price varies depending on ingredients) and Soups ($3.95) that are far better than your standard deli fare.

Sandwiches may include Roast Chicken and Avocado, Grilled Steak and Manchego Cheese and Roasted Vegetable with Guindilla Pepper Aioli (spicy mayo in layman's terms). All are served on crispy, flavorful grilled focaccia bread that gives the right frame for the wonderful ingredient picture painted inside.

Salads can be constructed using the various seasonal ingredients of your choosing. Traditional Spanish treats like manchego cheese and piquillo peppers replace the tired options from the ubiquitous deli multi-plexs of world cuisines that feed the automatons in business suits who populate midtown during the day.

Soups have included winter warmers like Chorizo and Chicken or fresh takes on classics like a Green Gazpacho with bits of Cabrales cheese and fresh vegetables, depending on the mood of the chef.

My favorite is the soup and half sandwich combination that lets you enjoy a couple of delicious treats for only $5.

Now if only I worked in the neighborhood...

Insider's Tip: The menu is not posted anywhere and changes daily, so simply ask the hostess for the Take-out Menu when you arrive.

6) Four Course Dinner at Sonar Gaow, $7.95

Manhattan is full of "districts" where one can find dozens of stores selling the exact same items, all in one particular area.  There is a diamond district (47th St), a garment district (south of Times Square), lighting and restaurant supply districts (the Bowery), and not one but two Indian restaurant districts.

Lexington Avenue between 26th and 29th Streets contains no less than 25 Indian restaurants ranging from fast food to high end fine dining.  The land that these restaurants occupy has historically been called Murray Hill.  Today, everyone knows that stretch of real estate as Curry Hill.

A second Indian restaurant district exists on 6th Street between 1st and 2nd Avenues.  Affectionately known as Curry Row, this one block is home to approximately 14 Indian restaurants.  As there is incredible competition for your dining dollars, these restaurants all try to outdo one another with various perks including live music, ostentatious decor, BYOB policies and multi-course fixed price menus that are cheaper than single appetizers at many restaurants in the city.

My favorite deal of the many on Curry Row is at Sonar Gaow.

Sonar is a BYOB (with no corkage fees), has friendly, if not fast service and gives you the following for $7.95:

Mulligatawny soup

Choice of appetizer (I'm partial to the Meat Samosas)

Choice of entree (Chicken tandoori is a reliable choice)

Naan, Rice Pilaf, Dhal, Cabbage, Kasundi (onion Relish),  and various Chutneys

Mango Ice Cream

I've been no less than 10 times to this electric chili-pepper bedecked establishment and have always come away full and happy.  Bring a bottle of wine (or several), relax and know that you're getting the benefit of market capitalism in action, and it tastes delicious.

Insider's Tip:  This is a great location for birthday parties and the staff is happy to accommodate.  Just call a couple hours ahead of time and let them know your party's size so they can prepare for your arrival.