La Houppa – 62nd and Madison.   Memorable Italian.  Flattering lighting.  Good place to meet someone you haven’t seen in 15 years.  Plus it’s the only restaurant in the city where it’s quiet enough to have a conversation.  Ivana Trump sighting. 

Campus Eatery – 4th Street across from NYU Admissions Office.  Had some decent soup, but just checked yelp.com and found that students complain about moldy muffins and high prices, calling this place "Campus Crappery" or "Campus Cheatery". 

Trattoria Dell’Arte – 56th and 7th.  Our standard pre-theater and pre-Carnegie spot.  Famous antipasto bar and gallery of historical nose portraits.  Service has gone downhill.  Geraldine Ferraro sighting.

Spice Market – Meatpacking District – Extremely difficult to get reservation.  Similar to applying to college.  A reservations committee considers your qualifications and calls you back with a decision.  Once you’re accepted, you have to fill out a contract and fax them not just your credit card number, but a xerox of the card itself.   Miraculously, we were offered an 8:00 PM Saturday spot.  Then our dining companions’ flight was delayed and we decided to stay in and order ribs from Dallas BBQ on 3rd Avenue.  Happily, the Spice Market let us defer and we now plan to dine there in the fall.