Advice on Dine Out New York certificate

[Pan]

Hi, everyone! A friend of mine got a Dine Out New York Birthday Certificate. Please help us evaluate her choices (I'll be dining out with her, so I'm not just a disinterested observer):

50/50 offer (Spend $50/Get up to $50: E.g., if the bill is $88, we pay $50, and if it's $100, we pay $60):

Brasserie (100 W. 53rd St.)

Brasserie 8 1/2 (9 W. 57th St.)

Cafe Centro (MetLife Building - 200 Park Av. at 45th St.)

Nick & Stef's Steakhouse (Madison Square Garden; not valid on MSG event nights before 8)

30/30 offer (same as above, but substitute $30):

Naples 45 (MetLife Building)

Your evaluations are eagerly awaited. I hope that at least one of these places is worthwhile. My friend does love her steak, and I also like steak, so a limited menu is not a problem as long as the steak is good, but of course, a variety of good side dishes and so forth is always good.

[Pan]

50 views and no responses? That's lame!

Anyway, it turns out that she's already been to Nick & Stef's, so I need advice only on the remaining choices. Thanks.

[Nathan]

both Cafe Centro and Naples 45 are midtown lunch cafeterias that serve dinner too.

if Brasserie 8 and 1/2 is the place I'm thinking of (which it might not be)...then it wasn't bad when I ate there a few years ago.

[flinflon28]

I ate at 8 1/2 about 4 years ago with the same type of coupon. The space is a bit dates but if you've never been you should check it out for the design alone. The "Norma Desmond" type staircase is really something.

The food while not extraordinary was good.

[raji]

I'd go to Nick and Stef's and get a porterhouse for 2. They have their aging room in the window! can't tell you many times I've ridden past and it gave me meat rage..

Nice dining room too!

[LPShanet]

Hi, everyone! A friend of mine got a Dine Out New York Birthday Certificate. Please help us evaluate her choices (I'll be dining out with her, so I'm not just a disinterested observer):

50/50 offer (Spend $50/Get up to $50: E.g., if the bill is $88, we pay $50, and if it's $100, we pay $60):

Brasserie (100 W. 53rd St.)

Brasserie 8 1/2 (9 W. 57th St.)

Cafe Centro (MetLife Building - 200 Park Av. at 45th St.)

Nick & Stef's Steakhouse (Madison Square Garden; not valid on MSG event nights before 8)

30/30 offer (same as above, but substitute $30):

Naples 45 (MetLife Building)

Your evaluations are eagerly awaited. I hope that at least one of these places is worthwhile. My friend does love her steak, and I also like steak, so a limited menu is not a problem as long as the steak is good, but of course, a variety of good side dishes and so forth is always good.

←

In terms of food, I'm thinking Nick and Stef's might have the best options. However, Brasserie is a New York classic (at least among the nightlife set) and might be fun for that reasons. And Brasserie 8 1/2, as previously mentioned, is very interesting (if somewhat dated) visually, and was featured on Sex and the City, so it has pop culture value. Iwouldn't bother with Cafe Centro and Naples 45.

Edited November 9, 2007 by LPShanet (log)

[Pan]

So Brasserie 8 1/2 it is. I'll report back on my experience afterwards. Thanks, everyone!