We asked two very different chefs to create a three-course meal for two using the same $20 budget. Then our chief restaurant critic, Adam Platt, judged their creations.

Scott Conant brings his uptown cooking downtown.

Alain Ducasse’s Benoit takes the New York brasserie craze to new lows.

Two new ’cue joints compete for smoked-meat mad New York’s attention.

Many of the healthier people I know—my wife, my daughters, my ­yoga-­loving friends—are cereal addicts. I am not a cereal addict.

One thing about breakfast is beyond dispute: It should taste good. Here, the city’s best morning meals in twenty categories.

At Bar Milano, traditional Northern Italian meets modern New York chic.

The golden age of hotel dining isn’t quite back at South Gate.

At Olana, old-school Italian meets modern locavorism; Mia Dona is in-your-face hearty.

At Commerce, the quality of the food trumps the trendiness.