Great view, but isn’t that the sign I’ve heard about over there on the Trump Hotel, the one that says, WE HAVE THE REAL CENTRAL PARK VIEWS AND ADDRESS! BEST WISHES, “THE DONALD”?
Oh, take no notice, and have a jambonneau of free-range chicken with black-trumpet reduction. Our view at Asiate may not be completely unobstructed . . . but as the Mandarin Oriental’s new eatery, on the 35th floor, we are the only restaurant in the city with a decent view (apart from that place up at Columbia that’s best left for faculty dinners).

Mmm, no calories in a view, but what can I eat?
Chef Noriyuki Sugie offers thirteen courses for $85, with crab salad and green-mango vinaigrette, Caesar-salad soup (eh?), and sake chili sorbet. There’s a $45 pretheater menu, too.

I heard Ron Perelman and Larry Gagosian were there opening night in black tie. Should I rent a tux?
No, no, it was Perelman’s daughter’s bat mitzvah upstairs. Asiate’s dress code is “trendy chic” (which Carson Kressley would no doubt radically misinterpret, but we trust you’ll do just fine).

Related:

• Archive: “Intelligencer Features”
• Articles by Beth Landman
• Table of Contents: Dec 1, 2003 issue of New York | Subscribe!