1. Insieme
777 Seventh Ave., at 51st St.; 212-582-1310
Marco Canora’s menu at the splashy new Italian restaurant at the Michelangelo Hotel is divided in two: traditional on one side, contemporary on the other.
2. Anthos
36 W. 52nd St., nr. Fifth Ave.; 212-582-6900
Michael Psilakis’s homage to his mom’s rustic Greek cooking, only lighter and much more refined.
3. La Grenouille
3 E. 52nd St., nr. Fifth Ave.; 212-752-1495
A youthful makeover leaves the once hoity-toity restaurant less forbidding, and, in the ultimate surrender, the menu is finally translated into English.
4. Bar Americain
152 W. 52nd St., nr. Seventh Ave.; 212-265-9700
Bobby Flay tackles the brasserie idiom, American style. That means classic cocktails, spice-rubbed steaks, and Gulf shrimp and grits.
5. The Burger Joint
119 W. 56th St., nr. Sixth Ave.; 212-708-7414
Behind a Wizard of Oz curtain in the lobby of Le Parker Meridien hotel: draft beer, crisp fries, fudgy brownies, and $6.50 burgers that hit the spot.