Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
noon-midnight; Sun noon-11pm. Subway: N, R to 57th St.; B, D, E to Seventh Ave.
MODERATE
The family-style Italian restaurant
Carmine's
has a Times Square
branch at 200 W. 44th St., between Broadway and Eighth Avenue
(
&
212/221-3800
).
Becco
ITALIAN If you're a fan of Lidia Bastianich's PBS
cooking shows, you'll be happy to know you can sample her simple,
hearty Italian cooking here. Becco, on Restaurant Row, is designed
to serve her meals “at a different price point” (read: cheaper) than her
East Side restaurant, Felidia. The prices are not rock-bottom, but in
terms of service, portions, and quality, you get tremendous bang for
your buck at Becco (which means to “peck, nibble, or savor some-
thing in a discriminating way”). The main courses can head north of
the $20 mark, but take a look at the prix-fixe “Sinfonia de Pasta”
menu ($17.95 at lunch, $22.95 at dinner), which includes a Caesar
salad or an antipasto plate, followed by unlimited servings of the
three fresh-made daily pastas. There's also an excellent selection of
Italian wines at $25 a bottle. If you can't make up your mind about
dessert, have them all: A tasting plate includes gelato, cheesecake,
and whatever else the dessert chef has whipped up that day. Lidia
herself does turn up at Becco and Felidia; you can even dine with her
(see website for details).
355 W. 46th St. (btwn Eighth and Ninth aves.).
&
212/397-7597.
www.becconyc.
com. Reservations recommended. Main courses lunch $13-$25; dinner $19-$35.
AE, DC, DISC, MC, V. Mon noon-3pm and 5-10pm; Tues noon-3pm and 5pm-mid-
night; Wed 11:30am-2:30pm and 4pm-midnight; Thurs-Fri noon-3pm and
5pm-midnight; Sat 11:30am-2:30pm and 4pm-midnight; Sun noon-10pm. Sub-
way: C, E to 50th St.
Finds
Norma's
CREATIVE AMERICAN BREAKFAST No-
where is breakfast treated with such reverence, and decadence, as at
Norma's, a soaring, ultramodern ode to the ultimate comfort food.
There's something for everyone on the huge menu. Classics come in
styles both simple and haute: Blueberry pancakes come piled high
with fresh Maine berries and Devonshire cream, while buttermilks are
topped with fresh Georgia peaches and chopped walnuts. Even oat-
meal is special: genuine Irish McCann's, dressed with sautéed green
apples and red pears and brûléed for a flash of sugary sweetness. Don't
pass on the applewood-smoked bacon, so good it's worth blowing any
diet for. Norma's can even win over breakfast foes with creative sand-
wiches, a generous Cobb with seared ahi, and a terrific chicken pot-
pie. It's not cheap for breakfast, but definitely worth the splurge.
At Le Parker Meridien Hotel, 118 W. 57th St. (btwn Sixth and Seventh aves.).
&
212/
Finds
