Nicely state summary...I was also there on Friday..I was going to put something together today but a backed up pipe in the basement last night has put me a little off kilter...:( It will be great to utilize your review as a bouncing off point now though!

We had a 7:30 ressie...and what turned out to be a nearly 5 hour meal as we waited a bit at the end for a tour of the kitchen (which was very much appreciated). Service and staff were great...and we were celebrating our 15th anniversary and had a two top next to the wine station by ourselves...what appeared to be the only two empty seats next to us on the other side. Not sure if it was coincidence or a planned bit of privacy but it was much appreciated.

As someone who has been to EMP before...was the delivery of the non-savory cookies at the end a new twist as part of the NY homage? If so...cute touch.

Just got back to Maine tonight and will weigh in more fully tomorrow...ver much enjoyed the (five hour) meal!

We dined at EMP tonight and you were completely on point...WD50 was a good foil for tonight. Very similar whimsical approach to the food and dining experience and we loved both for different reasons.

WD50 is totally a neighborhood hangout and the service was friendly and fun...our dinner last night was simply FUN. the food was very good...but a couple dishes simply missed the mark for us (not always the same dishes for each.)

EMP Service was great and more polished...but they were obviously trying very hard at it...sort of amusing to watch the dance as they circulated the room. Servers were very friendly...but felt a bit more scripted.

Food at EMP was simply more consistently good...only one miss for us in the mix. The "clambake" course was fun...but the clam in the bowl was...not good for me. The clam chowder was good...as was the oyster on the chip...but no good on the third component. A great presentation nonetheless. Loved the hot rocks, seaweed and teapot with the chowder.

The smoke dome course worked very well...and the three card monte desert was cute. Noticed lots of happy exclamations over the "trick"

Once I am off my iPad and aback to a full computer will post more...

Just a very abbreviated review of Le Bernadin tonight...did the chef tasting with pairing...holy crap was it good!

Hoping for some guidance from locals on lunch for when we are NYC on Thur/Fri this week...I have 5 spots in mind...and only 2 days.

We are having large meals in the evening...Bernadin/WD50/EMP...so while we would like good food during the day...more casual and not causing us to OD on good food is necessary.

Also...looks pretty warm...although trending from 90 to the low 80's...so debating shorts versus pants. I'll wear slacks if need be...

We do not have any firm daytime plans...open to wandering the streets, looking through stores, museums...since we will not have our two kids with us.

So...thinking of Babbo...Colicchio & Sons...Spotted Pig...The Modern...and Eataly.

Had considered Babbo for dinner...so really leaning toward a lunch there.

MoMA might be great to check out too so The Modern would work...although we can simply eat elsewhere and visit the museum.

Eataly perhaps more suited to browsing and a drink?

Any input appreciated...

Ah...actually...we are living in the ORIGINAL Portland...Maine! :)

If any of you on the East coast are looking for a side trip...you could do worse than Portland. Great small city and the food scene is extremely energetic.

I did have success with EMP this morning...but holy cow do the reservations go quickly. I started dialing just before 9am and got through at 9:04...asked for an 8am ressie...was offered 8:30 or 7:30...and when I immediately said 8:30 was told that it was just taken. I'm good with 7:30...

Should be interesting to be there on the first night they unveil the new direction on the menu (it appears that is why they are closed that week). I did request a kitchen tour if possible...so we are hoping for the best.

Well...I took several deep breaths...started looking at other restaurants we had considered...Per Se (ha!) Babbo (Ha ha!)...and some other ones we hadn't seriously considered like Del Posto, Grammarcy, etc...and we realized that the 3 restaurants that we settled on were the ones we wanted to try.

So...I switched our WD50 ressie to our anniversary night on Thursday instead of going Friday...and I will be speed dialing EMP tomorrow at 9am to secure a Friday ressie.

We wanted something that would be a home run type meal for our anniversary...and understand that some of the WD50 dishes may NOT hit the mark for us...but since marriage is an adventure...why not make the anniversary dinner an adventure? We were really looking forward to experiencing WD50...so why not that night? Plus...everyone says that they have kick@ss cocktails...and that isn't a bad thing.

So...hopefully all goes well tomorrow at 9am...

Son of #%&(*...called EMP this morning at 9am when the window opened...and was informed that they will be closed on my date. Arrgh...did not see that anywhere on their website or other searches.

Of course...this was the night of our actual anniversary. Back to the drawing board in a panic...

Kathryn...that sounds like exactly what happened...a split between open table and phone. Luckily I asked my wife to call since I was running between meetings...she said that the woman who answered the phone was exceptionally nice and helpful. Not at all stuffy and formal. :)

Well...one ressie is booked...barely. I hadn't seen a definitive answer on the booking window for Le Bernadin...of course no hints were provided on their website. Several spots indicated a 30 day window and Open Table seemed to confirm that. I had seen a post indicating that the following month opened on the first of the prior month though...

Guess which one was accurate? Oops. That is what I get for being too busy at work to stop and take the time to call the restaurant.

We secured a 9:30pm ressie which is a bit late for us non-New Yorkers...but will probably work out quite well. We arrive at JFK around 2pm...so this will give us time to settle in.

The opening of the window for EMP and WD50 are blocked out on my work calendar and I'll be ready to go...

Thanks...I didn't make that clear enough. I don't want to avoid a long meal...just want to plan accordingly. 4 hours or so is perfectly fine...it's just that I'll make a 7pm ressie...not 8.

Thank you for earlier feedback...and I think we have decided on the 3 nights of dining...but not sure on the order. Coming up on reservation windows...so I need to finalize choices/nights.

Original idea was Babbo/Le Bernadin/WD 50...with Bernadin on our anniversary. Yes...we do love seafood and the haute French would be appreciated...not exactly much of that here in Portland, Maine :).

However...I've taken the urging about EMP to heart and think we'd prefer that to Babbo (and the reservation race). Moreso...as I've read more about it...I think that would be a better choice for our anniversary dinner itself...especially if we are able to do a kitchen tour. Agreed?

We'll be dining Wednesday/Thursday/Friday...with Thursday our anniversary.

I'm thinking Le Bernadin on our arrival day Wednesday...then EMP...and finishing with WD50 on Friday.

Also...any recommendations on requested reservation times? While I am far more of a night owl than my wife...I'd also prefer to not be falling asleep toward the end of the courses after a serveral hour evening.

We'll be staying at the Ritz on the Park...I assume best to ask the club level concierge to make the reservations?

Thank you very much for any feedback...

Great to hear the nice things about the on-premise dining. I figure that from sheer laziness and/or exhaustion we will end up hitting Sheerwater/1500 Ocean more than once...good to know that they are worth the time.

Continued reading about Tartine seems to confirm your take...probably a nice light meal for my wife and I...not so much a dinner for 4 with the kids. I think we will need to do Il Fornaio simply for the view...if the food better than serviceable...so much the better. I keep seeing Leroy's pop up...website looks cool but I can't get the darn menu to load...just a spinning circle.

Breakfast watching the hawks sounds fantastic...the kids (and us) will get a kick out of that! While we are going to do all the family/touristy things...we tried to book enough days so that we can have some chilled out beach/pool days too.

FQ...thank you for the heads up on Taj...my office is in the Maine Mall area and I am always at a loss for what to get for lunch...this has passed right under my nose...I'll have to check out Taj soon.

I can't really speak to the Indian piece as my wife is not a fan...so just haven't frequented the Indian restaurants...but Hi Bombay has been around forever on the outskirts of the Old Port and Passage to India has survived on Wharf Street for several years (which seems to be a hopeful sign). Haggerty's is a Brit-Indi takeout spot on Forest Ave closer to Windham that many seem to enjoy.

As for Thai...it's not a traditional Thai restaurant but Boda is one of our favorites...inspired by Thai street vendor fare. The Thai Basil Tom Collins is an awesome adult beverage to enjoy with your meal too... http://bodamaine.com/

For more traditional Thai...I really enjoy Verandah Thai just off outer Washington Ave at 295 and its sister restaurant Verandah Noodle Bar across the street.

Mekhong Thai seems to have fans on Forest too...I just tend to head to Verandah.

Thank you both...I had already checked out the menus for Miguels, Cafe 1134 and the Burger Lounge...and spotted Moo Time on my Google Earth trip down Orange Street. All look like great casual spots.

The other restaurants that I've had my eyes on that seem to pop up on the threads here are Tartine, Brigantine (quite touristy?), Il Fornaio (sounds like a must for the view), Tent City...sounds like Peohe's is only the view and overpriced...so Il Fornaio instead?

We are coming from Portland, Maine and will be staying at the Hotel Del for 9 nights in mid-August...2 adults who have broad tastes...and 2 kids with stubbornly limited palates (11 and 7) but who will behave appropriately at upscale restaurants. We do not plan on limiting our food choices based upon the boys' preferences...there will be something most anywhere that they will eat and we can always supplement afterwards.

I've started to try to figure out restaurants for while we are there and I'm hoping the board members have some guidance.

We will do at least a few nice dinners...including 1500 Ocean at the Del...but with a laid back vacation with kids the majority of the dinners will orient to more casual dining. Breakfast will be had on Coronado most mornings...lunch will depend upon our travels for the day.

We will have a car so can venture off-island for dinner...but on most nights would prefer walking distance due to kids and avoiding any worry over adult beverages with dinner. If there is must-eat in San Diego proper/GasLamp...we'll go there.

For lunches...or even dinner on the way back...we will be doing the touristy stuff and eating nearby...LegoLand, SeaWorld, Zoo, Wild Animal Park.

Any and all suggestions would be very much appreciated!

Why is it moot because it is a Sunday? Because I posted on an empty stomach :)
For some reason I had it in my head that they were closed Sunday...

While I don't think that any of the 3 restaurants I'm contemplating for dinner will be an easy table to grab...I'm hoping that WD50 on a Friday will be comparatively easier than either Le Bernardin and Babbo...and that a Wed/Thurs for the other two will be comparatively easier than Fri/Sat.

No matter what...I see plenty of re-dialing in my future...

In regard to the 3rd night...WD50 does sound like it is well worth trying...totally unique and a bit off the wall. I'm assuming that this would be the easiest table of the 3 to get on a Friday night...

For lunch I'll definitely need to look into Ssam...sounds intriguing. Casual would probably be better for our luches...although a more upscale lunch one day at a Per Se or EMP may be worth planning on.

Thank you for all the replies...everyone seems to be confirming impressions of both Le Bernardin and Babbo.

My wife and I do love seafood and won't feel that we are missing out on options...definitely going in knowing that it will be an all seasfood night.

There is no haute French here in Portland...so a more formal presentation would actually be a nice change of pace. it's a very active restaurant scene here but very heavy on farm to table/creative/casual. Even the more "formal" restaurants such as Hugo's and Fore Street are not formal at all. When we first moved here I was surprised to find myself extremely overdressed for dinner with a dress shirt and blazer.

In regard to Le Bernardin...reading some other threads leads me to think that obtaining a reservation should not be excessively difficult...especially for a Thursday. Correct?

If I don't succeed in my speed dialing for Babbo...then I think I'll reasses for a different reservation. On the 30 day window...I've seen some posts saying to call on the same date the month before...but that isn't necessarily 30 days. For a September 5th reservation...is that an August 5th call...or August 6th at 30 days? Since the 5th is a Sunday...I suppose it is a moot point...

Sorry...that would be helpful information...

Arriving Wednesday at 2pm at JFK...
Anniversary is on Thursday..leaning strongly toward Le Bernadin...
Departing on 5pm flight Saturday...

Easier Babbo table on Wednesday obviously...although open to other suggestions...

While leaning toward fine dinning for two of the nights I'm not married to that...simply want great food and wonderful experience...not putting a price limit on the weekend.

Would like to do at least two great lunches....whether a bargain prix fixe at a top restaurant or a more casual gem.

Last several years we've either visited with kids and haven't focused on dining...or in for an event like my roommate's 40th birthday dinner or NYE at Lavo...so this will be the first "adult" solo trip in years....

My wife and I are traveling from Portland, Maine to celebrate our 15th wedding anniversary in early september and will spend three days and nights kid free to enjoy the town and dine on wonderful food. Planning on staying around the Park...but willing to travel for food.

Current thought would be Le Benardin for our anniversary...and I'd love to also hit Babbo another night. Maybe WD50 for something offbeat the third night?

Any and all suggestions are welcome...especially for lunch.

I'm sure that the sous chef and bar manager leaving to start their own restaurant helped to make this decision also...