Will do!

Haha - "Zombie thread" - I like that. It's my fault - I commented before noticing how old the thread was. I'm going to look into Fountain Diner - I love retro!

Amen! You summed it up in a nutshell. I lived in NYC for 18 years and what I miss most since moving to Westchester are the RESTAURANTS!!! City Limits is one of the only affordable halfway decent options we have.

I've been 3 times so far. Where are your in-laws? Mine are in Kerala. We'll probably be going back next year. I understand your fears re-too pricey/too divey. I enjoy dives, myself! I'll look at your profile. This is my first Chowhound post - I'm a newbie.

We've decided on Ponty Bistro: http://www.pontybistro.com/#!about
But we're going to check out your suggestions for ourselves.
I emailed my husband a long list of suggestions, including these from y'all, and he chose Ponty Bistro, which I culled from an earlier Chowhound thread. But TexToast, we should compare notes, since I have Indian in-laws myself. (But mine have no interest in coming to U.S.) Have you visited family in India?

Thank you all for the suggestions! We've made a decision.

Thank you, Beloved!

Dinner is tomorrow (Tuesday the 4th). The 50 per person is approximate, so either. It need not be vegetarian - they eat meat. I don't know whether they drink, but probably not. We want to present them with some choices re-cuisine. My husband, who is Indian, knows many Indians who only want to eat indian cuisine, and these people haven't really traveled, so they may be in that category, but we aren't sure. But that's why we wanted some Indian options in the mix. Some friends recommended Tamarind. I know there are cheaper and probably better, less fancy Indian options, but we want to take them somewhere pretty nice.
We don't know them; they are family of my husband's friend from India - that's why I can't answer much about their preferences.

I haven't lived in Manhattan for over a decade, so I need suggestions. We will be taking a couple from India, visiting NY for a week, to dinner in Manhattan. They've never before been to the U.S. I'd like to take them somewhere with good food but also a nice atmosphere; either something uniquely New York-y, or just kind of special in some way. But not a tourist trap kind of place. We want to give them options for both Indian food and other kinds. Would like to spend no more than $50 each. Thanks for any suggestions!

I posted earlier about a disappointing dinner I'd had, though we did have a couple of good appetizers. Went back for lunch, and had a lackluster BLT; way too much mayo, and not as good as what you get in a standard coffeeshop, all for too much money. At least it came with good fries. The place was buys and the service seemed overwhelmed.

I've been there once for dinner. Mixed review: we had a very delicious appetizer of mussels, my daughter had a very tasty wild mushroom pizza, but neither my husband nor I were crazy about our main courses of (two different) fish. I'll give it another try, though. My friend went there and loved everything she had. And it's a very nice, elegant space, surprising to find on that particular stretch of Rt 202.