Tavern on the Green   

Central Park West & 67th St.
New York, NY 10023
212-873-3200
web.tavernonthegreen.com/

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Even if you don't eat out, you've heard of Tavern on the Green. Or at the very least, you've strolled by its beautifully photogenic exterior and lush garden terrace on a moonlight stroll near Central Park's West Side. Since 1976, this fine-dining hotspot can all but epitomize the extremes of Manhattan eateries: grand, glitzy, with exquisitely prepared meals. With an enormous seating capacity of 1,500 in its six fantastic dining rooms (including the elaborately Victorian Crystal Pavilion, the crystal-chandeliered Crystal Room and the rustic-baroque Chestnut Room), Tavern has hosted everything from the Yankees' World Series Bash to Hollywood parties to big Broadway premieres. But forget the hoopla and try an intimate three-course prix-fixe lunch, which boasts a herb and mustard-crusted salmon, or the pre-theatre dinner menu, which includes glazed roast duck with sugar snap peas, preceded by escargot vol-au-vent or creamed spinach. The world-class wine list is 1,000 names long and the cellar is 50,000 bottles deep. And dessert? Let's just say Tavern pretty much invented the New York classic cheesecake. -- Yon Motskin