NYC Restaurant Week Summer 2013: Where to Go

NYC Restaurant Week for Summer 2013 is July 22 to August 16 (so 3 weeks, not just 1) and reservations are open now. You can register your AMEX card to get $5 off each time you dine and spend $25 or more, so make sure you and your spouse or dining partner each register your American Express card and split the bill, so you can get $10 off for the two of you each time you dine.

AMEX NYC Restaurant Week Credit Details:

Register your AMEX card (only one card) between 12am ET onJuly 7, 2013 and 12am ET on August 16, 2013
Corporate and prepaid AMEX cards not eligible
Use the registered card for a dining purchase of $25 or more at any of the participating NYC Restaurant Week restaurants July 22-August 16 2013
Statement credit will appear on your billing statement within 8 weeks

While many of the best high end NYC restaurants don't participate in Restaurant Week (you'll never see Eleven Madison Park, Per Se, Gramercy Tavern or Bouley, for example) there are a few that can be worth going to, especially for lunch. Given that the price for NYC Restaurant Week Dinner is $38, often for the same menu as the $25 lunch, it's a much better deal to go for lunch, if you possibly can.

Here are my top picks and recommendations on what to order for lunch:

1. Nougatine by Jean-Georges (Lunch)

Ever since Jean-Georges raised its lunch prix fixe to $38 for two courses, I've been more inclined to go to Nougatine for its $32 lunch prix fixe. This is already a decent deal for the quality of food and service, so Restaurant Week, with its $25 menu and $5 AMEX credit makes it a great deal. I treated the munchkin to Nougatine last Restaurant Week (see my Nougatine Restaurant Week Review), and based on that I recommend:

Appetizer: Tuna Tartare

Entree: Slow Cooked Salmon or Roasted Organic Chicken

Dessert: Jean-Georges Warm Chocolate Cake

2. Telepan

Telepan remains one of the better fine dining options on the Upper West Side, an area generally starved for high quality upscale restaurants. It regularly offers a 2 course lunch prix fixe for $28, or 3 courses for $32, so you'd save $12 off the 3 course lunch when you take the AMEX $5 credit into account. My recommendations:

Appetizer: House Smoked Brook Trout, Potato Chive Blini

Entree: Striped Bass or Burger

Dessert: Peanut Butter and Chocolate Gianduja or Chocolate Creme Brulee

3. Fulton

Fulton is a seafood restaurant known mostly to Upper East Side residents, since it is on an unassuming block right around the corner from upscale seafood and grocer Citarella, which owns it. It's not a scene, but is a peaceful oasis when you don't want to battle the crowds elsewhere in the city. We enjoy their brunches (top favorites include the lobster benedict and lobster hash) but Restaurant Week lunch is a good bet as well, even though there are just 2 choices for appetizer, 3 choices for main, and a set dessert. Just make sure both you and your dining companion enjoy seafood! My recommendations:

Appetizer: Grilled Octopus

Entree: Fulton Seafood Burger (Swordfish, Black Cod, Sea Trout)

Dessert: Hazelnut Semifreddo

4. Boulud Sud

Boulud Sud probably won't win any prizes for service, but the Mediterranean dishes, many with a Morocco influence, are usually deftly executed and the dining room is lovely. I wish the excellent Octopus a la plancha was again on the Restaurant Week menu, so that's a bit disappointing, but here are my recommendations for the Summer Restaurant Week menu. Also see my Boulud Sud Restaurant Week Review.

Appetizer: Stone-Baked Flatbread with Herb Pistou, Zucchini, Confit Tomato

Entree: Marrakesh Spiced Flank Steak or Spiced Lamb Burger

Dessert: Lemon-Blueberry Gateau or Chocolate Sabayon

5. Riverpark (Lunch, Dinner)

Tom Colicchio's Riverpark is in a pretty out of the way location, in the Alexandria Center at 29th Street and the East River. Riverpark traditionally has had great food, although our most recent visit here was very disappointing service-wise, when we dropped in for dessert. A price mistake was not honored and service was just generally lousy.

But because the food on other occasions has been very good, and the Restaurant Week menu offers more choices (albeit some with supplement charges) than most other NYC Restaurant Week menus, it would be remiss not to mention it. Hopefully the poor service we received last time was an aberration.

Appetizer: Campanelle Pasta with Rabbit and Nettle Pesto (or House Smoked Salmon for $3 supplement)

Entree: Grilled Pork T-Bone or Long Island Sea Bream

Dessert: Chocolate Mousse or Rhubarb Panna Cotta