This is part of our Business Entertaining 2008 special report.
PowerPoint With Style
The farmhouse-style New American restaurant Irving Mill, from Gramercy Tavern alumnus chef John Schaefer, has already been pegged as the locavore’s It spot, with a rustic seasonal menu crafted from ingredients sourced at the nearby Union Square Greenmarket. The lower-level wine-cellar-inspired dining room (with room for 50 seated, 75 for receptions) has a separate stairwell, allowing for complete privacy, and its high-tech features—wireless Internet access and a wide pull-down screen—make it ideal for showing movies or presentations.
A Homey Vibe
A religiously seasonal eatery—the menu, name, and decor all change with the seasons—Park Avenue Winter/Spring/Summer/Autumn offers three private dining options, each with a different allure. The Archive Room (which seats 75 or holds 90 for receptions) offers a rustic, contemporary vibe and an adjacent gallery for cocktails, while the 10-seat kitchen table provides a temperature-controlled, glassed-in room with a view of chef Craig Koketsu and his team. The Townhouse (which also seats 75 or holds 90 for receptions), designed as a posh pied-à -terre, has its own private entry, front-hall closet, dining room, and fully stocked porcelain-china liquor cabinet. All rooms have iPod docks, so you can bring your own soundtrack.A Photo Finish
You can leave the digital cameras behind at the Smith, Jeff Lefcourt and chef Glenn Harris’s follow-up to Jane and the Neptune Room. The bustling American brasserie features high-end comfort food—salads, soups, burgers, steaks, and the like—in an urban environment marked by subway tiles, vintage photos from the 1920s, and a long zinc bar. Downstairs is a private dining room that seats 65 or holds 85 for cocktails, with hardwood floors and walls papered with Life magazine covers and prints from the ’20s and ’30s. Just outside the dining room is an old-school photo booth where guests can crowd in and document the good times.
A View of the Game—or Several Games
Forget tiny TVs, pitchers of cheap beer, rickety stools, and sticky floors. The Blue Seats, named for where loyalists used to sit at Madison Square Garden, is a 2,000-square-foot spot serving upscale bar food including fresh mozzarella, tomato, and basil; scallops wrapped in bacon; Philly cheesesteak sliders; and veal parmigiana heroes. Beyond the bar, you’ll find high-backed leather banquettes for as many as eight, with five flat-screen TVs each and private audio. The Dugout is a private enclave outfitted with eight plush, stadium-style leather bucket chairs, a fireplace, private audio, and seven independent HDTVs, so you can play DVDs and watch games at the same time. The Skybox seats 17 with banquette seating and a dozen independent HDTVs.
Fireside Chats
In the elegantly restored town house that most recently housed Aquavit, Grayz is the latest project from Gray Kunz, and lucky for you, his life-changing braised short ribs with grits are served in all three private dining rooms. The Fireside Room offers intimate dining for seven to 10 in full view of the open kitchen—and, naturally, a fireplace. The Onyx Room (for 10 to 20), partitioned off from the main room by sliding glass doors, has a separate cocktail lounge and a jewel-box dining room—and its own fireplace, too. Downstairs, the Atrium Room (which seats 70 or holds 150) is the most dramatic of the three, with seven-story ceilings and huge windows looking up to the sky. The sleek, modern space features a connecting speakeasy-style lounge for cool cocktails like the Agava Agava, with Herradura silver tequila, agave, lime, elderflower syrup, and mint.
PowerPoint With Style
The farmhouse-style New American restaurant Irving Mill, from Gramercy Tavern alumnus chef John Schaefer, has already been pegged as the locavore’s It spot, with a rustic seasonal menu crafted from ingredients sourced at the nearby Union Square Greenmarket. The lower-level wine-cellar-inspired dining room (with room for 50 seated, 75 for receptions) has a separate stairwell, allowing for complete privacy, and its high-tech features—wireless Internet access and a wide pull-down screen—make it ideal for showing movies or presentations.
A Homey Vibe
A religiously seasonal eatery—the menu, name, and decor all change with the seasons—Park Avenue Winter/Spring/Summer/Autumn offers three private dining options, each with a different allure. The Archive Room (which seats 75 or holds 90 for receptions) offers a rustic, contemporary vibe and an adjacent gallery for cocktails, while the 10-seat kitchen table provides a temperature-controlled, glassed-in room with a view of chef Craig Koketsu and his team. The Townhouse (which also seats 75 or holds 90 for receptions), designed as a posh pied-à -terre, has its own private entry, front-hall closet, dining room, and fully stocked porcelain-china liquor cabinet. All rooms have iPod docks, so you can bring your own soundtrack.A Photo Finish
You can leave the digital cameras behind at the Smith, Jeff Lefcourt and chef Glenn Harris’s follow-up to Jane and the Neptune Room. The bustling American brasserie features high-end comfort food—salads, soups, burgers, steaks, and the like—in an urban environment marked by subway tiles, vintage photos from the 1920s, and a long zinc bar. Downstairs is a private dining room that seats 65 or holds 85 for cocktails, with hardwood floors and walls papered with Life magazine covers and prints from the ’20s and ’30s. Just outside the dining room is an old-school photo booth where guests can crowd in and document the good times.
A View of the Game—or Several Games
Forget tiny TVs, pitchers of cheap beer, rickety stools, and sticky floors. The Blue Seats, named for where loyalists used to sit at Madison Square Garden, is a 2,000-square-foot spot serving upscale bar food including fresh mozzarella, tomato, and basil; scallops wrapped in bacon; Philly cheesesteak sliders; and veal parmigiana heroes. Beyond the bar, you’ll find high-backed leather banquettes for as many as eight, with five flat-screen TVs each and private audio. The Dugout is a private enclave outfitted with eight plush, stadium-style leather bucket chairs, a fireplace, private audio, and seven independent HDTVs, so you can play DVDs and watch games at the same time. The Skybox seats 17 with banquette seating and a dozen independent HDTVs.
Fireside Chats
In the elegantly restored town house that most recently housed Aquavit, Grayz is the latest project from Gray Kunz, and lucky for you, his life-changing braised short ribs with grits are served in all three private dining rooms. The Fireside Room offers intimate dining for seven to 10 in full view of the open kitchen—and, naturally, a fireplace. The Onyx Room (for 10 to 20), partitioned off from the main room by sliding glass doors, has a separate cocktail lounge and a jewel-box dining room—and its own fireplace, too. Downstairs, the Atrium Room (which seats 70 or holds 150) is the most dramatic of the three, with seven-story ceilings and huge windows looking up to the sky. The sleek, modern space features a connecting speakeasy-style lounge for cool cocktails like the Agava Agava, with Herradura silver tequila, agave, lime, elderflower syrup, and mint.
Park Avenue Winter
Photo: Courtesy of Park Avenue Winter
Irving Mill
Photo: Courtesy of Irving Mill
The Townhouse at Park Avenue Winter
Photo: Courtesy of Park Avenue Winter
The Smith
Photo: Courtesy of the Smith
Grayz's Atrium Room
Photo: Thomas Moore
