Grand Sichuan International
15 7th Ave. South
New York, NY 212-6
212-620-5200

Review:
I would like to take a break from some of the more traditional NY hotspots and introduce you to Grand Sichuan International. Owner Xiaotu Zhang (and Sichuan expert) explains that he is looking to “fix” what is wrong with Chinese food today. He explains that since 2002, Restaurant Magazine has not listed many Chinese restaurants in their “top 50 list”. He is taking a break from traditional cooking (MSG/etc) and focusing more on healthy ingredients and innovative ways of preparing the same general dishes you can get any any given Chinese restaurant. PR aside, I had a chance to check out Grand Sichuan last week and thought it might be a great place for those daters who are on a budget.

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McCormick & Schmick’s Seafood Restaurant
1285 Avenue of the Americas (52nd St.)
New York, New York 10019
Restaurant: (212) 459-1222

Review
In our ongoing quest to introduce DateSpacers to the best date locations at the best prices, the major steak chains have been making our lives very easy of late. First. Ruth’s Chris Steak House offered a $40 prix-fixe that, given the menu options, carnivores could certainly bring their vegetarian dates to feast upon. Then, last week, The Palm announced a $45 surf-and-turf special. And this week, McCormick & Schmick’s one-ups the famed steakhouse with the same deal but at 1/3 the price. In honor of Valentine’s Day (so the restaurant claims), M&S offers a three-course steak-and-lobster-tail dinner for only $30 a pop, so if you’re searching around for an inexpensive but awesome V-day meal, look no further.

The Palm
837 2nd Ave
New York, NY
(212) 687-2953

250 W 50th St
New York, NY
(212) 333-7256

Review
An economic meltdown brings with it dating opportunities that may have never before been possible. Because of a lack of hedge fund and bank execs dining at what many consider to be New York’s premier steakhouse, The Palm restaurant chain is offering an unprecedented deal for unprecedented times. A surf and turf dinner (lobster tail and steak for the layman) for two people for only $89. That is unbelievable!

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Review
This week’s DateSpace of the Week comes at the recommendation of UrbanDaddy.com, the invite-only e-newsletter that some snarkier people prefer to call “DailyCandy for guys.”
Casa La Femme is one of the few legitimate establishments in the city that features the ancient Arabian art form known as belly-dancing and also has immaculate bathrooms. Some snarkier people might say that the art form inspired the late-90s suburban dance craze referred to as “grinding,” but that’s neither here nor there. Belly-dancing is damn sexy, as long as its performed by attractive people, which is fortunately the case at CLF.

Review
If you find yourself down at the Seaport sometime this winter, be sure to check out Stella Maris, a moderately-priced, contemporary-themed dining establishment with an unassuming air all its own. Unlike so many other “new fill-in-the-blank-cuisine” restaurants overflowing with pretense from their super-simplified food presentations, sans-serif decors, and maiterdes with attitude problems, Stella Maris doesn’t try too hard. The dishes are prepared frugally but the final products do not look minimalistic. And you’ve probably heard of all the ingredients! The dark earth-toned atmosphere is hip but not cold, and the friendly, knowledgeable, and quite attractive waitstaff provides the perfect backdrop to complement your meal.

HILL COUNTRY
30 W 26th St
New York, NY 10079
212-255-4544

Review
Hill Country boasts the “Best Brisket in the Big Apple,” and we’d have to agree with their presumption. The moist brisket, sliced thin and smothered in Teutonic-Texan seasoning, needs no additional sauce. It’s that delicious, and it literally disintegrates in your mouth. Forks, knives, and teeth are of no use against brisket that is this slow-cooked.

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Cafe des Artistes
1 West 67th Street
Manhattan, NY 10023
212-877-3500

Review
This might be the most original date idea yet: Next Monday night, January 12, Cafe des Artistes, the beloved Upper West Side restaurant, will recreate the menu featured in the 1987 Danish Film Babette’s Feast.

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Gyu-Kaku
34 Cooper Square
Manhattan, NY 10003
212-475-2989

Review
Looking for a collaborative first-date? Then look no further than Gyu-Kaku, a Japanese BBQ restaurant where the diners do all the cooking. Think hibachi without the chef.
Each table at Gyu-Kaku has a sunken barbecue pit in the middle. You order a few 4-ounce portions of meat, seafood, and veggies, and just grill away. It’s gimmicky, for sure, but it’s also a lot of fun, and Zagats gives the food a 23, so you know it’s tasty fare. Prices are reasonable — for example, a 4-ounce portion of steak is only $8. A meal for two with alcohol and dessert will run you less than $75 including the tip.

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Leisure Time Bowl
625 & 8th Avenue
New York City, NY
(212) 268-6909

Review
Spare the jokes: Bowling is making a serious comeback, and it’s not just because the 10-year anniversary of The Big Lebowski passed by a few weeks ago. Several former bowling alleys in NYC have recently been retrofitted, the best of the lot being Leisure Time Bowling, a flashy spot neatly tucked away deep inside the decrepit-looking Port Authority Bus Terminal.

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Nick and Toni’s Cafe
100 W 67th St
New York, NY 10023
(212) 496-4000

Review
Brick ovens, painted frescoes, and Tuscan charm have made this intimate Italian restaurant a hit with the dating crowd since 1994, when the restaurant spun-off from the East Hamptons to the Upper West Side. Make sure to visit N&T’s on a Sunday or a Monday night, when they have a special that you would think was designed by a DateSpacer…

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