Maurice Graham Henry on the best American fine dining restaurants in the New York metropolitan area
No other city has the breadth and depth of fine dining options that New York City has.  For many, the best example of New York fine dining featuring American cuisine has long been Aureole, Charlie Palmer's flagship restaurant on the east side and recognized by Relais & Châteaux.  However, Danny Meyer's Gramercy Tavern and Gotham Bar and Grill under Chef Alfred Portale exemplify the best in American fine dining as much as Aureole does.  For seafood and steak (can any listing of American restaurants be credible without steak and seafood restaurants?), we settled on Oceana in midtown and Peter Luger in Brooklyn.  Oceana under Chef Ben Pollinger is surely one of the best – if not the best – American (vs. French or Italian) seafood restaurants in the USA.  As for Peter Luger, in a country known around the world for its many excellent steakhouses, Peter Luger in Brooklyn sets the platinum standard for excellence.  And north of the city, we're pleased to list Blue Hill at Stone Barns in Pocantico Hills on the Rockefeller estate by the Hudson River.  The restaurant, led by Chef Dana Barber, is certainly one of the best examples of stellar "farm-to-table" restaurants in the United States today.

Maurice Graham Henry
August 11, 2008

Maurice Graham Henry dines at Aureole
"Aureole (meaning 'halo' in French), Chef Charlie Palmer’s popular New York restaurant, is a respected bastion of New American cooking. With the restaurant approaching its 20th anniversary, a change in location to the Bank of America building near Grand Central terminal will take place in early 2009. The current East 61st Street address is a lovely townhouse with dining rooms on the first and second levels. (I sat on the first floor during both visits.)"