Le Caprice New York in Modern Luxury

A couple, she in a fishtail-cut floor-length taffeta skirt, he in a tux, fed each other bites of yet another vaguely derivative Asian-style dish, Thai-baked sea bass served with an adorable little bamboo steamer of rice.

People-watching on this scale can generate a genuine appetite. Ironically, in a restaurant where I noticed several women pushing half-eaten entrées in the direction of their male companions in a clear attempt to watch their figures, the best dishes here happen to be the heartiest. Though hardly anyone was ordering the $70 Champagne risotto with Périgord truffles special, the fish and chips—a crisp fillet of cod on a bed of bright green mushy peas, accompanied by a little porcelain dish of serviceable fries—was justifiably popular.