If you want to eat with the art crowd, dine at Bottino. Set in an old Chelsea hardware store that’s been stripped down to its original wooden shelving, it’s stylish but understated, with an L-shaped dining room, outfitted with Eames and Bertoia dining chairs, which encloses a verdant, glassed-in atrium. The seasonal Tuscan fare is reliably good, and occasionally outstanding.

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After earning three stars in the uber-formal Lespinasse in the St. Regis hotel, Swiss chef Gray Kunz traded a dining room fit for Versailles for its antithesis: a glass box brasserie in the Time Warner Center. The cuisine lightened up along with the surroundings but remains exceptional. Favorites include wild striped bass with tomato-jicama salad and lemongrass and braised short rib of beef with soft grits and meaux mustard. Jerry Seinfeld eating lunch in a booth appears as relaxed here as if he were sitting at Tom’s Diner but with much more interesting menu selections. For the past few years, Café Gray has been my favorite restaurant to bring friends who really love food and want to relax in an informal dining room. The open kitchen, which affords the culinary crew a better view of Columbus Circle than the diners, lends a bustling, intimate air to the meal. Tip: The chef’s table is behind the kitchen in a private dining room with a window overlooking Columbus Circle.

EDITOR’S NOTE: CAFE GRAY, WHICH OPENED IN 2004, CLOSED IN THE SUMMER OF 2008. TO EXPERIENCE CHEF GRAY KUNZ’S CUISINE, MAKE A RESERVATION AT GRAYZ.

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Although Craft outposts have appeared throughout the country, the original location in New York’s Flatiron district deserves a special mention. Celebrity chef Tom Colicchio (now a familiar face thanks to reality TV show Top Chef) opened the restaurant in 2001, and it made an immediate splash on the Manhattan food scene. The New York Times lavished it with three stars, James Beard named it the Best New Restaurant and more praise followed from every respected food publication in the business. Almost nine years later, Colicchio’s tried-and-true recipe of superb ingredients prepared simply still sets gourmet hearts a flutter.

Notable mention goes to the earthy Hen of the Woods mushrooms and the braised short ribs, both perennial favorites, but the seafood, from spanking fresh oysters to roasted daurade, is equally flavorful. The only downside is that dishes, which are meant to be shared, tend to be on the small side; in other words, over-order, and get two of anything that sounds particularly appealing. Craft does offer a private dining room, but the buzzing main area, with its high ceilings, patchwork leather wall and scuffed wooden floors is much more appealing in its sleek take on the rustic greenmarket dining trend.

TIP: Foodies will be delighted by Colicchio’s recent announcement that starting October 14, he is launching a special chef’s table every other Tuesday at the space adjacent to Craft.

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The warm blond dining room of Jean Georges that seems to roll right out into Central Park is one of designer Adam Tihany’s most successful projects, and despite all his descendants world-wide, remains the jewel in Jean-Georges Vongerichten’s crown. Memories of meals past seem to live forever. And the peripatetic chef appears remarkably often in the open kitchen. Nougatine, the less formal dining room that shares the space, the kitchen and the ethic of perfection, is itself better than most in the city. It’s excellent for breakfast overlooking the park, the superb prix fixe lunch ($24.07) of three courses, such as yellow watermelon soup, seared salmon and chocolate peanut butter parfait, or a lovely supper, especially pre-theater.