"Cafe Boulud was founded in 1998 by Daniel Boulud, perhaps the city’s most respected French chef. It was sentimentally named after the restaurant run by his parents near Lyon, France. It closed after its original location in the Hotel Surrey was sold, and reopened just off Park Avenue a mile south. The menu retains its traditional four-section format, highlighting traditional Lyonnaise, seasonal, and locavore food and fare that originates in a foreign country, which varies monthly. Two-course and three-course meals ($95, $125) are available in the elegant room, which centers on a towering floral display. Book reservations online." - Melissa McCart