RECOMMENDED DISHES Crab with cashew butter; sweetbreads with lentils; pork belly with lemon grass; ahi tuna; duck with date purée; chicken breast; "cheesecake"; plum-huckleberry crisp.
WHAT WE LIKED Wedge salad, Caesar salad, crab cocktail, jumbo crab cake, chili pop shrimp, creamed spinach, French fries, strip steak, rib-eye, pork chop, short ribs, linguine with lobster and shrimp, stuffed chicken breast, cheesecake, banana cream pie, brownie sundae, truffle cake.
RECOMMENDED DISHES -- Bacon and leek tart, Thai peanut beef brochette, all salads, cod Provençal, strip steak with Gorgonzola crust, grilled duck breast, pumpkin cheesecake, chocolate flourless cake.
But those who were willing to shell out at least $100 to a local charity were invited to a more exclusive gala at a city-owned community center, where guests were treated to wine, stuffed chicken breast and cheesecake before the mayor's speech.
WHAT WE LIKED Endive salad with pear and blue cheese, Caesar salad, seafood salad; risotto with peas and shrimp, risotto with artichoke hearts and shrimp, gnocchi Bolognese; roasted branzino, grilled strip steak, pancetta-wrapped chicken breast, grilled veal chop; cheesecake, tiramisu, coffee gelato.
WHAT WE LIKE Crab cocktail, shrimp cocktail, New England clam chowder, mushroom tart; rack of lamb, filet mignon, barbecued ribs, stuffed chicken breast, fish and chips; pumpkin cheesecake, bread pudding, flourless chocolate cake.
Highlights include a wild arugula salad with roasted butternut squash, roasted turkey breast, almond-currant stuffing and pumpkin cheesecake.
RECOMMENDED DISHES Asparagus fricassee with poached egg; mushroom and fontina ravioli; duck and foie gras rillettes; red snapper in Thai broth; veal breast; braised beef with sirloin; chocolate soufflé; cheesecake.
RECOMMENDED DISHES Wild mushroom pizza, North Pacific pizza, Sarabande Caesar salad, sesame anise-crusted seared rare tuna, pan-seared duck breast, grilled swordfish, shrimp/scallops/mussels cioppino style, sour cream cheesecake, chocolate espresso cake, flan.
Charles Cho, the chef for the group, has come up with a Caesar salad that includes prosciutto and a poached egg, mushroom risotto, duck breast with lemon-grass rice, a burger and yuzu cheesecake: 1241 Amsterdam Avenue (121st Street), (646) 820-7735, flattopnyc.com.
Options include smoked trout, rainbow sashimi, buttermilk-fried organic chicken breast, soy-marinated flatiron steak, five-spice duck-confit hash, Japanese cheesecake, coconut-kale sorbet and more.
