March 4 (Bloomberg) -- Manhattan's Upper West Side has long favored humble bistros over high-end eateries. For foie gras and caviar north of Columbus Circle, you'd first think of Zabar's or Citarella. They're not restaurants, they're grocery stores.

Things are changing. Case in point: The Excelsior Hotel. It's home to Eighty One, a brand-new, fancy-pants Mecca opposite the Hayden Planetarium. Based on an early visit, I'm happy to recommend skipping the museum cafeteria. Come here instead and try the Azeri caviar.

Welcome to the latest in a class of ambitious venues to crop up in this intellectual district. December brought us Dovetail. That's where duck liver, monkfish and lobster hold delicious court on a single $36 plate. Bar Boulud came in January. The casual spot serves world-class charcuterie and $1,875 bottles of Romanee-Conti.

Eighty One is the most classically upscale of the bunch. It's where the chef shaves a flurry of black truffles over any dish for $42. Some creations even have the funky fungi built-in.

Imagine this: Sweet leeks are poached in veal stock, drizzled with black truffle vinaigrette, christened with a truffled egg and paired with a black truffle tartine. The earthy soot perfumes everything, overwhelms nothing.

The dining room occupies a space without windows. The challenge: elegance without stuffiness. Expect heavy red curtains, velvety red booths, soft white tablecloths. The floors are hard and brown. One can only handle so much fabric.

Walks-ins will dine at bar and lounge: full menu available. Rothkoesque paintings hang up front. Washed-out lighting beautifies your date's rough edges yet allows menu reading without eye strain.

Pricey Potage

Dovetail shocked us with $14 clam chowder (worth every penny). Eighty One ups the ante with a $15 cod version. When did soup get so expensive?

Skip the tired concoction for something else: a verdant broth of parsley and fennel. Frog-leg lollipops turn green when dunked in the anise-flavored liquid. Jean-Georges has been hawking a similar Kermit bath for years, but the version here is better.

Chef Ed Brown doesn't so much invent as he does reinvent and indulge -- not a bad thing. Calamari cooked a la plancha is becoming a de rigueur preparation around town. Brown uses free- form streaks of paprika and potato sauce to add relevance. It anoints the tender squid with a smoky finish. It intrigues. It lingers.

Risotto gets a nutty jolt from pumpkin-seed oil, a fatty shock from braised chicken wings -- delicious.

Foie gras is everywhere. It's terrined (with squash). It's seared (with tuna). It's raviolied (with scallops). The latter two dishes are well-composed but cheap on the liver; ask for more.

For Two

Waiters encourage ad hoc tasting menus. Here's how it works: The chef splits most dishes. Even soup. The sommelier halves glasses of wine. The kitchen sends the miniaturized appetizers and entrees one at a time. So three courses each turns into six.

Take advantage of this. A filet of cod is more manageable when served for two. The fish is braised in a sake-wine broth, a holdover from Brown's days at Sea Grill. The subtle creation glistens. It's almost Japanese in its pure, tasty austerity. Almost. Crispy shallots lie on top -- a hint of decadence.

Finish things off with cinnamon peanut fritters. Dinner for two cost $240.

Eighty One is at 45 W. 81st St. Information: +1-212-873-8181; http://www.81nyc.com.

Greenwich Steak & Burger

Residents of Tribeca and the financial district should welcome this rare cheap spot for beef and fries. The most expensive lunch item is a $21 strip steak.

The burgers are still very much a work in progress, based on a single early visit. But the crispy, heady, black truffle parmesan frites are ready to compete with those at other local joints.

Lunch for one cost $29.

Greenwich Steak & Burger is at 369 Greenwich St., at Franklin Street. Information: +1-212-625-1010.

(Ryan Sutton is a writer for Bloomberg News. The opinions expressed are his own.)

To contact the writer of this story: Ryan Sutton in New York at rsutton1@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: March 4, 2008 00:03 EST