Feb. 12 (Bloomberg) -- The year was 2006. I canceled my dinner reservation at the Essex House. It's a posh hotel and residential complex on Manhattan's tony Central Park South. The price of a meal would have been unconscionable: $1,000 for two after wine, tax and tip.

The chef was Alain Ducasse.

Fast-forward to a few nights ago. I honored my Essex supper booking. The new restaurant is South Gate and the chef is Kerry Heffernan. Dinner for two cost $244.

Archaeologists can still visit the former Ducasse dining space in the rear of the building. It's a culinary relic of sorts now pumping out standard hotel fare.

South Gate occupies a sprawling room adjacent to the lobby. If opening night was any indication of things to come, diners can expect tasty, deftly prepared American fare.

Strands of squid (``flash seared'') wiggle down the throat like spaghetti. They sop up a briny lobster sauce and emit a whiff of cilantro -- and cost only $14 for an appetizer portion.

An early menu puts just one starter over $20; no entree over $39. How stunning. This is a city where $40 to $50 main courses are increasingly the norm. And let's not forget this is the Essex House, where residences start at around $1 million apiece.

South Gate's decor is corporate, corner-office slick. Giant windows overlook the park. Mocha leather chairs swivel. Walls of disjointed mirrors keep egos in check: They're angled so you see others, but not yourself.

Do You Duo?

The wine list is expensive. Modest types will drink the $66 cabernet franc from Long Island (Schneider Vineyards).

Heffernan, the former chef at Eleven Madison Park, reminds us why he belongs in the kitchen. Creamy buttercup-squash flan is the perfect foil for salty prosciutto. Butter-roasted lobster gets a sweet-spicy treatment from a kimchi and red-pepper marjoram broth. The sweet shellfish collapses in the mouth like delicate meringue.

South Gate bows to the culinary zeitgeist with the ubiquitous duos of beef and lamb and slabs of pork belly (glazed, braised). The cow and pig were meaty, tender and unremarkable --if only because they're indistinguishable from other versions around town.

Finish with a caramel chocolate tart and sweet mango jellies. Relish that you're feasting in Ducasse's old stomping ground on the cheap.

South Gate is at the Jumeirah Essex House, 160 Central Park South, near Seventh Avenue. Information: +1-212-484-5120; http://www.jumeirahessexhouse.com/southgate.

Gastrodiner

First came the gastropub: Michelin-starred food in a beer- stained setting. Now, courtesy of Commerce in New York's West Village, we have the gastrodiner.

Bright lighting won't flatter your flaws. Cramped tables for walk-ins aren't comfortable. White tiles are cafeteria-chic. Brown woods look salvaged from a 1970s garage sale. It's so studiously ugly that I can't help calling it pretty.

That's the diner.

Now here's the gastro: Our opening night meal was excellent. The place was packed. We waited an hour to be seated. What's all the commotion over? Try the veal breast. You'll understand.

That dish -- braised and stuffed with pork -- was so meaty and tender that it makes me wonder why Manhattan has been wasting its time on veal chops.

Thank chef Harold Moore for the fare.

Bovine Triptych

Had enough of the duos of beef? Commerce offers an astonishing trio. Ingredients: braised short rib (mouthwatering, moist); dry-aged sirloin (rare with a lovely funk); bone marrow (check your blood pressure).

Fluke sashimi absorbs spicy ginger, luscious olive oil. Tortelloni get a dash of sweet from pomegranate seeds, a dose of crunch from hazelnuts, a wallop of rich from sweet-potato filling. Waiters pour a carafe of green coconut-curry broth over red snapper.

Dessert? Pineapple cheesecake perfectly balances tart fruit with fromage. Dinner for two, which included a 20 percent inaugural discount, cost $146.

Commerce is at 50 Commerce St., near Barrow Street. Information: +1-212-524-2301.

(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: February 12, 2008 00:02 EST