Church Lounge

The hotel has already managed to acquire quite a reputation as a celebrity magnet. In fact, the friend I was meeting spotted actor Hank Azaria at the reservations desk. "He was dressed in running clothes and looked, well, like just about everybody else I know," she told me.

Sneaker-clad celebrities aside, we found the lunch scene luxuriously quiet, ideal for relaxed conversation. Seated on well-upholstered slipper chairs, we watched rows of candles flickering against a wall of reflective tiles.

Here, portions are large and can be shared. We started with the fritto misto. Good call. An assortment of shrimp, scallops and squid came in a paper cone, everything fried to delicate perfection. Our favorite dipping sauce was a spicy red pepper aioli, but, truthfully, the superb seafood needed nothing. We also shared a salad of grilled French bread and heirloom tomatoes. The toast was garlicky and herbal; the tomatoes, on the other hand, had overdosed on balsamic vinaigrette.

A buffalo burger with applewood bacon, sweet and sour onions and Cheddar translated into a hefty disc of well-grilled meat, as juicy and flavorful as any steerburger, on garlic-toasted French bread. Shoestring fries on the side were crisp and addictive.

For dessert, we indulged in a marvelous banana bread pudding with vanilla custard sauce and chocolate truffle ice cream and a rich espresso chocolate Napoleon. Forget the watery $4 coffee and indifferent $6 cappuccino.

At lunch, dishes run $9 to $23; desserts are all $10. Order wisely. And stay alert-you never know who's going to pass through that lobby.

Reviewed by Joan Reminick

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Tribeca restaurants, Manhattan restaurants, American restaurants