Where to take your parents for dinner

Anthos serves traditional whole fish and adventurous dishes like Tasmanian crab with sea urchin tzatziki

Here’s the scoop: Mom and Dad (or Uncle Hedgefund) are headed into town to catch a Broadway show, maybe a glimpse of the Rock Center tree and to share a meal with their favorite little New Yorker (on their tab, of course). Free food is never a bad thing, but the dilemma lies in finding a spot that will satisfy two seemingly incompatible requirements: a menu that won’t scare away your meat-and-potatoes meal ticket (wd-50 need not apply), but will still offer you a chance to sample some unique, top-tier dishes on the parental dime.

Here are eight restaurants that cater to both the traditionalist and adventurous. So you can eat plates of offal in peace, without having to explain the gory (and delicious) details.

The Red Cat
227 10th Ave. at 23rd St., 212-242-1122
For the traditionalist: Hospitality is the key at this laid-back, but elegant, homage to Cape chillness. Even diners spoiled by the charms of a Midwestern supper club will find the staff warm and accommodating, and the pan roasted salmon with sautéed savoy, creminis and champagne sweet pea purée entrée is prepared to perfection.
For the adventurous: Radishes replace the ubiquitous peanuts and pretzels as bar snacks—a hint that there’s a wink behind the traditional façade. The seasonal menu diverges from the satisfying grilled buttermilk pork chop (a nice crisp exterior gives way to a moist center) into a thick-cut, pan roasted calves liver with balsamic reduction main course.


Anthos
For the traditionalist: You usually take Uncle Jeff from Omaha to Luger's for steaks, but after his recent bypass, he's cutting down on the saturated fats. Instead, take him where the olive oil and whole fish will keep his cardiologist and his stomach happy.
For the adventurous: For a twist on your the usual taverna’s offerings, check out the shellfish macaronia with pastourma, smoked feta, quail egg and white wine and yellowfin tuna with spirng vegetable terrine, pastoruma and lemon yogurt .
32 W. 52nd Street at Fifth Ave., 212-582-6900


Apizz
217 Eldridge St. at Stanton St., 212-253-9199
For the traditionalist: Even the most in-the-know eater may have trouble pronouncing the name (it’s ah-beets), but the exceptional appetizer-portion thin-crust pizzas (both a traditional margherita and a white pie with ricotta, parmesan and buffalo mozzarella), and simply prepared gnocci, skate and some of the best meatballs in Manhattan won’t scare off folks begging for a trip to Mulberry Street’s red-sauce alley.
For the adventurous: A commitment to brick-oven preparation (like its sister restaurant, Peasant), and the signature lasagna with wild boar ragu indicate a nice departure from the norm, while the Denominazione di Origine Controllata buffalo mozzarella (certified authentic Italian) on the crisp pizzas show a commitment to prime ingredients. The unexpected location —smack dab in the middle of the Eldridge Street housing projects—brings some grimy LES street cred to seal the deal.


The Stanton Social
99 Stanton St. at Ludlow St, 212-995-0099
For the traditionalist: A tempting selection of gourmet sliders (Kobe beef, grilled cheese with jalepeno bacon, lobster roll) will satisfy even the most recalcitrant palate. It’s like fast food in a heavenly alternate universe. And the soup dumplings—French onion soup skewered with a garlic crouton and melted Gruyere cheese—will garner raves from fans of T.G.I. Friday’s pot stickers.
For the adventurous: Chicken-‘n’-waffles may sound like a quickly regretted hangover breakfast, but the aged cheddar waffle, summer corn pudding and balsamic spiked maple syrup add an unexpected dimension.


China Grill
60 W. 53rd St. at Sixth Ave., 212-333-7788
For the traditionalist: Peking duck, Szechuan beef, drunken chicken? There are plenty of dishes here that won’t shock the president of the P.F. Chang’s fan club. Huge portions will impress even Texan tourists. And the doggy bag equals tomorrow’s free lunch.
For the adventurous: Sure, the Miami and (gasp!) Vegas branches nix any cred this place ever enjoyed, but we’re talking Midtown here, folks—perfect for grabbing some grub between perusing MoMA and catching “The Lion King.” It may not be as innovative as a Wylie special, but the flash-fried spinach is a cool feat of B-list molecular gastronomy—this crisp, light, salty treasure could give chips and pretzels a run for their money as the perfect Monday Night Football munchie.


Blue Hill
75 Washington Place at Sixth Ave., 212-539-1776
For the traditionalist: The focus is on fresh, seasonal ingredients, not breathtaking culinary gymnastics. Dishes like braised hake with corn and clam chowder, new potatoes and lardo and Stone Barns pastured chicken with cranberry beans won’t shock conservative taste buds.
For the adventurous: You’ve read “The Omnivore’s Dilemma,” and can’t eat a hamburger without thinking of the poor cows packed shoulder to shoulder in the feedlot. Dry your tears at this bastion of local, seasonal food—some of it courtesy of the owner-run Blue Hill Farm in the Berkshires. In autumn, the summer’s fresh heirloom tomato salad morphs into a tomato soup with herring roe and a local apple oatmeal cobbler with lemon thyme ice cream.


L’Ecole at the French Culinary Institute
462 Broadway at Grand St. 212-219-3300
For the traditionalist: A rotating menu doesn’t stray too far from the classics, and the late-‘90s dining-room design won’t alienate a conservative crowd. In the land of $17 tomato salads (yeah, we mean you, Colicchio), the $42 five-course prix-fixe dinner is the type of deal every value-conscious diner can appreciate.
For the adventurous: Maybe haute cuisine care of culinary students is a bad idea in Topeka, but this is New York. Illustrious alumni include Wylie Dufresne and David Chang, so catch the next James Beard award winners while they’re still peeling potatoes.


Wallse
344 w. 11th St. at Washington St., 212-352-2300
For the traditionalist: Sure, if your parents are from Miami, Austrian fare will seem as unappealing and foreign as tapas or Tibetan, but if they're from the Midwest, where hearty stews and smoked fish help pass the winter months, they'll love the wiener schnitzel with potato-cucumber salad and the rich beef goulash with roasted peppers and spätzle.
For the adventurous: In a city teeming with Ethiopian, Venezuelan and Himalayan eats, Austrian is still about as commonplace as…an Austrian rap star.