'Nationally Known' Restaurants May Land in 345 Adams

Rob, Chris isn't being a snob when he writes, "Nothing like these tacky guesses. going to be at a higher level fer sure...." His comment reflects, not that we have conferred about this, the desire of Muss Development to offer restaurant choices "appropriate" to the guests at the Marriott. I use that word, and in quotes, to indicate that it doesn't necessarily have to be an upscale eatery, but one at least perceived as such by hotel guests who may come from places with fewer options.

I don't go to steak joints so I don't have an opinion on how nice Morton's is, compared to Lugers (non-chain) or Ruth Chris (different chain). But I think it is perceived as a dependable, urban steakhouse. I remember 25 years ago when Legal Seafood was a big deal, a must stop on a trip to Boston. You can find any number of better fish restaurants now but the Legal Seafood brand still resonates. And let's not kid ourselves, brownstoner readers may want to rush to that new, still-undiscovered frogs leg hut on the Sunset Park waterfront, but most Amerikans like the predictability of a chain.

PF Changs is categorically a good guess. Legal Seafood. But forget places like Olive Garden, Red Lobster--yeah, they would probably be very profitable but the hotel guests can go to places like that at the mall back home. If Muss can land something first rate, "River Cafe, Upland Edition," it will. Otherwise, my prediction is a chain that has some cachet, even if the reputation is undeserved, at least by New York standards.