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Jean-Georges Vongerichten’s eighth venture in Manhattan is supposed to be a casual neighborhood joint. The dining room is a cool slip of a place located in one of the icy, all-glass Richard Meier structures overlooking the Hudson, where the chef also happens to own an apartment. The room feels serene and subdued, a muted symphony of soft whites (chairs and banquettes) and tan browns (wooden tables) encased in glass. The food at this canteen is often excellent, although given Mr. Vongerichten’s talents, it sometimes feels almost too spare, like he’s tossed off the recipes between trips to his far-flung holdings in Las Vegas or Shanghai. For fusion fanatics, there’s a strangely inert plate of red-snapper sashimi, good though gummy crab dumplings bombed with black pepper, and a delicate brick of tuna rolled in crushed rice crackers and served with a deliciously creamy emulsion spiked with a Thai chili sauce called Siracha. Otherwise, you’ll be pleased to know you can get a good plate of roast chicken at Perry Street (served in a slightly too salty broth studded with scallions and corn), very tender beef tenderloin (garnished with sweet onion jam), and superior country lamb chops.

You may not spot a celebrity, but you’ll have much better luck securing a table at lunch.

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