Blue Fin
How can you tell you're in a W hotel? Look for striking, inspired-by-nature design; a hip Rande Gerber bar; and an upscale restaurant run by a seasoned industry veteran like Drew Nieporent, Todd English, or, in the case of the new W Times Square, Stephen (Ruby Foo's) Hanson. At Blue Fin, Hanson has assembled a troika of culinary talent (a sushi chef from San Francisco, an executive chef from Icon, and a pastry chef from Gotham Bar & Grill), and unleashed their combined energies on an area better known for fast-food franchises than for saut�ed pompano with black-pepper gnocchi. Theatergoers and nearby office workers are sure to relish the Chilean barnacles, the $60 shellfish "castle," the 50 wines by the glass, and the upstairs jazz club, but only lucky hotel guests can order Murphy's homemade ice cream by the pint on the room-service menu.
1567 Broadway, at 47th Street
212-918-1400
· Cuisine: Seafood

Meet
The metamorphosing meatpacking district continues to lose chilly meat lockers and gain hot new restaurants, and the name of the latest such conversion from the raw to the cooked says it all. Meet has a D.J. booth, an illuminated catwalk, ostrich-leather banquettes, coconut-wood tables, an amber onyx bar, and, according to consulting master Tin Sun, fine feng shui. Chef Ten Vong, formerly of Mercer Kitchen, has crafted a menu that hits all the right contemporary notes, from brandade ravioli with parsley water to walnut-crusted rack of lamb with pomegranate glaze (entr�es, $16 to $25). And next door, the smaller but equally luxe Meet Caf� features lighter bites along the Italianate lines of panini, crostini, focaccia, and pizzetta.
71-73 Gansevoort Street
212-242-0990
· Cuisine: Eclectic