PRICE:
Frommer's Very Highly Recommended

The seafood branch of the BLT (Bistro Laurent Tourondel, BLT Steak, BLT Prime, BLT Market) empire, is actually two restaurants with two distinct kitchens. The downstairs is a moderately priced faux-seafood shack with a raw bar, fried fare, and the much-in-demand (deservedly so) lobster roll. Upstairs (you can walk the steps or take a glass elevator) is the elegant (with prices to match) dining room. Here you can sit under a skylight or near the open kitchen and watch an army of servers move from the kitchen with huge platters, where whole fish sit, dressed up beautifully, ready for consumption. One example is the crispy red snapper, Cantonese style, that is filleted tableside. Another is the sea-salt-crusted New Zealand pink snapper, for which you'll have to crack the hard salt shell to get to the tender, juicy flesh underneath. Of the smaller dishes, the Maine Day boat sea scallops stand out, along with the Alaskan black cod in a honey reduction sauce. For starters, the spicy tuna tartare and the grilled sardines are not to be missed. But with fish this fresh, you really won't go wrong with anything on the menu here. Like BLT Steak and BLT Prime, don't expect quiet conversation.

Copyright: Excerpted from Frommer's New York City 2009, (c) 2008, Wiley Publishing, Inc.

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