...when you want to introduce your friends to your German pen pal from 4th grade.

Heidelberg

1648 Second Avenue

Between 85th and 86th

Listen, everyone's been to a pizza place, everyone's been to a tapas place, or a Chinese place - but has anyone been to a German place where you can eat schnitzel and drink beer from a huge glass boot? Exactly.

Aside from the "lapse in judgement" the Germans had between the years of 1914 - 1989, they've been relatively cool. They have great food, great beer and face it - lederhosen are hot. So when you need a fun place to get together to celebrate, nothing beats a German restaurant where the decor and the staff all look right out of the German Pavilion at Epcot Center.

Heidelberg is nestled on the upper east side, in old Germantown, where my grandfather used to cause trouble back in the 1930's. Now, it is one of the last remnants of the old days - and can easily be missed among the frat bars and Ann Talyor Lofts. But its warm atmosphere and friendly staff make it one of the best places in the city to raise a glass, or boot, of beer.

Here, the beer list is simple - 8 beers in 4 sizes. Small, medium large, or 2 liter glass boot. And if you don't pace yourself with this super big gulp of booze - you just might boot in the cab on the way home. So start the night off with one, or split one with someone - but NEVER (promise me) NEVER order second boot.

Now, instead of getting all your calories from the beer, try some of the delicious and authentic German food that they offer, like the Weiner Schnitzel (Stop laughing). It's just a perfectly fried veal cutlet - moist and seasoned. served with homefries and red cabbage. I always order a side of Spaetzle, which is German pasta sauteed in butter, and an order of the potato pancakes.

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…for a girls lunch with your rich mother-in-law.

Bottega Del Vino
7 East 59th Street (Between 5th and Madison)

The perfect panini is a lot like your rich mother-in-law, soft and warm on the inside, but a little crusty on the outside. At Bottega Del Vino, you can bring both of them together when you’re out shopping on her platinum AMEX. Split into two parts, an upscale Italian restaurant and the more causal café, the café is the true gem – a wine bar that serves delicious sandwiches and incredible wines served by waiters in tuxedos. This place is perfect when you’ve walked through Central Park, shopped on 5th Avenue, or as an escape from the madness of Bloomingdales.

You'll know it’s location as "across the street from the flagship Apple Store" but your loaded mother-in-law knows it as "across the street from The Plaza". Elegant with a dash of fun, you can both be comfortable without the pretentious atmosphere of her first choice, the Four Seasons.

Tip: Be sure to specify to the hostess you’d like to sit in the café and politely decline a table on the sidewalk of the heavily trafficked, exhaust haze filled street.

Tip 2: You can make this place as expensive as you want, with the cured filet mignon panini for $10.50, or the white Alba truffles over fontina cheese panini for $48.

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