i *totally* forgot about this place, and should have posted earlier. better late than never. it's osteria stella, and located on 50th between 6th and 7th. some former co-workers had a get-together there last month, and it's spacious. no idea how the food is - we didn't order - but we all hung out by the bar. i was happy because they had some of the belgian beers i like (a lambic kriek, hoegaarden; found out later the same people own markt, in the meat district), and the bar was huge. as mentioned in these reviews: http://nymetro.com/pages/details/9692.htm http://eatdrink.timeoutny.com/articles/432.osteria.php i just called them up and they open at 5 pm on sundays. there were some other groups of people there as well at the bar, and for the most part, no one felt crowded. since it hasn't been open that long, it's not well-known...and it's only a few blocks (5, i believe) north of the hotel. weather report for sunday/monday: cold! 10-20 degrees, windy. no affiliation with osteria stella. i'll be hitting del frisco's 2 blocks away for dinner (have the crabcake appetizers, which are crab/lobster and a touch of bread crumbs, with the steak), maybe going to osteria later...