Fourteen Going on Fifteen

Fourteen restaurants each brought a signature dish to 15 Union Square Park West tonight for a special walk-around grand-tasting to benefit Citymeals on Wheels. The new luxury condo complex (at one time the home of Tiffany & Co.) is far from completion, but the model-unit floor of this very-much-under-construction building proved to be one heck of a hip spot to throw an open-house party. Co-chair and chef Daniel Boulud somehow found a moment to break from his Upper East Side restaurant and accept all-around congratulations for a glowing write-up in this morning's Times. (Frank Bruni's much-anticipated weigh-in reaffirmed the eatery's well-deserved four-star status.) But Daniel wasn't the only happy camper in the bunch. Sated guests left the event with copies of Dining in New York City, the new book by writer-photographer Jan Bartelsman, which features 40 of his picks for the city's best eateries. There are no recipes in the compendium, but with chefs this good in our metropolis, why would any of us even dare to set foot in a kitchen?

For more photos, click here.