Power lunch: The country’s leaders dine at the Four Seasons restaurant in New York.

The Best Lunch: The Four Seasons

Julian Niccolini, the dapper co-owner of New York's Four Seasons restaurant, points to a 22-foot-high painting on the wall of his restaurant.

Julian Niccolini, the restaurant's co-owner.

"We basically serve the people that run this country," Niccolini says.

"Picasso," he says nonchalantly on his way to one of the restaurants two oversized dining areas, the Pool Room, which is named for the white marble pool at its center. Power brokers talk shop at the much-coveted pool-side tables underneath a canopy of trees, which, like the waiters' uniforms, are replaced seasonally.

But spring, summer, fall, or winter, one thing that never changes about the 47-year-old establishment is the mood at lunchtime, when the light from the pool flickers off the faces of some of the most powerful men and women in the world as they sit down for their midday meal.

Just as pigs are drawn to truffles, the powers that be in this world have long had little choice but to lunch at this midtown-Manhattan restaurant. Is it its fine food, its owners' attention to detail, or its building, which was designed by twentieth-century architecture giants Mies Van Der Rohe and Philip Johnson? It's most likely some other element less identifiable but nevertheless undeniable.

The rooms offer two unique dining experiences. The Pool Room, Niccolini explains in his thick Italian accent, is more relaxed than the exclusive Grill Room on the other side of the restaurant. The Pool Room is the more coveted dinner spot; the Grill Room is the destination for power lunchers.

Niccolini gestured to the Grill Room, where a former Democrat senator was presently enjoying his meal. The previous day, a former Republican vice-president was in for lunch. In such a bipartisan restaurant, one wonders if the dining experience gets a little . . . heated.

"Oh yeah," Niccolini confirms, "if they don't have problems, I will create problems for them. It would be my great pleasure; it's my favorite job." His good-natured needling, however, is many people's favorite part of a meal. That, and the menu. As Niccolini describes the history of the restaurant, waiters bring out a tender kobe beef salad, followed by heirloom tomatoes topped with basil and burrata cheese. He holds out a small bottle of Manni olive oil, which he believes is the finest Tuscany has to offer.

"Better business is done over a fine meal, don't you agree?" Niccolini says. To be sure, not everything on the menu is highbrow; one of the most popular items on the dessert menu? Cotton candy.

To ensure a lunchtime reservation, it's best to plan a late lunch, he says. By the time 2 o'clock rolls around, the Pool Room is practically empty. Definitely not the case an hour earlier. No matter what time it is, Niccolini or his partner, Alex Von Bidder, will likely find time to drop by your table.

If you come earlier and can't get a seat in the Grill Room, you can always opt for lunch at the bar, which offers a clear view of the shoulder rubbing that goes on.

"We basically serve the people that run this country. I've seen every president have lunch or dinner here, except for the current one," says Niccolini. "Maybe he's on a diet."

Posted on August 28, 2006