Dining With Jazz...

Someone recently asked me to recommend both a restaurant and a jazz club where he might bring a date. Fortunately, there are many places around the city which combine the listening and dining experiences. Here are some of my favorites:

• Blue Smoke/Jazz Standard: When I attended this year's Time Out New York Eat Out Awards, I was thrilled to see Mark Maynard-Parisi stand up to accept the award for best barbecue. In my opinion, his restaurant-club also features some of the best jazz in the city. Make sure to reserve a seat when the phenomenal Maria Schneider Big Band is in the house, and don't forget to order a side of super-rich macaroni and cheese with your salt-and-pepper beef ribs. (116 East 27th St., 212-447-7733.)


• I'd be hard-pressed to think of a more gorgeous setting for dinner than The Cloisters, and the New Leaf Cafe is nestled right in the woods. There's live jazz on Thursdays and Saturdays, and you can't go wrong with Iron Chef Scott Campbell's cuisine. Try his homemade mozzarella appetizer and seared tuna entree. (1 Margaret Corbin Dr., Fort Tryon Park, 212-568-5323.)


• Bar Next Door at La Lanterna: Guitarist Peter Mazza both books and performs beautifully focused sets in this dim, cozy basement space. While you enjoy his harmonic intricacies, you can dine on three kinds of lasagna (pesto, bolognese or quattri formaggi), an array of brick-oven pizzas and desserts like tiramisu and even pumpkin pie. (129 MacDougal St., 212-529-5945.)


• Grasso's Restaurant: Yes, Grasso's is a fair distance from Manhattan, but if you miss Zinno's, the old Village restaurant where diners regularly enjoyed the improvisations of such luminaries as Joanne Brackeen, you'll travel the distance to Cold Spring Harbor. Singer Ernie Byrd performs with some of NYC's finest musicians, including pianists Dave Lalama and George Colligan, and bassist Noriko Ueda. The music goes down nice and smooth with a roasted garlic/goat cheese flan, 10-oz. steak and lobster dinner, and warm, cinnamony white chocolate bread pudding. (134 Main St., Cold Spring Harbor, 631-367-6060.)