Restaurants

Tony's for Lunch

OK, not really Tony's -- Anthony's. But you'll still get a great meal.

By Joe Bonwich 

OK, not really. You wanna eat at Tony's itself, it's dinner only. But weekdays, across the lobby of the Equitable Building (that giant mirror that sits to the right of the Old Court House when you're facing the Arch from the west), the lucky few can eat Bommarito-style (Vince Jr., another of the hardest-working restaurant folk in town, seems to be omnipresent during the lunch hours) at Anthony's Bar -- and at relatively bargain prices.

Anthony's (which used to be the name of Tony's sister -- er, brother -- restaurant that was housed in the big space now occupied by Tony's, when Tony's was still up the street in the old place) is an island of urbane civilization for downtown lunch, but all are welcome -- you're just as likely to see basic-black jeans and T's from a neighborhood creative shop as you are gray flannels and even the occasional bow tie from the local legions of accountants, lawyers and PR schleppers. Be sure to get there within minutes of the opening time of 11:30 a.m. if you want to sit at one of the limited number of tables; even by 11:45, the couple dozen seats at the square bar in the center of the room are filled to capacity.

If you do manage to get in, though, you can treat yourself to the best fish sandwich in town (a lightly breaded fillet of the fresh catch of the day), or a simple but elegant pasta dish of the day, or any of a handful of sandwiches, including a to-die-for small ribeye with Roquefort. It's sort of the perfect pseudo-private club for folks who wouldn't belong to one that would have them.

ANTHONY'S BAR, 410 Market St. (downtown). Hours: 11:30 a.m.-2 p.m. Mon.-Fri. Entrees: $5.75-$7.