Signs of the Times: Aqua Cuts Lunchtime Service

Financial District: When Michael Mina's eponymous Union Square restaurant cut days and staff, many considered it a foreboding sign for the local restaurant industry, particularly for the fine dining sector. Now, Aqua—for what it's worth, another Michelin two-star—has decided to abandon lunch service and will only be doing dinner in 2009. In times like these, given Aqua's price point and the continued rise of the more downscale Perbacco, it's a logical (if not necessary) move for Laurent Manrique's restaurant, even though it was probably once considered one of the more established power lunch destinations in town.
· Signs of the Times: Michael Mina Cutting Hours in '09 [~ESF~]