What could be more egalitarian than Michelin three-star food at popular prices?

Jean Georges, the flagship restaurant of celebrity chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten's far flung culinary empire, has attracted discerning diners to New York City's Trump International Hotel and Tower for more than a decade. When the Guide Michelin began rating New York's dining establishments in 2006, Jean Georges was rightfully, at least by New York standards, awarded the coveted three stars.

At $98 for a four-course prix fixe dinner, $148 for seven courses of the restaurant's signature dishes, and $168 for a seven-course spring tasting menu, this dining experience does not come cheap, although it does present reasonable value at this level of quality. The surroundings are elegant; the service is charming, warm and professional; the food is very good; and diners receive several delightful fillips at the beginning and end of the meal, such as amuses bouche, hand-snipped fresh marshmallows, and house-made chocolates.

At lunch, the same or very similar food can be obtained at far more affordable prices. A meal consisting of two plates, from more than a dozen imaginative and enticing choices, can be had for $29, and additional plates can be added for $14.50 each. Jean Georges' renowned egg caviar commands a hefty supplemental charge, but that is true of the prix fixe dinner as well. Those with a sweet tooth can tack on a dessert for just $8. The final tally for two plates and dessert, before beverages, tax and tip, comes to only $37, which seems extremely reasonable for a meticulously prepared three-star meal with first-rate ingredients.

As attractive as this option is, Jean Georges offers an even cheaper dining strategy. Just a few feet from Jean Georges' lovely, modern main dining room, and on the wrong side of a sound-muffling door, Nougatine at Jean Georges is an amalgam of bar and casual restaurant. The contrast between Nougatine and the inner sanctum can be found in less comfortable seating, less cosseting service, an airy but unrefined atmosphere, a higher noise level, and menu choices using generally commoner ingredients in preparations that have not been primped and styled. From a cost standpoint, Nougatine isn't exactly cheap at dinner, but the $26 prix fixe lunch of two plates and a dessert deserves consideration. Diners can choose from over a dozen possibilities. Some, such as Caesar salad with parmesan and chile or sweet pea soup with croutons, brie and dill, would normally be classified as appetizers, and two of these might not comprise a filling meal, but a half dozen others, including fish, chicken and beef dishes, are decidedly more substantial.

On two occasions, my companion and I opted for two of the larger plates and were pleased with the results. Those containing fish fillets, such as pan roasted cod with warm cranberry beans and leek vinaigrette, were properly cooked and flavorful. The crunchy baked chicken with glazed baby carrots and soy butter, a simple preparation, consisted of toothsome moist white meat chicken and tender vegetables. Twice, I ordered the pan-seared beef tenderloin with miso butter and roasted brussel sprouts. The first time, it was cooked as requested and very satisfactory. The second time, I decided after several bites that the beef was too rare for my liking, and I asked that it be returned to the kitchen for a bit more cooking. A few minutes later, I was presented with a newly prepared dish. Even in Jean Georges, this would have been above and beyond my expectations, but it was truly surprising at Nougatine, where it felt like my $26 meal was a loss leader for the restaurant. When I commented to the captain that he need not have gone to such effort and expense, he responded graciously that it was most important to the restaurant that its customers be satisfied.

At a time when high-end dining has become less feasible for many people, prix fixe lunches at Jean Georges provide an appealing alternative to the $100-and-up-per-person meal. For good, but simpler, food and less pampering, at even lower prices, Nougatine has its own appeal.