LINCOLN CENTER RESTAURANT

by max a. goldstein

the new italian restaurant at lincoln center finally has a name; lincoln. the patina restaurant group, which will operate lincoln, decided to forgo an italian name, and instead will pay homage to its home on the upper west side.

"it seemed a natural to have the lincoln center name associated with such an iconic structure," reynold levy, president of lincoln center, told the new york times.

prato and oasi, which mean meadow and oasis respectively in italian, were other leading name contenders for the restaurant, because they reference the restaurant's rooftop public lawn.

the $20 million, 120-seat freestanding restaurant, led by per se chef jonathan benno, will open sometime in september.