The pretty good: West Branch, where we met friends in search of an affordable dinner on the one night we were confident you could easily go anywhere on the Upper West Side. Even then, it was swamped and loud, but we survived close to three hours with one bottle and two glasses of pinot blanc. I wanted nothing more than the respectable Caesar salad but took satisfying tastes of my consort’s celeri remoulade with ham and his squash tortelli. The burger across the table also looked worth the $16. WIGB? Why not? 2178 Broadway at 77th Street, 212 777 6764.

The not awful: Comida, where we resorted after finding Cesare’s joint fully committed even at 9:30 on a Monday night and where we at least got a bar table immediately and good-sized glasses of okay red and white wine for $8 each in a far-from-full room. Not sure what came over Bob after popcorn at disappointing “Duplicity,” but he ordered nachos, which were not great but hugely filling. I wanted the house salad with Romaine, olives, roasted chilies and queso fresco and was presented a mound of baby spinach with accouterments instead — a restaurant open mere days had run out of the right lettuce. The least they could have done was knock the $2 surcharge for avocado off the check. WIGB? Probably. We live in a notorious wasteland, and the waiter and half-empty room were nice enough. Plus one thing that has killed everything in that space has been hostility to people who only want a drink and a snack after a movie. 461 Columbus at 82d Street, 212 696 3000.