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With an interior designed by Philip Johnson and Mies van der Rohe, and featuring artwork by the likes of Pablo Picasso, there's no doubt that the The Four Seasons (which opened in 1959) was always meant to accommodate the city's movers and shakers. Madonna, the Dalai Lama, and Martha Stewart are among those who've lunched here, and the expense account-friendly menu is reliably stocked with power broker classics like caviar, lobster, foie gras, and steak. But the true center of power lies with the restaurant's co-owner and maitre d', Julian Niccolini, who rules the lunchtime seating chart with flamboyant aplomb.

Not since 1645 has the Tibetan capital of Lhasa welcomed such a palatial retreat.