The Grocery or Fragole?

Take them to The Grocery (Fragole is not in the same league). The Grocery was voted the 7th best restaurant in NYC in Zagat's a few years back. I wouldn't go that far in my review, but it is very good.

It depends on your friends but my first instinct is that I would take out-of-town friends to Frankie's 457 on Court St.: http://www.frankiesspuntino.com/
If you're not vegetarian, this dish is the best: House-Made Cavatelli with
Faiccos Hot Sausage & Browned Sage Butter - $15.00 I ask for them to go light on the sausage because they tend to pile it on and it can overpower the pasta. The food is great and the atmosphere is a little less formal/stiff than The Grocery. You will have a wait (I don't think they take reservations and they are very popular for good reason) and you can go to their other location 2 doors over, Prime Meats, for a drink and Frankie's will call you when your table's ready.

Another option, if you want to take a cab to Van Brunt, is The Good Fork: http://www.goodfork.com/ It was voted the "Best New NYC Restaurant" and "Best Neighborhood Restaurant" by Time Out 2 or 3 years ago. Every review mentions the steak, eggs and kimchee dish. I resisted for a year or so and finally ordered it. It's amazing. If you're lucky, you'll get the table by the phonograph where you will get to play deejay with all the big band and jazz records underneath.

One other place that I haven't been to yet and which is getting mixed reviews (people either love it or don't know what the fuss is all about) is Buttermilk on Court. It's further down towards the BQE than Frankie's. You may want to read up on Yelp or other reviews.

Good luck and let us know where you end up going and what you thought.