A handy new 50-page restaurant guide is available free from the New York Convention & Visitors Bureau. Names more than 400 dining spots in all five boroughs. Addresses, telephone numbers, hours, prices. Other information on nightclubs, discos, lounges. Restaurant choices range from the renowned Russian Tea Room and "21" to Rosa's Place, the Jade Sea at South Street Seaport and Grotta Azzura in Little Italy. Prices run the scale from expensive to reasonable. Areas covered include Queens, Brooklyn, the Bronx, Upper/Lower Manhattan. Popular with Wall Street-types: Fraunces Tavern (New York's oldest restaurant) featuring American/continental cuisine. This is where Gen. George Washington bid farewell to his troops following the Revolutionary War. The booklet also directs visitors to Hamburger Harry's, which a leading New York publication praised for "the best hamburgers in New York City." Romantics line up at The Sign of the Dove (operates out of an elegant brownstone in Upper Manhattan in a garden-like setting.

For copies, write to Restaurant Guide, New York Convention & Visitors Bureau, Two Columbus Circle, New York 10019.

Week's Best Bet

A summer special for vacationers: three days, two nights at the Gene Autry Hotel in Palm Springs for $140. The price (for two persons) includes a dinner, use of the hotel's tennis facilities plus other lesiure activities. Guests are given the option of a trip on the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway or a day for two at the desert's new Oasis Water Park. The offer is good until Sept. 24. (This is the 25th anniversary of Autry's hotel, 4200 E. Palm Canyon Drive.)

For reservations, call toll-free (800) 443-6328.

On the Lake

Beginning Oct. 1 The Nautical Inn at Lake Havasu will offer a special autumn package (three nights, four days for $119 per person, double occupancy, that includes accommodations, a welcome cocktail, two breakfasts, two dinners and a choice of golf/tennis). In addition, the resort will feature a five-day, four-night rate ($149 per person) with additional meals. The Nautical Inn rises in an English-style village that showcases shops/pubs. Activities: fishing, water skiing, parasailing, boating.

Call toll-free (800) 892-2141. In Arizona, dial (602) 855-2141.

Weather Wise

American Express has launched a weather forecast service for travelers. Vacationers dial AE to obtain up-to-the-minute details for more than 600 destinations (both in the United States and abroad). Temperatures, humidity readings, sky conditions. A minimum of two updates daily. Ski reports provided in winter (details on snowfall), along with information on highway conditions.