7 Moms Away Weekend NYC - need reccs!

For the events of that week check Time Out NY online. With 7 people, it will harder to get a consensus.

Also make sure you agree before hand how the bills will be paid especially the liquor, since two are pregnant and will not be drinking.

Surprsingly enough there is a limited number of kosher restaurants and most of the ones I have been to stink. 2nd Avenue Deli, one of my favorites, is open on Shabbos. So it all depends on your friend's tolerance for these things.

I think the quirky things I can think of (dark dining, trapeze school, burlesque shows, unusual theater) are not going to work for the make up of your group. urbandaddy.com is a website that has some unusual listings.

ooh trapeze sounds like fun but in Feb? Burlesque sounds like fun to me also but would prob freak out at least 2 of us (not me!) Will check out urbandaddy, thanks.

My daughter and I liked the Garage in West Village for drop in and get a drink/dinner with nice jazz, no cover, last week.

Cache, on 46th just west of TKTS booth, is fun late Thurs nights for salsa.

Casimir on Ave B for brunch.

As a former pregnant woman and a current medical professional, I dispute the "will not be drinking" part above. A glass of wine or a beer, especially after first trimester (ironically also when pregnancy's obvious and you become sitting duck for comments from well meaning strangers) will not harm your baby. The "agree on paying bill" part I obviously agree with.

You might skim my recent trip report for other east/west village tips by clicking on my name. See especially the part about Russ & Daughters, my new favorite Appetizers store.

PS: that's salsa dance at Cache, not the condiment.

Friday - Sunday trip but would LOVE something like Salsa dancing or a place that had a billion types of salsa to try!

Will read your report, thanks!

What is an Appetizers store? will look them up too!

Have a look at the events section fo New York Magazine online. You can search by date and type of activity - and they often have interesting/unusual options.

A friend recently went to the Museum of Sex and said it was a real hoot - as long as no one i easily embarassed.

The trapeze is indoors.

http://www.trapezeschool.com/default.php

As to kosher, those that are 'really' will be closed from Friday sundown thru after Saturday sunset, open from dinner and then Sunday; most though not for breakfast and maybe not even lunch, but sure for dinner.

So depending on just 'how kosher' this woman, many who observe somewhat do fine with vegetarian (anything but meat and shellfish) at many restaurants and simply ask the kitchen to prepare, say fish... in aluminum foil.

... and yes, an occasional glass of wine if fine for a pregnant woman.

Have fun whatever you all decide to do.

Visit the W. Chelsea art galleries, in the 20s between 10th and 11th Aves. Note that the galleries are closed Sundays. It's fun to go gallery hopping, walk the Highline, eat lunch at Red Cat or Cookshop.

Small correction: Russ and Daughters is an "appetizing" store. Not an "appetizer" store.

This is an old term used for purveyors of smoked fish and dairy. (The meat stores were known as delicatessens) This harks back to the Kosher lawns that forbid mixing meat and dairy. The "appetizing" is the cold salads, smoked fish, bagels, bialys, etc.

Whatever you choose to call Russ, though, they are a fantastic resource--among the last remaining holdouts of a type of store that could once be found in many neighborhoods of the city and suburbs where Eastern European Jews lived.

perfect suggestions! Please keep them coming! Happy Trvlr I did go to the W Chelsea Art Galleries a few years back and LOVED some of the bizarre stuff we saw.

Another complication but not really is that we are likely staying in Union Square but the one who keeps kosher is also orthodox so we have to walk anywhere we go Saturday. Will check out how far that is but I figure we'll walk at least 4 or 5 miles that day. Best way to see NYC!

Appetizing AND "Appetizers"; check out the sign.

http://russanddaughters.com

Dizzy's Club Coca Cola, a jazz club overlooking Central Park at Lincoln Center, might be worth checking out to see if it appeals to you. The views at sunset are breathtaking, and the atmosphere is sophisticated but relaxed. http://www.jalc.org/dccc/index09.asp

The food isn't fantastic, but it's fine with good company and entertainment.

Sorry to digress however,

Whoever said: "and yes, an occasional glass of wine is fine for a pregnant woman." is tweaked.

It is not ok for a pregnant woman to drink as safe levels of alcohol for the fetoeus have not been determined. The surgeon general's advice is that pregnant women abstain from using alcohol.

However, pregnant women should follow the advice of their own OB/Gyn's and not rely on any of the advice offered here on this subject; (yes... including my own.)

One of the regulars on Fodor's named Basingstoke2 wrote about his grandparents' store in Brooklyn that was called an Appetizing Store. In fact in supermarkets in NYC the deli counter used to be called the Appetizer counter.

Here is his description:

http://www.fodors.com/community/fodorite-lounge/old-ny-my-grandparents-store.cfm

Thanks for that link, Adu!


Here is more about appetizing, from the Russ website; I imagine that NYC supermarkets made it more understandable by calling the case the "appetizer" case.

http://russanddaughters.com/whatisappetizing.php

We used it call the appetizing counter. I do not know how wide spread that was.

In any case, it's all very appetizing!

Are you old enough to remember Ratner's on Delancey? My most vivid memory of that (dairy) restaurant was the fight that ensued between my aunt and one of the cranky old waiters when he saw her stuff the onions rolls from the bread basket into her handbag. She claimed that all the bread in the basket belonged to her since it had been placed on our table. He disagreed.
Both were quite vocal. I was mortified.

eks, you bring back memories. As a kid in Philadelphia, my parents took me to Bain's, a dairy restaurant on Chestnut Street. (Googling, I find that there's currently a Bain's Deli on South Broad Street, but I doubt it's really related to the original except for the name.) In any case, I never really liked dairy restaurants.

But your comment about your aunt vs. the Ratner's waiter brings to mind my mother, who, in much different circumstances, had the same opinion about bread on the table. In the august confines of The Four Seasons in Manhattan, my mom used to secrete the mini-croissants into a carefully folded napkin in her handbag. The waiters and captains undoubtedly noticed, but kept their bemused, I'm sure, silence.

We didn't call her "klepto-Claire" for nothing!

Adu, thanks for posting the link to basingstoke2's wonderful thread. Missed it first time around.

And therein lies the difference between Ratner's and the Four Seasons!

Yes, the waiters at Ratner and most Jewish delis were unionized and they treated every body poorly. It was part of the ambience. As kids, six of us, would go to a local deli where we really hated the waiter and order six waters and one order of french fries. Of course, they throw us out.

The classic joke at Ratner's:

"Waiter, your thumb is in my soup!"
"Don't worry, I did not burn it."

I have two vivid memories of Ratner's - one, their potato blitzes, and two, being there with my parents, brother and great aunt and uncle playing with a set of pop-up colored pencils my aunt had bought for me. You pushed a button and out popped the pencil of the same color!

Warren: What? No natatorious fly?

"but the one who keeps kosher is also orthodox so we have to walk anywhere we go Saturday."

... at end-February, just pray the weather is favorable - not too cold, snow or rain.

Ditto on the 2nd ave deli - a wonderful place but no longer on 2nd ave. It is on East 33 between 3rd and Lexington.

For your orthodox friend, Chabad Lubavitch Midtown does a Shabbat dinner by reservation (212) 972-0770

2nd Ave Deli, is still wonderful and the pastrami is melts in your delicious. The main difference between 2nd Ave and Katz's, is the side dishes at 2nd Ave are far superior.
____

This is for Burt:

"Waiter, what is that fly doing in my soup?"
"The backstroke," said the waiter.

Thank you!

Oh, and ba-rump-bump.

A Ratner's memory: A cranky old waiter arriving at our table having sloshed a good part of the cup of coffee into its saucer. He promptly poured the saucer of coffee back into the cup, placed the cup in the saucer, and set it on the table. Standard service.

Sandi - I know the weather for walking around could be dreadful. We might be stuck in the hotel room doing mani/pedis all day! Oh well.

Basingstoke - might be fun for all of us to go to the Shabbat dinner! That would be something different for the rest of us!

Adu, I was trying to remember that joke (always think of Groucho Marx when I hear it), so thanks!

If you go to the Shabbat dinner remember the dress code. Long sleeves, no low neckline and skirt below knees, not pants.