darlenef17

Thanking you in advance because I know you'll come to my rescue! Love you guys!! =)

Background: 4th Trip to NYC with DD, so we’ve seen a LOT of the tourist sights. We are revisiting favorites and seeing new things. Last trip with her was 2009, and she was 18. We’d like to include a wine bar, a rooftop bar, and cocktails, which we couldn’t do when she was younger.

Here’s the rough itinerary, but I feel like it’s not quite right. With the shows and our hotel location, it seems like a lot of our eating and Happy Hour time will be in the TS/Theater District, which I’m not thrilled about. Is there any way to get around this with 3 nights and 2 shows?

I’ve not bought theater tickets, so I’m flexible on everything except the Frick Collection since Sun. (11 to 1) is the pay as you wish day. We can do Sat/Sun theater instead of Sat/Mon if that would work better, but no matinees as we want our days free.

We’ve been to Florence, Paris, Rome and seen a lot of medieval religious art, so in the interest of doing the other “Must Dos,” I’d be willing to pass on the Cloisters to do more in the city if necessary.

For curious minds, the hotel(s) are mixed as I’m using a combination of points and Be Our Guest Certificates, and because of some of the restrictions, this is the only thing that worked.

Must Dos:
2 shows
Frick Collection
Cloisters
911 Memorial
Library
Shopping
Eataly (either one)
Highline
Central Park
Nice, upscale dinner
Nice View Experience – Rooftop bar, or rooftop restaurant
Nice Cocktail Bar - Think Champagne Bar or Rose Club @ Plaza, but the Plaza isn't convenient to our location. No bourbon heavy bars, we’re vodka/gin girls.
Wine Bar - I’ve found some great looking wine bars in the city, but have no idea how to fit a rooftop bar, a vodka bar, and a wine bar into our days.

Specifically, I need:
1. Recommendations on itinerary adjustments to have more time for 5th Ave. shopping and library listed under Tuesday, and to optimize our eating and happy hours.
2. Monday tweeking - Not happy with current plan because we’re backtracking to Village if we start the Highline at Chelsea Market – maybe have lunch elsewhere and dessert at CM? Suggestions?
3. Recommendations for Rooftop Bars/Restaurants; a good wine bar; a good cocktail – vodka and gin preferred over bourbons.
4. Lunch recommendation for Sunday after the Frick Collection
5. Recent reviews of Chicago have been very mixed with very negative comments on the theater itself. Any opinions on the better choice between it and Miss Saigon?
6. Dinner recommendations for theater nights. Food in the theater district always seems mediocre. Need some tips on where to eat or if it’s possible to eat elsewhere and still make a show. We love wine bars and small bites/tapas, so it doesn’t have to be a traditional meal. We could do a cocktail bar with small bites one on night and a wine bar the next. Need suggestions if we go this route.

Friday: Arrive @ LGA 10:45pm; check into Double Tree Times Square

Saturday:
10:00AM – Wall Street, 9/11 Memorial, Staten Island Ferry (maybe); Lunch at Downtown Eataly; Chinatown; Soho (Time for anything else, maybe some of Tuesday?)
5:00 – Back to hotel
6:30 – Dinner, maybe a wine bar with small bites/tapas
8:00 – Aladdin
11:00 – Drinks or coffee/dessert after show, suggestions?

Sunday:
9:00 – Mass at St. Malachy’s, The Actors' Chapel, 239 West 49th St. (Between 8th and Broadway)
10:30 – Check into Hilton Times Square and store luggage
11:15 – Frick (Grab a quick bite on the way to hold us until lunch)
1:30 – Lunch – WHERE? Not the Boathouse; reservations not taken on Sun. and I don’t want to wait
3:00 - Central Park
6:30 - Rooftop bar for a drink OR rooftop restaurant for drinks and dinner – WHERE?
8:00 – Dinner, if we had drinks only – WHERE? The non-theater night will be our “Nice dinner” night. Recommendations?

*Other Mass Options:
Sat. 5:00 Vigil @ St. Malacy’s or St. Patrick’s 10:15 Sun.

Monday:
10:00 – Cloisters
1:30 – Chelsea Market for lunch; Highline, Washington Park, Village
5:00 – Hotel to freshen up
5:30 – Cocktail @ Russian Vodka Room
6:30 – Dinner, where?
8:00 – Miss Saigon or Chicago

Tuesday:
10:00 – 5th Ave.; Shopping; Library
12:30 – Lunch at Bryant Park Cafe
2:00 – Back to hotel by to get luggage and get to LGA for 5:00pm flight.

darlenef17

Forgot to add: We'll be there mid-May, but not Mother's Day weekend.

goddesstogo

You don't say when you're going (unless I missed that) and the weather may have some impact on the things you've got planned. For example, I had lunch with my sisters at the Bryant Park Cafe on a beautiful day in August. We sat out on the patio and I'm not even sure what the inside looks like. Also, you say 'Central Park' but it's huge. I think you have to be more specific about that and once again, there's the weather to think about.

Below is my trip report of the above-mentioned long weekend I had with my sisters and nieces. It was pretty much perfect for us. Maybe you'll get some ideas from it. Also, as far as restaurants with a nice view go, my SO and I really loved Robert which is on top of the Museum of Arts and Design at Columbus Circle. We had a table at the window with a beautiful view of Columbus Circle and Central Park. Here's the link:
http://robertnyc.com/

For a different skyline view, take a look at the River Cafe:
http://rivercafe.com/

Here's my trip report:
http://www.fodors.com/community/unit...end-in-nyc.cfm

goddesstogo

OK, got your timing now.

darlenef17

Thank you for those suggestions. Robert looks amazing and just what I was trying to find! Regarding Central Park, I've got that covered. We go every time we're in NYC. Just needing help on a few of the other things. Great trip report. My daughter was about your niece's age the first time we were there!

goddesstogo

I'm glad you like the look of Robert, darlene, and here are a few other suggestions for you.

If any of you is a cigar smoker or at least doesn't mind the smell of a good cigar, the Carnegie Club can be fun. We walked in one Saturday night years ago and found ourselves walking in on an 18-piece tuxedoed swing band. I understand they usually have a good Sinatra tribute guy there often. Friends have said he's great. Here's the link and there are other nice lounges on that same link:

http://www.hospitalityholdings.com/#..._carnegie_club

Re plays, we saw Beautiful in NY last summer and loved it.

The restaurant the cousins took us to was Tao Uptown and just the other day I was watching a rerun of Sex and the City and there it was!

http://taorestaurant.com/

And here's another trip report of the July long weekend we spent in NY with friends:

http://www.fodors.com/community/unit...rip-report.cfm

darlenef17

Perfect trip report! This is exactly the kind of trip we're looking to take - laid back and relaxing. Hope you don't mind a couple of questions.

If we go to the Cloisters, how long to allow, including transportation there and back?

Do you remember where you were finding the funky shops in WV and Greenwich Village? I've meandered through there before after going for John's Pizza and didn't find the charm that so many speak of. I was truly meandering though (no map or guide) and ended up on many residential streets, which were very pretty, and on streets that looked like any other busy street in NYC, but I didn't find the funky vibe and charm I was hoping for.

Tao Uptown was on my list of possibles! Thanks for confirming that it's a good choice. I'd like Carnegie Club and my dad would have LOVED it. DD likely would not, but thank you for telling me about it. Sounds like a nice place to go with the right people!

plambers

the original owners of grimaldi's sold it and they opened juliana's right next door. go there instead. both will have lines.

we just got back from a nyc visit with kids. they love central park and be sure to explore both west and east side. chinatown was alot of fun too.

becco is good but is $25 pp for ayce pasta. your kids might be too young for that.

st pats is a must.

darlenef17

Plambers, I know my original post was LONG and probably hard to get through, but I don't have young children. My DD is 26. Looking for good wine bars, cocktail lounges, itinerary help, and show opinions. But thank you for replying!

doug_stallings

For drinking you can do well in the Times Square area. For vodka, the Russian Vodka Room on west 52nd Street, which is near Flute Champagne bar on west 54th. These are both north of Times Square. To be honest, Hell's Kitchen, which is within walking distance of Times Square, has a lot of good bars and restaurants. There's also a rooftop bar at the Dream Hotel on west 55th, but the Roof at Park South is wonderful, albeit outside. Top of the Strand and 230 Fifth are both very popular.

If you want to go further afield, I recently had drinks and food at Daddy-O in the West Village (on Bedford Street, near Varick). They have one of the widest selections of gins I've seen and do flights as well as have good cocktails. The food is also good, albeit expensive (a burger for $19, but a good burger). They also have a huge selection of mezcal and tequila (as does La Biblioteca in Zengo on 3rd Ave/40th Street).

For shows, I'd strongly consider a Sunday matinee. All the best shows have them, while you're limited to a handful of touristy spectaculars on Monday nights, the night almost all shows are dark. But that's your choice. The Frick will be particularly busy during the "pay as you wish" hours, to its detriment, in my opinion.

I think you'll find almost no funky shops in Greenwich Village any longer. It's all moved on to Brooklyn. That's where you'll find the interesting little shops (and to some degree the East Village and Lower East Side).

It takes about 30 minutes to get up to the Cloisters from midtown, on a combo of subway and bus, longer if you walk the last leg. This is definitely worth doing, but it's a trek.

I'm not nearly as optimistic about Tao if you are looking for good food. It's loud and mediocre at best. It's not a place I'd go for my splurge meal, but then I'm not a tourist in NYC. Maybe for drinks, though. Depending on what kind of food you like, Sunday is a good night for Maialino, and the Gramercy Park Hotel is not far from 230 Fifth.

goddesstogo

We were just wandering around the West Village before going to the theatre on Barrow Street and we were off the main streets. When I say 'funky shops' I don't mean trendy things -- just odds and ends of things that would have never made it into a tourist or shopping guide. The only one I remember was a store that sold cowboy-style hats, boots, belts, etc. Oh, and a bagel holes place. And a hat store.

Re Tao, I'm not a foodie and will happily eat just about any Asian food, so I won't disagree with doug about that. We didn't choose to go there but my cousin's son was the manager at the time (since moved to Las Vegas, I think) so it was a bit of a special visit. It's big but I don't remember it being particularly more loud than any other large restaurant. We were a table of 10 so we probably contributed to whatever noise was there. I thought it was fun and certainly pretty but it may not be everybody's cup of tea.

ekscrunchy

I would not recommend Tao, but my opinion is based only on what I've read; I've never been to any of them.


I had dinner in this very small theatre district not long ago and had a good meal; if you like interesting, creative food I would check it out.

The food has Korean influence but is not standard Korean fare, as can be found in KoreaTown, a few blocks further southeast.

There are pork and beef sliders on the menu, as well as fish, meat, and noodle and rice dishes.

The three dishes that I sampled were excellent: The Tofu with Ginger Scallion Dressing is one of the house signature dishes and it was among the best tofu dishes I've ever eaten. The soup, a puree of squash with savory mochi dumplings floating within, was superb. The Bo Ssam, squares of pork belly to wrap with scallions and radish in a thin cucumber pancake, was also excellent.

I recommend this restaurant before or after theatre. Note that many dishes carry some heat from spices; there are a few non-spicy options but if you hate spices, you might want to choose a different locale. Certainly make a reservation if dining before a show since the restaurant has only 36 seats.

DANJI is on West 52nd Street, between 8th and 9th Avenues.

http://www.danjinyc.com/menu.html




Here is another place you might not know about; some of the eateries have changed since I wrote this:

http://www.fodors.com/community/unit...y-theaters.cfm

ekscrunchy

Sunday after The Frick, you might try The East Pole, or Amali:


http://www.theeastpolenyc.com/food-menu/brunch



http://amalinyc.com/brunch


If you want to try one of the newest stars in the city right now, and do not mind walking a few blocks, Flora Bar would be great. You need to book ahead for this, and I would do so for the others as well. Same owners as Estela, on Houston Street, which is a favorite of mine:

http://www.florabarnyc.com/#menus



In the theatre district or very near, you could try Oceana for upscale seafood.They have a theatre menu:

https://www.oceanarestaurant.com/menus/theatre-menu/

rncheryl

Bookmarking

SambaChula

Times Square and theatre district has some Brazilian places nearby to eat and drink, some small plates. I think we went to Samba Kitchen to meet a large group of friends and I recall it being decent.

darlenef17

Wonderful suggestions! Thanks so much to everyone for your input.

Doug, thank you for the recommendation of the Flute Champagne Bar. I've added it to our itinerary!!! Didn't have to add the Russian Vodka Room. DH and I discovered it in our 2014 trip, and you can see it was included this year on Monday! Loved it. We likely won't do a Sunday matinee because we love the city too much to waste an afternoon indoors. That said, if it's raining, we'll likely get last minute tickets just to have something to do. We're from Houston, so we get a lot of great performing arts and we have amazing food. I love NYC for the energy and the vibe you feel while there. It's like no other place! So, if you were choosing between Chicago and Miss Saigon, which would you pick? They are both showing on Monday. Or would you skip them both as "touristy spectaculars?" Also, where would you go for a splurge meal?

After reading several comments regarding WV and GV, I've decided to delete those from this trip. Sounds like I've seen what there is to see and DD lives in an eclectic/funky part of Houston, so she has that fix right where she's at. This will give us more time to do the other things on the list. I'll be keeping the Cloisters instead!

Also taking Tao off the table.

Will post final itinerary for opinions soon!

Still need:
1. Chicago or Miss Saigon or neither
2. Wine bar with tapas, preferably Italian or French
3. Splurge dinner (Not Per Se, Momofuko, or Eleven Madison Park). I'm looking to spend in the $300 range. We love Italian, Mediterranean, Sushi, Steak, and Continental.

Thanks to all!!

ekscrunchy

Splurge dinner: Two Italians that I like and go to fairly often are Marea and Babbo. Babbo is not as pricey as Marea.

http://www.marea-nyc.com/

http://www.babbonyc.com/


Steak you could try Bowery Meat Company, among many options:

http://www.bowerymeatcompany.com/

Also good, French (I know you didi not mention French but these are excellent and splurge worthy)

http://lafayetteny.com/

Fabulous new French; must book a month ahead:

http://www.lecoucou.com/





Best to describe what kind of atmosphere you want. Are you ok with a large restaurant or do you want small and cozy? Is it more about the atmosphere or the food?

doug_stallings

Of the two, definitely Miss Saigon. It's a brand-new production, so you'll be seeing it shortly after opening with all the principals, and I've heard good things. I'm going to see it myself, probably before you come, so I'll let you know, but I think you're going to have to buy tickets in advance for that. There are discounts available now, but I'm not sure how far out they go.

Chicago is strictly for tourists. I still love the show itself, but the production is growing tired after 12-plus years and relies a lot on stunt casting. If you want to see Chicago, wait and buy half-price tickets at TKTS or at the box office with a coupon. No need to ever buy them in advance, and you can leave that decision until the last minute.

However, I have another suggestion. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory will have Monday shows at 7pm. I think that's going to be good and may be worth your consideration. But you'd need to commit sooner rather than later. Discounted tickets for regular performances went on sale this past Monday. I already have my tickets for May, and they are going fast.

If you a fancy and elegant dinner, then I'd suggest Marea, but it's known for seafood, so if fish isn't your thing, then other restaurants are probably better. But it's also within walking distance of your hotel, though it may be a stretch to get dinner there for $300 if you drink wine at all.

Nougatine at Jean-Georges might be a better choice. It's really good and not nearly as expensive as its sister restaurant.

But most of the top restaurants would exceed $300, sadly. One other option might be to go to a mid-priced restaurant that has really good food and then splurge on a great wine. I really like ViceVersa. No one would ever consider it among NYC's top restaurants, but it's Italian, has consistently good food (great pastas), and it's elegant enough to know you're out for a nice meal but not a break-the-bank meal. There are many restaurants in the same price range (normally, dinner for well under $200 with a bottle of wine). And if you had a cocktail or a really nice bottle of wine, you'd be well under your max and very satisfied.

ekscrunchy

None of the restaurants I mentioned will exceed $300 if one is judicious about ordering wine. Nougatine is ok but I would not go there for a "splurge dinner." It can also be very noisy. Food is well below the level of the main dining room.

We go (two of us) to Babbo often and never pay more than $150 for two with a half carafe of wine. But we do not often get dessert/coffee.

Craft is another good idea, with excellent pastas, and steak. Again, if you stick to two glasses each you can come out well within your budget. I ate there in December and did so myself, with lots of dishes. Many of the side dishes are served family style.

darlenef17

You guys are amazing! It's been a hectic day, so I've not had time to look at the suggestions, but it's great to have them!

I'd be willing to go up to $400 for the splurge, but no more than that. It might be hard to believe with all the talk about finding cocktails and wine bars, but we're not big drinkers. At dinner we'd either have a cocktail and a glass of wine or we'd have a bottle of wine, but not a drink and a bottle.

Doug, so happy to have your input on Chicago. I was afraid of that having read the RECENT reviews. As I mentioned, we're from Houston. We have a lot of really great performing arts come through here, so I think I'll wait to see Chicago here - I'm sure it will be back eventually. Hamilton will be here in 2018, so we've elected to pass on it while in NYC. Charlie sounds good, but we're already committed to Aladdin, and we're not wanting two "light" musicals. I think Aladdin and Miss Saigon will be perfect, so I just purchased tickets for both. One thing off of the list!!!

ekscrunchy, I don't want anything loud. Atmosphere is definitely important, but so is the food. I want both: good, quiet, elegant atmosphere and great food and under $400, preferably closer to $300. This will be our opportunity to have some really great quality M/D time.

Once I have a moment to look at the restaurant recommendations, I will comment more specifically.

Thanks again for all the thoughtful suggestions.