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best restaurant for family and value

8 of us [4 adults 4 kids over the age of 10] will be in NYC for the day to see a show. We'd like to eat at a decent Italian, mexican or American type restaurant that is not too expensive..... please provide the address and phone if you know it of any suggestion you may make.. thanks!!!

Becco. Don't know the address and phone number.

IL Cortile 125 Mulberry St Tel: (212) 226-6060 La Mela 167 Mulberry Street Tel: (212) 431-9493

Nancy......"please provide the address and phone if you know it of any suggestion you may make.. thanks!!!" Do you want us to order for you as well??????? Give us a break----do a little footwork on your own for goodness sakes!!!! Pushy

Go to zagat.com and do some research. Print out the restaurants that sound good and bring it with you.

The suggestions here are a bit on the high-end. How much is "not too expensive"? Do you want something really casual or more of a special occasion atmosphere? Do you want to stay in the area of the theaters, or venture out to a different neighborhood? Your best bets will probably be Italian or "American"(though I'm not sure what that means any more!)--Mexican food in NY isn't as varied and developed as in other parts of the US. But, There are 2 restaurants on the Upper West Side called Gabriela's that are supposed to be more authentic Mexican (not Tex-Mex or Cal-Mex) food that are very inexpensive $7.95 to about $11.95 for huge entrees). Not glamorous places (the northern outpost used to be a diner--and still looks it)They were was started by the people behind Artie's Deli (that was you asking about it, right??) and a couple of other local restaurants. Supposedly , Gabriela used to work for one of them and got their backing to open an 'authentic place' that is always packed and well suited to larger groups. The Carmine's restaurants One on the upper west side, one in midtown), also from the same people, I think are also well suited to large groups as all food is ordered and served family style. You need to have a larger group to make any sense of this place since entree prices look obscenely high ($25 for plain old spaghetti) for the quality (good, not great)but portions are enormous (for 3+ people) and people have said it's a fun place if you're not looking for high end gourmet food. ALso important is that they don't take reservations for small groups, but they do for 6+

The Mulberry st suggestions are in Little Italy which is not close to the theater district. There are many Italian places in the theater district. Many have prix fix pre-theater menus. If interested in BBQ, you can try Vernon's BBq. Carmine's would also work for family style Italian. Also John's Pizzaria which I think has food other than pizza in it's theater district location. Do a text search on 'pre-theater dinner', you may find more suggestions.

You can't beat John's Pizzeria in Times Square (260 W 44th St). Phone# is (212) 391-7560. It has wonderful thin-crust pizza in a very nice and unique setting - a former church! I always bring my out-of-town friends here. It's totally convenient to the theaters...it's surrounded by them, actually. Another excellent place is Delta Grill on 48th St at 9th Avenue. It's southern & Cajun food. It's decorated to look like a shack on the bayou...but it's actually pretty nice. And the food is affordable and yummy. I've also taken lots of friends/family here. The phone # is (212) 956-0934. Since your group is large, I'd make reservations if I were you.