Breakfast around Omni Berkshire Place
 

My wife and I are taking our grandaughter to New York City for our first visit. We are staying at Omni Berkshire Place and one of my claims to fame is to come up with cheap(relative term) places to eat, but good. Of course the fame is only in my on head. Any breakfast or lunch places that you could recommend would be appreciated. Not fancy--just good!!!

21 East 52nd Street at Madison Avenue

You plan to be near your hotel at lunchtime also?

Yes the first day we are taking it easy. NBC tour and walking around that area.

Whats the name of the place ar 52nd and Madison ave

Very bad area to be seeking inexpensive eating places.

Here is one idea, good only if you like Mexican food. It is inside an office building and there fore not obvious from the street. I have been here and found the food good, but my last visit was a few years ago:

http://www.richardsandoval.com/pampa...eria/index.htm

If you do mean to stay near your hotel at lunchtime, you might want to check out the options from the street carts, and then take the food back to your room..

Check out the info on this blog, devoted to the topic of finding decent, cheap food in the "dining wasteland" of midtown Manhattan:


http://midtownlunch.com/

21 East 52nd Street at Madison Avenue

is the hotel location, right? You did not include it with your question

That's your hotel! vjpb was offering help for those who didn't know where the hotel was. ;) I can help you earn your claim to fame. map the hotel on maps.google.com and then use the 'search nearby' feature and type in diners and coffee shops or breakfast. Not only will you see what's around, you'll get linked reviews. The other option is to look on menupages.com for diners and coffee shops in the east 40's and 50's (or even the west 50's).

The closest place will be the Burger Heaven on 53 st. off Madison I think. It's cheap enough but only "ok" for breakfast. I think their burger for lunch is better. http://www.menupages.com/restaurants/burger-heaven-3/

I think the NY Luncheonette & the Midtown Luncheonette on this list are better and close enough
http://www.menupages.com/restaurants...sort/Rating-1/

At least once you should try Ess-A-Bagel on 3rd ave. & 51 st., considered some of the best bagels in the city. They don't have table service but you can get cooked food and sit down there. http://www.menupages.com/restaurants/ess-a-bagel-2/

Ellen's Stardust Diner is considered just ok and somewhat overpriced diner food, but the singing waitstaff makes it a fun time. Might be a good idea for day 1 lunch.
http://www.menupages.com/restaurants...tardust-diner/

The cafe in Saks Fifth ave. has some tables by the windown with very nice views of Rockefeller Center. It's not cheap cheap but there are salads, sandwiches and good soup.
http://www.menupages.com/restaurants/cafe-sfa/

La Bonne Soup is another relatively inexpensive place for lunch or casual dinner near enough. http://www.menupages.com/restaurants/la-bonne-soupe/

The Burger Joint inside the Parker Meridien hotel (56 st. & 6th ave.) has good burgers. It's hidden behind a red curtain off the lobby. http://www.menupages.com/restaurants/burger-joint/

How old is the granddaughter?

Thank you, I guess by my not even knowing hotel address you see I need all help I can get.

For lunch or dinner one of our favorite places in NYC is Les Sans Culottes. It is on 2nd ave at the NW corner of 57th street a few paces in next to a McDonalds. This is a laid back country French place with IMO very good food and is very moderate in price bordering on inexpensive - there are fixed price menus available both for lunch and dinner. It is a fun place too. Upon seating, each table gets a large rack of a good variety of different French sausages, hack off as much as you like, a large basket of whole veggies - sometimes with a seasonal fruit or two thrown in, a crock of pate, and bread. By the time your entree is served, you probably will be full.

BTW the restaurant website is www.lessansculottesny.com

The fixed price 2 course lunch is $16.50
The fixed price 3 course dinner is $25

Although the price is fixed, the menu is not, with lots of choices. They also have ala carte.

For a nice sit down restaurant in NYC with good food, that is what I would call moderate, if not downright cheap.

Thanks mclaurie and basingstoke2 my fame might live on!

Hopefully, Aduchamp1 will see this and add his list of cheap eats.

http://www.lepainquotidien.us/#/en_U...own/53rd_n_5th

Not "cheap" but good breakfast and lunch options and there's one near your hotel - and the subway if you are headed out for the day.

Le Pain Quotidien has locations all over the city and is a good place to stop in for a casual meal or a glass of lemonade.

One more thought - you probably already know about the food court and restaurants at Rockefeller Center, but in case you don't.
http://www.rockefellercenter.com/sho...t/au-bon-pain/

Restaurants are listed to the left.

Lots of places to choose from. It's an especially smart stop in summer and winter to escape from the heat/cold.

Starrs has a good idea with that last post.

I actually live in this neighborhood and am continually confounded by the search for reasonable dining choices.

While some find MenuPages helpful, I do not find them trustworthy for restaurant reviews.

Ess-a-Bagel, mentioned above, is not a very good place for breakfast unless you want to eat only a bagel with toppings. I would not recommend their eggs or other overpriced breakfast dishes and I would not eat lunch there.

On the blocks of East 52 and East 53rd Streets between 2nd and 3rd Avenues there are strings of fairly inexpensive places to eat that are popular with office workers in the area, but as I believe I mentioned above, you really are best off having as many meals out of the immediate area as possible if you are seeking value for money. The rents here are just too high to support real value places.

I meant that Le Pain Q. is a good choice; I have never been to the food courts at Rock Center.

ekscrunchy, if you are local to that neighborhood maybe you could help me figure out the place I'm trying to think of.

I've stayed at the Hilton on 6th a lot and there's a place on 53rd that's a combination market/ deli with a food buffet in the middle. I know there are probably a hundred places like it in NYC, but it's the one we always went to and is like "coming home" to me. It's been 3 years since I've stayed at the Hilton so I'm not sure it's still there. If you are walking from 6th with the Hilton on the right, it's on the left just inside the block. Sometimes I'd eat or grab something from there twice a day. I honestly liked their deli sandwiches better than the famous delis.

Do you have any idea what the name is? I was thinking that if they were walking from the hotel towards Broadway, etc. it would be an option. It certainly fits the bill of " Not fancy--just good!!! " And inexpensive too.

The restaurants at Rock Center include -
Au Bon Pain
Ben & Jerry's
Burger King
Chipotle
Cosi Sandwich Shop
Hale and Hearty
Just Salad
a couple of delis
Magnolia Bakery
Starbucks
Subway
Ted's Montana Grill
Wendy's

Honestly, when there's several people and folks are getting tired and cranky, it's a great place to go sit down for a few minutes and decide where to go/eat next. In winter it's great because you can sit (in the warmth) and watch the skaters on the rink (you are at their level). You can choose different food court options and sit together and eat - or eat at one of the "real" restaurants.

If you are close to Rockefeller Center, it's a great place to just go, sit and regroup. Get an ice cream, something to drink or a meal. It's saved the day more than once for me ;)

I just saw this and coincidently I posted an updated list of restaurants as separate thread.

While Les Sans Culottes may not be the best bistro in the city, you always leave full and usually with your pants on.

It would be a shame to come NYC and eat at chain restaurants. There are so many other choices. While you walking around make a mental note of what is available.

How old is the granddaughter? If she's within the right age range, she'd love going to the American Girl store and you could eat there too. Of course, neither option will be inexpensive - but it may be the highlight of her trip. I was with a friend and his daughter a couple of years ago and she was thrilled!

http://www.americangirl.com/stores/location_ny.php

The afternoon tea would make for a wonderful memory.

Starrs: Sad to say I cannot help you, although I promise to walk along that block sometime soon and check it out. Although I live in midtown (at the east edge of the area), I do not often eat in midtown center, except for very occasional forays to places that would not be of interest to the OP.

The other place for fairly cheap steak is Le Relais de Venise on Lexington/52nd Street. Again, I have not been there. It is a mini-chain that originated in Paris.

http://www.relaisdevenise.com/newyork/

One night last year I had to stay in a nearby hotel when I had my floors refinished and we had dinner here; it was not bad and the eggplant dish was fantastic:

http://newyork.seriouseats.com/2009/...w-opening.html

ek, that would be great if you could. It's not a "name" place by any means. I think it's just before the parking garage. I think it's almost directly across from the side door of the Hilton. Oftentimes, I had access to the club level of the Hilton, but if I didn't my breakfast always came from there. When four of us would come into the city for a girls' weekend, we'd sightsee all day, stop by there in the afternoon to buy whatever each of us wanted for dinner and have a picnic in the room as we rested before a show. Their egg salad sandwich is the best I've ever had. Again, it's just one of the many markets/delis in the city with only a few chairs to eat, but might be a good stop for the OP and his family on the way out on their adventures in the mornings. Good food and not expensive.

FOUND IT! The W. 53rd Gourmet Deli

http://www.yelp.com/biz/53rd-gourmet-deli-new-york

To the OP - I'm sure there are plenty of places like this in NYC, but it's about a block (a long block) from your hotel, and if you are walking in that direction would be a good place to have an inexpensive but good breakfast. Or, if you are walking home, a good place to grab snacks, sodas, beer, etc. After reading the reviews at the link, I'm not the only one that stopped there 1 to 2 times a day :-)

Oh, good.

By the way, if the subject interests you, this book is a good, easy read that will give you a new appreciation of the people who run those "delis," not to be confused with the authentic NYC "deli," or meat palace.


http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/20/bo...yder-howe.html

starrs --my granddaughter is 11--American girl sounds fantastic( for her not me) thanks so much for all the advice. Ya are wonderful.

Oh, good! It's an amazing experience. I went with a friend and his daughter and it was the highlight of her trip. She WAS a bit overwhelmed though but absolutely loved it.

You probably already know, but be sure to go to FAO Schwartz. It's a magical place for kids. I usually enter and go straight up the escalators. You get to see the giant stuffed animals AND get on an upper level that is often not as crowded. If she likes ballet and pink tulle, the tutu department is like walking through a pink tulle wonderland. So many things to see. Smurfs dioramas. Harry Potter clothing and accessories. The piano/keyboard from Big.

I'm not sure of the schedule of the perfomances, but it's amazing! Watch!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kBlF0sIUBYs

http://www.fao.com/home/index.jsp

Catty-corner across from the store - and across the street from the Plaza hotel are the carriage rides into Central Park. A lot of people think the rides are "touristy" and not worth the money, but a carriage ride in Central Park really is a memory maker.

She probably hasn't heard of it (and okay to skip if she hasn't) but Dylan's Candy Bar is quite a sight -
http://www.dylanscandybar.com/

There's a Crumbs cupcake store around the corner from your hotel and a Magnolia's in Rock Center (mentioned before).
http://www.crumbs.com/

My two favorite museums for that age are -
http://www.amnh.org/visitors/
http://www.tenement.org/

Have a great trip! So many things to see and do!