I just returned from NYC. We ate at the Boathouse, Tavern on the Green, Carmine's, Gramercy Tavern - just to name a few. I really enjoyed all 4 of the aforementioned restaurants. The food and the atmosphere was excellent each place. Having said that, your 13 yr old would probably like Carmine's the best. The Boathouse and Tavern on the Green are more 'romantic than fun'.

Thanks for the current update, 2bamafan. It looks like we can't really go wrong with any of these 4 restaurants. I have been to Carmine's and it was extremely busy--I think it was on a Sunday. The food was great but there was way too much. I felt guilty leaving it but I just couldn't stuff anything more into my stomach. I also read about a place called "Mars" where it's like you're dining on the planet Mars or something. He might like that. His birthday is on July 30, the 2nd night of our stay, so I was trying to find something special for that night. We'll be staying at the Beekman Tower on the east side, but I don't know where our sightseeing will take us that day. We could end up anywhere--Times Square, west side, Central Park, who knows.

My kids (ages 15 and 18) love Rino Trattoria 877 8th Ave. near the theater district. It's a small Italian restaurant - great food and reasonably priced. You can get a salad and huge pasta dish for about $12.00.

That first recommendation above for Jekyl and Hyde was for the one in the village, not midtown. As I understand it there is no relation between the two any more. We've been in the one midtown and I wouldn't recommend it to a dog!!! We've only had drinks in the one in the village, but it seemed like fun -- not the infantile screaming skits going on there. The place seemed filled with knowledgeable locals having a good time. I think it might be a good bet -- more like a Halloween Party than Chucky Cheese gone infantile.

Thanks for the clarification on Jekyll and Hyde, Patrick. I went to their website and it does look interesting. I was looking for something different for my nephew's birthday and this could be it.

My parents recently took my 10-year-old son to NYC as a special birthday present. They had dinner one night at Mars 2112 (www.mars2112.com). My parents said the food was pretty bad (probably like any of those theme restaurants), but my son LOVED the experience. That being said, he's a pretty adventurous eater, and actually likes to eat out - he talked even more about their dress-up dinner at The View, which is a revolving restaurant (at one of the Marriotts, I think).

He also enjoyed the time they spent at the Intrepid Air & Space Museum (www.intrepidmuseum.org). It sounded like they spent most of the day there.

Have fun with your nephew.

The Intrepid is on our list of "must sees", Lexma90, so I'm sure we'll be spending a lot of time there too. I heard about the Mars restaurant but I also heard the food wasn't so good. Maybe I'll give him the information I have and let him choose where he'd like to go.