I just returned from NYC with my wife and 15yr old daughter. A mostly splendid time was had by all. We stayed at the Doubletree Times Square getting the "American Girl Special" at $200/nt. Getting a suite for my family of 3 worked out well. We chose Times Square because our main activity was going to theater. We trained into the city from Brewster, NY. Train tix cost about $20, and parking near the hotel was $30/day. Not having to drive in the city was an added bonus. The first day we went to Grimaldi's in Brooklyn, and then walked across the Brooklyn Bridge into Manhattan (regretfully we forgot to check out Jacques Torres). We walked up to Canal Street where my wife and daughter did very little shopping (they had dad with them). Ultimately we got some take out deli from 2nd Ave Deli and brought it back to our room as supper before our First Show. While the pastrami was very good, at $12 per the sandwiches don't hold a candle to the Grinders you can get in Hartford CT for half the price. Our first show was RENT. We had seen this show before, got discount Tix in advance (great seats 8th row center orch). Melanie Brown (Scary Spice) did not perform that night. The audience just wasn't as exciting as it had been on a previous performance. Perhaps this show is starting to wind down after it's long Broadway run. I'll continue on the next message.

On the second day we started by checking out a little of the TODAY show from Rockefeller Center. It was fun to witness some of the circus that goes on when the show is on, but it really was just a pass by for us. Next we made our way up to Central Park, stopping to see St. Patrick?s Cathedral, Trump Tower, and finally touring the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The Met is huge, it?s best to have a plan before going in. We thought we had seen a lot, and then in the gift shop before we left, saw something that made us want to go to another exhibit. Even though we had lunch at the Met, we stopped for a snack at King Papaya. $1.50 a hot dog, place was packed with locals, what more needs to be said. Wife and daughter did some shopping that afternoon before dinner at Amaroso?s on 9th Ave. Reasonable priced no reservation required, a pleasant meal before?WICKED! This was THE play. The theater was very big. Our seats were middle balcony, but sight lines were not bad. The story was cleverly written, the music was good and Idina Menzel showed why she got that Tony. I was disappointed that Joel Grey and Christine Chenaworth (sp?) had left the cast, but don?t let that stop you from seeing this show. This is the type of show that makes a Broadway experiencewhat it should be. Continued on the next message.

On the thrid day we did a walking tour of Soho/ Greenwich Village, with plenty of time for my wife and daughter to duck into the shops along the way. We?ve been to NYC before, but this was a chance to see a different part of the city. FWIW my daughters favorite stores were H&M and Urban Outfitters. That night we had dinner at Becco?s on Restaurant Row. Great dinner, be sure to get the mixed antipasto, it was a very special dinner. The show for this night was LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS. Joey Fatone did not perform this evening, though I thought his understudy did well. The play was ?short. It lasted only 2 hours with an intermission. Small cast, special effects with the flower were good, but I wish I?d seen CHICAGO instead. OTOH the Virginia Theater was restored beautifully, I wish it had been a different show. For our last morning I arranged a tour of the Lincoln Center. My daughter has an interest in theater I am fascinated by the architecture. The tour took us through the 3 main theaters in LC and our informative guide told us about the Juliard School and other points on the Lincoln Center Campus. That was about it. Stopped at Grand Central on the way out to get a cheesecake from Juniors. All in all had a great time.

Junior's cheesecake...yum! It's gotta be the best cheesecake in the world. Sounds like you had a terrific trip - you could always see Chicago next time you make the trip into the city (it is a great show).

I am glad to read your post that Wicked is still very good w/the cast changes. I saw it in May w/the original cast, and am seeing it again next week (broker's tickets, so I am really glad you still liked it!), along w/Ave Q and the Producers.

Sounds like a great trip!Grimaldi's is one of my favorite placs to eat at. I saw Wicked in June, with the original cast, and loved it! I agree with you totally about Ms. Menzel--she is fabulous!! I saw the show 3 days after she won her Tony and she just blew me away. I'm glad to hear she's still in the show.

The Met is amazing, isn't it? You are right about having a plan before you go there. My husband and I spent 5 hours there in June and still felt like we hadn't seen it all (but we were worn out). NYC is such a wonderful city!

Thanks for the replies. It's hard to compare what WICKED would have been like with the original cast, but I believe the writing had a lot to do with how much I enjoyed it. I can only imagine what it would have been like in Center Orchestra. Juniors is great for cheesecake, but thier black & white cookies are pretty darned good too. Black & White cookies seem like a New York kind of thing, but it seems the're seldom mentioned.

That's true about the black & white cookies, I have not seen that cookie outside of the tri-state area. Did you ever see the Seinfeld episode where Elaine & Jerry were in the bakery and Jerry has a "bad" experience eating the cookie? Anyway, brought back a funny memory

Nice report dsieve. Believe it or not 2 long threads on black & white cookies, from '02 and '03 The first has a recipe from MFNYC! The second has some reference to Seinfeld.

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...1&tid=34408340

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...=1&tid=1401904

Did see the Seinfeld episode. Thanks for the threads, my wife may want to try the recipe.