Going to NYC in december AGAIN!!!
 

HI!!! I'll be going with my husband to nyc again right before christmas (in mid december). We have already booked the hotel, we'll be staying at the new york palace this time. Now I have to book some broadway show and restaurant. Last year we saw Tarzan and hairspray. We wanted to see Jersey Boys but it was IMPOSIBLE!! should we try it again this year?? which is the best Musical on broadway????
what about restaurant??? i was thinking of trying balthasar or pastis this year, any tips on restaurants????
as we'll be going for just 4-5 days, we won't have time to go to woodwory common this time, so any useful information on new shopping sites will be of great help!!
THANK YOU ALL AGAIN!!!!

What fun! If you liked the movie, then I have a good feeling about Young Frankenstein as being the hit of the season. You may be able to get tix since they are in preview in Seattle. By next fall Jersey Boys should be more accessible.

With so many good restaurants I would be happy with both your choices.

If it's this December I think you'd have to get Jersey Boy tickets soon to have a chance. I'd like to see Young Frankenstein too but I think it will also be hard to get tickets. I'm going to see Curtains in August so I can't recommend it yet!

thanks! I just red that you can only get tickets for young frankenstein if you have an american express card...anyway I didn't like the film so much, so I'm not sure if we'd like the musical...
I know they are probably really childish, but do you know about the critics of the little mermaid?
I just saw that there are no goo tickets available for the jersey boys (at least in the official telecharge site)...what a pity!! do you think that we may get tickets for this show through our concierge??
shopping and restaurant tips??

You can try your concierge for Jersey Boys tix. YOu could also check www.applause-tickets.com a broker. I find it hard to believe there are no decent tickets on the offical website unless they're all premium tickets. Spring Awakening won for best musical this year. http://www.springawakening.com/
Xanadu has gotten good word as mouth as good fun and Legally Blonde is also fun.

If you're willing to pay top dollar (say, $250 a ticket), then you can get "good" tickets for Jersey Boys. Otherwise, you may be out of luck. Of course, I'm not sure what you consider "not good tickets." If the concierge will try to get the tickets for you now, then do it. But, I'd ask how much they'll cost before he/she goes ahead and tries.
In any event, I'd try NOW for those tickets.

please don't think that I have my expectations too high...for example for the 18th december, the best available tickets are on row W (almost the last row) 7 seats from the aisle...not too good...
thanks mclaurie I'll try the website you mention
any ideas of restaurants? last year we went to have lunch at the restaurant in barneys and dinner in Le Colonial and Club 21
thank you again!

book marking

I just had lunch at Barney's. It was OUTRAGEOUSLY expensive. $40 for a small morsel of chicken, some lettuce leaves a glass of wine and an espresso. Good but not THAT good.

You probably should try to eat at one of the Mario Batali restaurants. Babbo is supposed to be great. You can only make reservations something like 28 days in advance and it's impossible to get through. Get your concierge to do it for you. Or, if money is no object, Alto which is not far from your hotel gets great reviews. Oh wait, I forgot...I think you're Italian. Maybe no Italian food. ;) Yes Balthazar and Pastis are both very good. Balthazar probably better food but Pastis is in the meatpacking district which you should visit if you haven't already.

The theater area is really loaded with Italian restaurants. If you go to Jersey Boys and want to avoid Italian, if you like Asian, China Grill is sleek and elegant. I like Ruby Foo's too, despite it's reputation for being a bit touristy. Bobby Van's has good steak.

Mclaurie, you almost got it right...I'm spanish!! and I love italian food (I like almost all types of food except spicy...) for a special dinner where should I go between Babbo, Pastis and Balthazar?? I don't think I've been to the meatpacking district (it's near soho, right?)
Yes, I agree the restaurant in barneys IS expensive, but I found nyc to be really expensive last year, so it didn't really stand out for it...
I've never had brunch (not so common in spain) so I was also thinking of trying it this time...any ideas?? maybe near the palace?
any new shops that I should visit????
nobody says anything about the little mermeid...too childish??
THANK YOU!!!

As for The Little Mermaid, no one can answer that one, since it gives its world premiere performance tonight in Denver!

Either Pastis or Balthazar are ideal for brunch so do that and then go to Babbo for dinner if you can get in. Brunch is more fun in a neighborhood like the meatpacking district (which is on the edge of the village and Chelsea) or Soho where Balthazar is. Everything near the Palace will either be more formal and/or touristy since not many NYers live in that area. If you really want to stay in midtown for brunch, Brasserie Ruhlmann in Rockefeller Center is a pretty room (but will probably be mobbed at Xmas because of the tree).

I've heard nothing about the Little Mermaid, but I'd go for Young Frankenstein or Jersey Boys.

As for shopping, you should check out the stores in the meatpacking district while you're there. Jeffrey is very trendy.
http://nymag.com/listings/beauty/jeffrey_new_york00/

thanks!
what about the best place to eat a hamburguer? (in a not too weird area where we might have been the morning shopping) my husband loves them and I wanted to take him to have lunch at a place where they are the special dish!!

The Burger Joint at Le Parker Meridian Hotel...an easy walk from the stores on 5th Avenue.

I totally agree that the The Burger Joint is great--well located but very unusual setting. In a different part of Manhattan is Island Burgers at 766 Ninth Ave., and I really like it, too.

thank you!! I'll try it and it will be nice to see the hotel parker meridien, in which i've never been...

I finally bought premium tickets for Jersey Boys...there were no normal ones for the dates we'll be there and I was really sad to miss it last year, and didn't want to miss it again...
I hope it's worth the money!!!

I LOVED Jersey Boys - but of course I didn't have to pay premium prices, so maybe you need to love it even more than I did!!

Norma's at Le Parker Meridien is also a good brunch spot. There are also tons of good brunch places downtown. Most of the great brunch places don't take reservations. For burgers you can also check out Corner Bistro, although I think The Burger Joint is better. Corner Bistro will be convenient if you are shopping in the Village. Shake Shack, my favorite, is closed at that time.