You can eat at many really good restaurants in NYC for $400, but you have to be very judicious in ordering wine and drinks because it's hard to find a bottle under $80 or a cocktail or glass of wine for under $20. Food alone at a lot of these expensive prix-fixe restaurants runs $130 to $150. Food alone can be $100 to $150. Marea is the cheapest at $102, Le Bernardin and Del Posto among the most expensive at $150.

It's significantly cheaper to dine at a restaurant that does not have a prix-fixe, but most of the top restaurants do. Le Cirque offers a regular a la carte menu, and you can eat there for $100 for food; the prix-fixe raises the price to $125.

Babbo, however, is not my favorite on any level (and talk about loud), but it has its devotees, and I understand why because Mario Batali's menu is very inviting. Somehow I just don't like it, but I've only eaten there once. I would choose Maialino over Babbo, but it's not really elegant or fancy.

And Babbo is not fancy, but the upstairs dining room has a subtle elegance. (Be sure to request a table there, not on the main level, with is much louder and more cramped) But you may see diners in "nice" jeans. For us it is more of a neighborhood place even if we do not live in the neighborhood, if that makes any sense.

You can get a la carte at Marea. We often do that, ordering just an appetizer/pasta each, followed by one of the whole fishes to share. The spigolo, turbot, and the Dover sole are off the charts good, and I am not a huge fish lover.
(These are not always on the menu). But I'm not sure if you would call it elegant..what do you think, Doug? It is certainly upscale and sophisticated.

Another name to put on your list is Gabriel Kreuther, within walk of the hotel.
I see this is a strong contender for you; GK as the chef at The Modern Dining Room, which is another for you to consider, although the prices have risen quite a bit since they put in the no tipping policy. And GK would probably just fit the $400 budget but not the $300.


https://media-cdn.getbento.com/accou...2001.20.17.pdf


Honestly, rather than pay those prices, I would urge you to consider Le CouCou (I mentioned it above) which is a stunning restaurant with great food, where you can get in for the $300 limit. As I said, since one of us does not drink, and we usually skip dessert, we pay much less for a dinner there. ( Most of these restaurants will give you some type of sweet after dinner if you do not order dessert.) We've taken friends to Le CouCou twice and they were wowed. The chef is well known from his restaurants in Paris, even though he is American. Again, like most of the places mentioned, you need to book 28 days ahead, or close to it, to get a table at a popular time. You must order the quenelle de brochet!

http://starr-restaurant.com/lecoucou...LCC_dinner.pdf


Not to overwhelm you, but a classic, long-standing NYC restaurant in the Village that often gets overlooked in the quest for the newest and the hottest, is gotham Bar and Grill, which I would call pretty elegant and which has a lovely, broad menu:

https://gothambarandgrill.com/menus/

Just a quick reply to let you know I've not abandoned the thread. I've had a chance to look at ALL the suggestions and do a little additional research on my own.

As of now, Marea, Del Posto, and Estiatorio Milos are on my short list. We love grilled octopus and seafood, and these stood out. DP and EM didn't make any of your lists. Any thoughts? I'm really looking for a great Greek or Italian experience, and if it's not elegant/fancy, that's okay too. I've changed the criteria to quiet with great food. It's all about having a great meal in a soothing environment. If it's upscale that's great, but a place where jeans are welcome is fine too!

Nothing is cast in stone yet, so still open to suggestions. We're really not French food people for the most part. I've never acquired a taste for duck, cheeks, foie gras,tongue,sweetbreads, etc., though not from lack of trying! That said,I do love a great tartare. =)

Thanks so much for your input!

Neither - Go see Come From Away. Previews start in Feb, it opens in March. I saw it in DC and it was fabulous. Just saying - see something NEW.

A Guide Named Sue

Glad to here the show was great - my son and DIL have tix (they live in DC but it was sold out there by the time they heard about it)

We saw Come From Away here in Toronto and loved it.

Too late. We have the tickets to Aladdin and Miss Saigon. Will have to catch Come From Away elsewhere, but thanks for the suggestion!

Did you mention wanting Japanese, Brazilian, and Peruvian cuisine?

http://sushisamba.com/location/new-york/nyc-7/location

About 6 years ago, Fodorites helped me choose Sushi Samba in the West Village, to host a 21st birthday party for DD and about 8 girlfriends.

The dinner party was on their rooftop in late May, and was a huge success. I arranged it long distance, and wasn't there, so it was a leap of faith. They delivered even more than promised.

A young vibe your daughter might like.

Maybe Doug knows of it?

Sushi Samba is popular, but there are much better sushi places in town for a serious sushi lover. I like Yasuda but there are many others, newer than that. Yasuda would be walking distance from your hotel; be warned that here, and at the other top sushi places, you can be finished with dinner in just over an hour if you sit at the bar.
The courses come one after another and there is no lingering. You could even do this before a show if you are ok with walking from there to the theatre. For us it is close to the theatre but for people not from here it might seem like a long walk, so check that out.

http://www.sushiyasuda.com/information.html



http://ny.eater.com/maps/best-sushi-nyc (note that the first is closing or has closed)




I have never been to Milos. It is a branch of a Canadian Greek restaurant that is known for fabulous fish and very high prices. A friend from the Bay area who is a chef loved her dinner there. If I want whole fish I get it at Marea, but I'm guessing you would have a great meal at Milos. Like at Marea, they price the whole fish by weight, so ask if you are concerned with the budget.

Del Posto is very solid, very expensive. I have been only once and that was a long time ago. They have a great deal for lunch, I believe. Keep it on your rotation.

taber - Sushi Samba looks like a fun place, and yes, we love Japanese, Brazilian, and Peruvian, altohough, I'm not sure I'd want them together. I'd definitely try SS at some point, but it's not exactly what I'm looking for on the nice dinner night.

eks - Thanks for the input on the restaurants I listed. I think I have three solid choices and will stop looking. Regarding the sushi, we absolutely LOVE sushi, but we have some amazing sushi in Houston, and Nobu is coming later this year, so we're going for something we can't get at home for the nice dinner. I do like the idea of sushi before one of the shows, and SY looks great!

When DD and I were there in 2009, we ate at a hidden gem in the East Village called Kanoyama. Sat at the bar and had a 9 or 10 course omakase. It was fresh, fresh, fresh, and fabulous. Just went to see if it was still there. It is and has since earned a one star Michelin rating. Very reasonable prices if I remember correctly, but even back then, we needed reservations.

http://www.kanoyama.com/

darlene, I was thinking you'd like the rooftop bar/restaurant at Sushi Samba.

taber - Thank you for the clarification! Just looked at it, and I think she would like it if we're in the area. Bonus: they renovated it in 2015, so it's may be even better than you remember! We likely won't make it there unless we go on Sunday, though. It's a bit out of the way for pre or post theater. =( Even so, it's worthwhile to know about it!

Glad to help. Le CouCou does not feature those unusual dishes--take a look at the menu and see. but you have so many options, at this point it is more about narrowing down...in any case, let us know where you choose!

Oh dear..I just took another look at the Le CouCou menu and they do indeed, serve some of the things that you do not like. But rest assured, if you do decide to go there there are many more mainstream items on the menu. My partner is very squeamish (no shrimp, no raw items, no offal, etc etc) and he loved it as well. It is a gorgeous space so stick your head in if you happen to walk past even if you do not go to eat there.

Since you enjoy the Frick Collection you would probably also like the Morgan Library. It's a small, lovely place to visit. So are the much ignored National Academy and the New York Historical Society.

Thank you EVERYONE for so many great suggestions! After going back and forth with DD, we've come up with a plan and a few tweeks to the original. Please take a look and offer opinions on whether this looks logical and doable.

Underhill - thank you for the recommendation of the Morgan Library. It's right up our alley and we are both looking very forward to visiting there!

Looking for the following recommendations:

1. Pre-show dinner, not greek, italian, or seafood. Somewhere with small bites/tapas would be great too.

2. Rooftop bar recommendations. We've got it narrowed down to these: St. Cloud; Top of the Strand (Closed until late May?);Sky Terrace; Bar 65 – At Rockefeller Plaza; and Bar 54 at the Hyatt.

Here is the new itinerary:

Friday: Arrive @ LGA 10:45pm; check into Double Tree Times Square

Saturday:
10:00 – Mid-town Exploring – Macy’s, GCS, Library, etc.
12:30 – Lunch at Bryant Park Café/Grill
1:30 – Walk up 5th Ave. for light shopping
3:30 - Frick Collection
5:30 – Hotel
6:30 – Dinner at Trattoria Trecolori
8:00 – Aladdin
11:00 – After Dinner Drinks at Flute Champagne Bar

Sunday:
10:00 – Mass
11:30 – Check into Hilton Times Square and store luggage; have lunch
1:00 – Cloisters
4:00 – Central Park
5:30 – Hotel
7:00 – Cocktail at Russian Vodka Room
8:00 – Dinner at Avra Estiatoria

Monday:
10:00 – Wall St., 911 Memorial, Battery Park
11:30 - Downtown Eataly
1:30 - Chinatown
3:00 - Chelsea Market and Highline
4:45 – Hotel to freshen up
6:30 – Dinner, where?
8:00 – Miss Saigon
11:00 – After dinner drinks/small bites, Rooftop bar, which one?

Tuesday:
10:30 – Morgan Library (1-2 hrs.)
12:30 – Lunch, shopping/strolling

I forgot to include in the above:

Our flight on Tuesday leaves at 5:00.

I was planning to go back to the hotel to pick up luggage by 2:00.

I have TSA Precheck and DD has global entry, so we usually don't need the full two hours before flight time. Also, we're not checking bags.

Do you think 2:00 is too early? How are the crowds at LGA that time of day, and about how long does it take to get to the airport by taxi?

I've not used LaGuardia since 2007, and don't remember it very well.

Thanks!

Your daughter having global entry will probably make her eligible for pre-check, but it won't help if she doesn't get pre-check. Most people with global entry do but you never know.

She has both. Any suggestions on time to allow?

I would probably leave around 2pm. It might well take a half an hour just to get through midtown to the tunnel or bridge. And there is often traffic to get into LaG.

The actual time is traffic dependent; you can listen to the traffic reports and decide on the afternoon of departure. There will almost surely be taxis outside the hotel, I would guess. But again, I'd plan on 2pm or shortly after, just to be safe. You will have to be out of the hotel before then in any case, right?