Hi - I'd like to solicit your ideas for a unique evening work-social event in NYC. I live just outside NYC, and work nearby, and we will have overseas colleagues in for a meeting in NYC in July. We'd like to plan a unique evening activity with them (for about 8 colleagues, total). We don't want to do a show (where we would not be able to talk to one another), the Yankees are away, and there's no performances planned for Central Park that evening...so I was trying to identify a unique dinner experience or a dinner cruise around Manhattan (the leading idea at this point). Even going somewhere unique for cocktails, followed by a nice dinner somewhere else. Any suggestions? What is considered the nicest dinner cruise? They're used to very good restaurants, so we'd rather not take them on a cruise if the food will be less than average! Any ideas are most appreciated...

What nationality? Age range?
Male & female?

A tad more info might help us help
you.

There is an upscale dinner cruise w/dancing if this would be appropriate.

Mixed European, mixed sexes, age range late 20s-early 40s. Will be just work colleagues, no significant others or spouses.

What is the name of the upscale dinner cruise? As long as it isn't skewed toward being 'romantic', the dancing part is fine...

Thanks!

By all accounts the best dinner cruise is Bateaux NY but I think it is pretty romantic.
http://www.spiritcitycruises.com/ny/bridge.jsp

I think a sail or cruise from the South Street Seaport would be more fun and then dine elsewhere.
"the South Street Seaport Museum offers sails and cruises in the New York City Harbor aboard the 1930's-era wooden tugboat W.O.Decker and 1885 schooner Pioneer."

Then maybe dine at the River Cafe in Brooklyn or one of the places in/near the Seaport.

I saw this article about new restaurants at the South Street Seaport in NY Magazine
http://www.newyorkmetro.com/restaurants/features/17198/

Bayard's is another idea for a very nice dinner (on land) in the financial district. Historic building and very good food. There are also some good dining choices in Tribeca. These would be good after a cruise from downtown. For that matter, take them on the Staten Island ferry for free for a view of the SOL and then a nice dinner.

The culinary institure does corporate events where you can "cook" your own dinner under the tutelage of great chef. I've done it with my work team, and it's a blast. They give you a lot of wine and you get plenty of assistance from the chef. It's a good work/social event.

Watson Adventures also does custom scavenger hunts around the city. YOu could pair this with a good dinner at any restaurant. They'll let you pick the neighborhood and then build the hunt around the site. I've also done this through work at the Met.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art is open until 9 p.m. on Fridays & Saturdays and there are some nice choices for dining right in the museum including a "Petrie Court Cafe" {a european-style cafe};
"Roof Garden Cafe"; and the "Great Hall Balcony" with live music. And depending on when you go, there are special events on an ongoing basis.
http://tinyurl.com/ebv5k

Hope this helps...
Debi

Also on Friday nights, the Museum of Natural History hosts a Jazz night the first Friday of every month. They serve tapas and drinks with live jazz in the Rose Center for Earth and Space. There is a performance at 6 and anothr at 7:30.

Hi,
If they like to eat and drink, you should look into hosting a cocktail reception and/or dinner at the Italian Wine Merchants. It's a wine shop owned by Mario Battali. They have a private room in the back of the shop where you could have a gourmet dinner party, cocktail reception or wine tasting. It's a really great experience. We've done a few work events there.. and the clients loved it. I'm not sure on the pricing though. They are located in the Union Square Area:
108 E 16th St
New York, NY 10003
(212) 473-2323

Good luck!

Thanks everyone for your ideas! I think we have decided we'd ideally like to do the following:
- short (1-2 hour) evening harbor cruise with cocktails
- dinner at a nice restaurant
- jazz club (this part by request of our overseas colleagues)

Any tips on good short harbor cruises? We will be in business attire so we'd prefer something nicer...

Also, any ideas on good jazz clubs or places that combine jazz with dinner - is most appreciated!

Here are websites for some smaller cruising options. The first is a sailboat, the second has both sailboats and motorboats. Both offer both public and private charter

http://www.shearwatersailing.com
http://www.sail-nyc.com

Blue Water Grill and Blue Smoke are 2 restaurants with good food and jazz. At both, the jazz is in the basement but the main dining is upstairs. You can eat downstairs though at both. Blue Water is known for seafood, Blue Smoke for BBQ and ribs.

Dizzy's Coca Cola in the Time Warner building have some nice views, good jazz and serves food, but I don't know how good the food is.

The Knickerbocker Bar & Grill is a casual, local type place with good jazz on weekends and good food (steaks etc.)

bigapplejazz.com is a great website that lists all the jazz clubs, has reviews and links. The guy who runs the site also gives jazz tours.

One idea is to do dinner at one of the restaurants in the Time Warner building (or nearby in Jean Georges or elsewhere) and then follow with jazz at Dizzy's Coca Cola.

There are a number of other restaurants that also have jazz as well as jazz places that also serve food, but these are the ones that come to mind that are not very small and/or have a high level of both.

My first thought was the one lizzie posted. I've done those cooking events as a "team-building" exercise and it was a blast.