May 26th - 4 nights - need some help from the experts in NYC.
 

We are older now (it happens!) - with some mobility problems. (knee won't bend much after bad surgery) Subway is out because uncertainty about stairs. Will walk (slower than we used to!) or take buses.

Staying at Morgans 37th & Madison. Will arrive JFK at 3:30. Taxi to hotel. Meeting our 50 YO friends coming from DC. (hotel 2 blocks from Morgans)

Still hunting tickets for a show but will have them with us. Anything Goes is our fav, but have to have an aisle seat because of that knee and really hard to find. Want a musical and checking out BroadwayBox.

Need to find an Asian or Med/Bistro after the theatre on our way back to Morgans. Suggestions?

Fri - 9:00 personal tour for the 4 of us (slowly) LES ending up in Chinatown. Lunch at a hole in the wall Asian (suggestions?) Wanted to wander in the afternoon - The Fleet is in - find a concert? Or Bryan Park (by the Library). 8:00 Wine - then dinner at French Bistro across the street (great Groupon coupon)

Sat - Bus (?) or Taxi to Strawberry Fields - then walk east seeing the sites (found a good walk online) ending at the Belvedere. Then to the Met. Depending on time - have lunch first or see a couple of exhibits. (Impressionists and the Alexander McQueen appeal to us) Lunch? Would love to do Sarbarsky if it's not too far. Or lunch there at the Met. Opinions?

No plans for the evening. May stop by the TKTS booth, and may just hang.

Sunday - friends from Queens are joining us for a brunch and no other plans. suggestions for after? (DC friends are leaving about 2:00)

Monday - train from Penn to Baltimore for a few days.

Can you fill in some of the blanks for us? Always enjoy reading the posts and always appreciate the ideas and suggestions that enhance our visit so much more!

Just so you know, it's virtually impossible to find a last-minute aisle seat for any play or musical. I think you owe it to yourself to take another look at Anything Goes. It's in a brand-new theater with reasonably good legroom (which is notoriously skimpy in almost all Broadway theaters). Otherwise, I think you're just wasting your time, particularly at TKTS. You might find a front-row seat somewhere, though. Those sometimes show up at TKTS, though they are rarely the best seats.

You might look at The People in the Picture at the Laura Pels theater. It's also a newish theater and has good access without stairs (plus, it's a musical about Yiddish theater). The legroom there isn't bad ... though again not great.

For Med/Bistro on way back to Morgan's, Serra Mediterranean Bistro (can get discounted gift certifs on restaurant.com with addition discount coupon codes). For more info, and other ideas, check menupages.com.

If you're serious about hole-in-the-wall place in Chinatown, I can tell you that last fall I ate at this place:

[copy & pasted from my trip report]

Lan Zhou handmade noodles in Chinatown
144 E Broadway (btw Pike & Rutgers)

This place is a total hole-in-the-wall. There's no ambiance and minimal service. Their menu has about 10 different types of noodle soups to choose from, all featuring their own homemade noodles. At the back of the restaurant is a marble slab where the chef kneads the dough and pull it into noodles. Another worker was busy wrapping dumplings. I ordered a lamb noodle soup. Very tasty, and the noodles are great, though perhaps not as chewy (or as much texture) as the Lan Zhou noodles I had 2 weeks ago in London. But it's definitely a satisfying "comfort food" for me, and the noodles is only $5.

Here's its listing on YELP with reviews & photos:
http://www.yelp.com/biz/lam-zhou-han...dle-new-york-2

Near your hotel is a Szechuan restaurant called Mapo Tofu (39th & Lex). My friends order delivery from them all the time and I've always enjoyed the food; however, I've never dined at the restaurant. Not sure how late it'll be when you return to your hotel; the restaurant is only open until 10pm.
http://www.yelp.com/biz/mapo-tofu-new-york

I'm pretty sure that there will be a line for Sat lunch at Cafe Sabarsky. It's always busy there on weekends. You may want to eat lunch at the Met, then go to Sabarsky for coffee/cake later. Later meaning after 5pm, there'll still be a line but should only be a short wait.

Asia de Cuba IN your hotel is Asian. It's very loud for after work drinks but later at night it should be ok. http://www.menupages.com/restaurants/asia-de-cuba/
Just remember for most shows you won't get out till 10-10:30. Playbill.com tells you the length of every show on a link from the listings page here http://www.playbill.com/events/listing/1.html
Just click the name of the show.

Timeoutny.com will have listings of what's going on by date.

Lunch in Chinatown
Hong Kong Station
http://nymag.com/listings/restaurant...ong-station02/
or Chinatown Brasserie in Noho has good dim sum.

Think your Sat. may be overly ambitious for walking. Eat at the Met or bring a picnic lunch with you and eat in the park before going into the Met. I don't think Sabarsky takes reservations for lunch and it will be packed. It's on 86th & Fifth. Definitely think you should make plans for Sat. night whether it's dinner reservations, show tickets or something else. Jazz? The Kitano hotel is not far from yours (Park & ~ 38 st.) and has a jazz club off the lobby.

Do you have a brunch place picked for Sunday?

Given your knee issues, I'd make a list of all the shows you're interested in seeing that are on discount on broadwaybox.com and then PHONE ticketmaster and/or telecharge, whoever is the official seller of the most or the preferred and get a live person to look for aisle seating for you.

Doug-
Thanks for the heads-up about the legroom. Our DC friends are now saying that they will arrive about 9:00 AM so that will help. Actually, we don't prefer front-row seats, after getting one at the Half-Price Booth in London. I'm short and I had to crane my neck way back to even see the top of the actors! We were able to move back a few rows at intermission. I'm hoping for the Mezzanine. Will is tall, and he's the one with the knee prob. Maybe the Gods will be smiling on us on Thursday.


MFNYC -
Serra ed Bistro sounds good and convenient. I'll check it out - and menupages also. Thanks.

yk-
Yes, we are serious! We have had great luck with finding great Ethnic places that way. I'd like to read your trip report. I'll try to find it!

And the Szechuan sounds great. And probably close enough to deliver - I'll check it out online.

Cafe Sabarsky - that line is what I was afraid of esp on Sat. Of course, we'd really like that BREAKFAST! Hmm. Any other interesting lunch places around the Met?

mclaurie -
Oh great! I hadn't even noticed Asia de Cuba in our hotel. Perfect. Later at night should be fine for us. And thanks for the links to check the times.

We have NEVER had dim sum. I guess it's time. Thanks for those links also!

ok, about Saturday? Which part might be a bit overdoing it? The walk through the park? Can we shorten that somehow? Are there places to sit in the park?
I figure after the Park, we'll find a place to sit and sip and snack to regain our energy. But a picnic lunch would be fun and give us more time to people watch in the Park. (Where to pick up a picnic will be my next question!)

Love jazz (I'm a retired music/choir teacher) and Kitano sounds good. Do we need reservations for that? We could have a bite first and then go.

No, we don't a brunch place picked for Sunday.
Your suggestions would be appreciated.

Yes, good idea about the list (which I actually have from BB) but hadn't thought about calling to explain abut the knee problem)

Thanks for all of you who are helping. Truly, I wouldn't even attempt a trip to NYC without Fodor's and you guys.

Someone in a post referred to a "Downtown Bus on 37th". I haven't tried yet to figure out how to navigate using buses, but that sounds wonderful. I figured there would be a couple of buslines serving Madison - going up and downtown. We've always just taken the subway before - much faster than buses and taxis imho. Any links for bus information?

Brahmama

bus map: http://www.mta.info/nyct/maps/manbus.pdf

Also bus/subway transfers are free, I think within 2 hours of one another. Occasionally I take the subway one way, and then the bus the other to save 1 fare.

For genuine dim sum try Jing Fong. And weekday lunch will be the cheapest meal you will have in NYC.

But you only get a free transfer if you use a Metrocard. If you pay in cash, no transfer.

Madison is one-way going north. To go downtown, you really need to get on the 5th Ave. bus or walk all the way to 2nd. There's a downtown bus on Lexington, but it's hit or miss and doesn't run often and cuts over to Third Ave. around 24th Street.

I'll give you a few dining recs in the neighborhood, though most of my favorite places are south and east of your hotel.

I'll be honest with you. I'm not fond of Asia de Cuba. It's well past its prime, and it's loud even during regular dinner hours with thumping music. I don't think it's going to appeal to you.

But Artisanal is an excellent restaurant in about the same price range not far from the Morgans (Park/32nd Street). They also have an excellent brunch on weekends and are open late if you fancy a nice fondue after the theater, though it's not exactly on the way back to your hotel.

If you are looking for something Asian-y, there's a Japanese/Mexican restaurant on 39th Street/3rd Avenue called Zengo (a strange-sounding combination, but it works and is also a great place for drinks). It specializes in small plates, and you can get a reasonably priced meal there if you order carefully. I've been there a few times, and it's pretty good, if a little loud. I believe it's open late.

Another unique location almost next to your hotel is the Morgan Dining Room, which serves only lunch and brunch from 11 to 2:30. I've heard very good things. Otherwise, there's not much good food near the hotel.

Here are a few other places near your hotel (I live in the area). Phoenix Garden is a really excellent Cantonese restaurant on East 40th Between 2nd and 3rd (down the hill). And the burger place in the Shelburne Hotel isn't bad (there's another burger place almost across the street called Black Shack ... a Shake Shack knock-off). Both are on Lexington around 39th Street.

Also, if you want a really nice little French bistro, there's a place on 33rd Street (between 3rd and Lex) called Le Parisien. It's excellent, but tiny. You'll need reservations if you are going after 7pm on most nights (it also serves brunch). But you can call a couple of hours ahead.

I think walking through the park and THEN walking in the Met Museum which is huge may be more than you want to do. One thought is to consider a wheelchair at the Met. They offer them for free on a first come first serve basis. The other idea is to go to the museum first, see what you want to see, go for a nice lunch and then do your walk in the park. If you want a treat, consider Cafe Boulud.

Doug may be right about the noise level at Asia de Cuba. I like Artisanal too, but that's also noisy. Another place in the area of the hotel that I've rediscovered is Dock's on 3rd & 40th st. It's seafood and they have a very good happy hour during the week and a good value prix fixe dinner. http://www.docksoysterbar.com/index.shtml

There are endless ideas for brunch including some jazz options but maybe you should decide what area you want to be or what else you plan on doing. Btw, I would make a reservation for the jazz at the Kitano on a holiday weekend.

We suffered abysmal service at Artisanal two times in a row a few years ago and haven't been back. One time, we were in their "cheese cave," where many servers and others were in and out constantly; everyone, that is, except our waiter.

Doug,
I am overwhelmed with the variety of listings of cafe/restaurants for us that are walking distance from our hotel. One can look in MenuPages for hours, but nothing beats a rec from a person who lives near and has dined there! Thank you for taking the time to list them and the links. I have looked at a couple. The Morgan Dining Room looks very interesting and by the way, it is open on Friday evenings for dinner - the only night. That is the night that the museum stays open until 9:00.

I am intrigued by the Japanese/Mexican Zembo but haven't read about them yet!
I am disappointed that the restaurant right in our hotels has such mixed reviews! I read many of them - and it seemed they had either 4/5 or 1/2 ratings - very interesting. I did love the sound of that calamari salad!
I also appreciated the variety of the restaurants - from Burgers to a French Bistro.

I will be asking specific questions about the buses/taxis as I haven't had time to really delve into the schedules yet. That is the hardest part of the trip for us now that we aren't as mobile as we were. Thanks again for the help.

mclaurie,
I do agree that we need to have a good break between the two activities. It may be easier to start at the MET as I'm hoping the Madison Bus will take us there without having to change. We are going to just two exhibits, but the museum is so large, just walking through it will be tiring!

But you really hit the mark with the Docks Oyster Bar! WOW! That looks like our Saturday night destination - Mussels and Lobster and Key Lime Pie.
We will need to walk afterwards. I would also like to hear some music then and will check out the Kitano.

Thanks so much for all your help. I remember a few years ago when I was planning a trip and you gave me a lot of tips. I thought for a while you were another Laurie that I had met online while planning a trip to Italy! You've been helping people a long time. How many years??

1. take the madison ave bus and get off at 81-82nd street stop.
2. you then cross madison, walk one block west to fifth avenue and cross the street to the museum
3. there is an entrance marked handicapped on the street level. its behind the fountain. you will not have to walk up the main outside stairs.
4. once inside, you can pay your admission(what you wish) and take an elevator upstairs. (there are rest rooms at the entrance level too). if you are going to the impressionists the elevator will leave you nearby
5. you can eat at the met ..( you can even bring in your lunch and have it at the cafeteria) its not so crowded and will save time
and extra walking.
6. anything goes.. if you are willing to pay full price call the roundabout theater line directly and see about tickets they are very helpful when it comes to disabled theater goers and may help out with the knee issue
7 chinatown im a big fan of joe's shanghai .. love the soup buns
8. mta website will give you all the bus routes ask at the hotel if they can give you a bus map.. get a metro card some neighborhood shops sell them or else one of you can go to the subway and get one.. more than one person can use it..
if you pay with exact change you still get a paper transfer i believe.

We really enjoyed Artisanal except for the noise, which was brutal! I really dislike fondue, but I liked it there.

The Met has numerous dining options. The most economical is the subterranean cafeteria; does the job but lacking any sort of charm.

I've dined at the Petrie Court cafe several times. Food is good and I like the setting/ambiance.

Haven't dined at the new American Wing cafe yet, so that's another option.

http://www.metmuseum.org/visit/dining/

I have not been to dinner at Dock's on a Sat. night. It's a very popular spot during the week with so many office buildings nearby, but I don't know what it's like on a Sat. night. The lobster that comes on that prix fixe is just a 1 lb. It could be fine, just trying to temper your expectations.

As for Anything Goes, it looks like the only way to get discount tickets is to buy a subscription to all the Roundabout shows or take a chance on the TKTS booth where it has appeared. The other thought is, you could join tdf as a national member and see if you can get tickets that way. http://www.tdf.org/TDF_SupportPage.aspx?id=76

I've only eaten at Docks twice, but but experiences were negative (not service ... food). I had one of the worst-cooked pieces of salmon there I've ever had at a restaurant. But a lot of people love it, and it's always fairly busy, so I guess it can't be that bad all the time.

I am with Bspielman. I have not enjoyed Artisinal and have been there twice, the second time with a friend who was equally disappointed.

We have also not been to Docks in years. The place was a meat market at the bar and the food was just a hair better than average.

For fabulous seafood-Mary's Fish Camp in the West Village. It is unfortunately cramped.

You can get fresh shellfish (I'm not sure about lobsters) and other fish at Wild Edibles on 3rd Avenue (between 35th and 36th). It's a seafood market and restaurant with a limited menu of reasonably priced seafood. It's small and always mobbed, so I suspect it's good, though I haven't eaten there.

If you take a bus, pay cash and need a transfer, just ask for one. On the subway, there's no way to do this, so you need to use a metro card if you're going to transfer.

I like Asia de Cuba a lot, it's a fun place and the portions are big enough to share. Would definitely make a reservation there, it's pretty popular.

Sounds like you have a great plan, hope the weather is as good that weekend as it has been, anyone in NY this week has totally lucked out, it's the perfect weather week!

Haven't answered the latest emails yet (but I will!)
Thunderstorms here in Texas (badly needed) and internet down for a while.

Anyway:
Have found through TZOO - "Baby,It's You" and "Memphis" for our Thursday night - both with aisle seats.
Help! Did you see? Did you like?

And while I'm waiting for your opinions, I can read those new emails and respond.

Maxima!
Wow - such helpful info esp about the buses. I am now beginning to relax a bit. Also thanks for the detailed info about the Met (how to find the handicapped entrance, etc etc)

And about the Metro Card, are you saying that both of us can use the SAME Card? Or do we need two? Our friends said they could pick them up as they get in hours before we do. Best place?

yk-
Thanks for the Met dining link. I checked all the venues and think that the Petrie Court will work for us. We mainly will want a place to SIT down and veg for a while - some wine and a small plate. The view will be nice and we'll be happy!

And we will eat at Dock's that night...which brings me to:

mclaurie-
I never have huge expectations! But you have to remember, we're landlocked in TX - and the only fish we get is usually frozen from (ahem) China, which I refuse to eat on principle, when there is a good supply of shrimp etc on the Gulf Coast etc. It is available on the coast locally (drove down a couple of months ago) but the chain mkts seem to prefer flown in fish/meat/produce to state-grown. Grrr.
Anyway, that means that we will enjoy it a lot even if it's below what you guys expect. We haven't had mussels since Ireland a few years ago, and a pound of lobster is just fine with us. And we'll have had some wine, and we may be making a bit of that noise ourselves to celebrate being in NYC!

And while the tdf is a great idea, we could never get our cards before about a month - and we'll be there in a couple of weeks. I do want to look into it for future visits. The only thing wrong with this visit is that it needs to be twice as long.

owlwoman-
Thanks for your advice and opinion! As the reviews about Asia de Cuba have been SO varied (some wonderful - some were the worst I have read - always a bit suspicious of that) we decided to have drinks and small plates there before the theatre on Thursday. At least we can try it out a bit - and I'll report back in my Trip Report how it worked out.

and Doug-
I love salmon and I'm very picky about it. I cook (my main hobby) and prefer to fix it myself. It's usually too overdone for me and saturated in sauces that I may not care that much for. But we'll take a miss at Docks and go for the Prix Fixe Menu!

For info on recent Broadway shows, check this thread: http://www.fodors.com/community/unit...pring-2011.cfm

Re: Metrocards, the unlimited ones only 1 person can use at a time. The pay-per-ride kind can be shared. They can be purchased at any subway station. There are mostly machines now (as opposed to manned booths), and they take cash or credit cards. You can also refill a card using the machines.

Thanks MfNYC,
I had just re-read that thread - I had actually posted in it and asked about Anything Goes when we thought we had tickets for it. I couldn't find one single comment about "Memphis" (Of course I was skimming) and not much about "Baby it's You" except that it was definitely about the music of that era and might not interest people who didn't remember it. (Of course, I do! But not sure my 50 YO friends will...) Has Memphis been around for a while? That might explain why there are no comments about it.

And thanks for the explanation of the Metrocards. There is a 7 day unlimited for $29.50 but doubtful if we use it more than 6 total times, so I guess we'll just take lots of coins with us. Yikes! So you have to use JUST coins, not just exact change with a couple of bills and a couple of quarters, right?

You can buy a regular metro card and just put six rides on it, and add to it if need be. Coins don't work for subways in any case, only in buses.

I am in awe of the breadth and scope of the information contained in this thread!

Thanks to all those who contributed such great suggestions.

Yes if you are using a regular metrocard, and it seems like that is what you will use, you can pay for everyone using one card. Just figure out how many rides you will need at a minimum and your friends can pick the card up for you. When you get on the bus, the person with the card will "dip" it each time in the fare box for each person, and if you need a paper transfer ask the driver. you need a transfer for each person.
so yes your friends can get you a card in advance, just let them know how much money to put onto the card.
you can add money to it if you need to later on. If you are not planning on a lot of rides per day, per person you should not get the unlimited card.. (each person has to have their own unlimited card); in manhattan you cannot transfer for free between certain buses but dont worry about that.. the buses all have numbers and the signs on them will have the number and the end destination..at the bus stops there are generally boxes with a printed schedule and route map.. so you can see where you are and where the bus goes . you will see for example that there are several buses that go up madison or down fifth avenue and if they all go to where you want to go it doesnt matter which one you take.. however some buses will be marked limited,.. that means they dont stop at every stop just the major ones.. you can ask the driver if the bus will stop at the street you want before getting on.. the limited buses may be quicker just make sure it does not overshoot your stop so you dont have to walk back too many blocks.

for theater tickets : yes memphis has been playing for some time.for discounts you can go to broadwaybox.com and print out the coupons or see what is on offer when you are here at the tkts booth.,, there are 3 booths two in manhattan and one in brooklyn...for more information on the ticket booths go to tdf.com and click on ticket booths...credit cards are now accepted at the booths as well as cash and travelers checks... if you are flexible there is always something good.

I just got back from Anything Goes, which was really great. And I took a peek at the mezzanine. If you get seats on row JJ (back row of the mezzanine), the seats are accessible and the leg room large enough that you don't even need an aisle seat. The Stephen Sondheim theater is unique (and I'd forgotten this) because you enter on the Mezzanine level and go down to get to the orchestra. It's one of the most accessible theaters I've ever seen with full elevators and good sightlines throughout. So I"d take a chance. There are a lot of stairs in the mezzanine, but I think it's doable, perhaps with a little help. There are several other fully accessible rows, but I don't know if they reserve t hose tickets for people with disabilities (you should call and ask).

"When you get on the bus, the person with the card will "dip" it each time in the fare box for each person, and if you need a paper transfer ask the driver. you need a transfer for each person."

A MetroCard keeps track of the transfers for up to four people sharing the card—no need for paper transfers, which are for people who pay with coins.

Yes, you can swipe the MetroCard four times per ride.

Thanks for the MetroCard info. We are picking up a $20 and adding $1.10 so we will have 10 rides total on it. We just plan to ride the buses and have checked all our routes with HopStop and/or Google Maps.

We have a pretty good schedule, but also have some time for some serendipity - and nothing we can't cancel if we decide on a last minute change.

Doug-
Thanks for scoping out the mezzanine for us - I wish all the theaters were blessed with that leg room and good sight as well. We waited too long for the Thursday night for Anything Goes, but still need a matinee for the Sunday (Memorial Day weekend - maybe all sold out). I'd also like to see "How to Succeed" - so I'll let you know what we did get to see in my Trip Report.

Again, thanks for all the help in this thread (and the many others I have read through) I've printed out a bunch of things from it and it will certainly enhanced our visit.

Kudos and Cheers to the NYC Experts!