I will be traveling with a group of 4 women to the city next week. We will be seeing Cat on a Hot Tin Roof at 8pm Sat. and dining at Angus MacIndoe's before. We would like to have dessert and drinks after somewhere in Times Square since we are also staying there. Would love some ideas for that. Also, we will be eating dinner later in the evening on Friday and need suggestions. We are flexible on what part of the city and would like something midpriced and American food-though a variety menu would be great. Thanks for the suggestions!

For dessert & drinks in the Times Square area, Pigalle at 8th & 48th is good (I wouldn't eat a meal there, but they have good desserts).

Arthur Schwartz recommends the following for "dessert after the theatre":

http://www.thefoodmaven.com/restaurants/dessert.html

Personally I haven't been to any of the places he mentions. Apparently he doesn't update his website often; under "theatre district restaurants" he lists Lofti's which has been closed almost a year. So check first if you go to one he recommends.

Dessert in the theater district is always a challenge because most rest. want to save tables for diners. Usually I wind up sitting at a bar like Joe Allen's where you can order drinks & coffee. Lattanzi's from the above website sounds like a nice idea. The food is great there-never tried the upstairs.

For a late dinner on Fri try Good on Greenwich Ave in the village.

If you don't mind traveling out of the Times Square area for deserts, I understand Cafe Mozart 154 W 70th St. by Lincoln Center has good deserts.

Two spots at the Marriott Marquis in TS are great for drinks ... The View which is on the top floor and rotates w/ city/lights views and another lounge (forget the name) on a lower floor that has good people watching views of TS. My husband and I enjoy them both ... we just had drinks but I'm sure you can get dessert.

I'll say it again-
for the best food information go to www.chowhound.com

Well, we ate dinner at Lattanzi last night and were seated upstairs. There weren't any "leather chairs and comfy sofas" as described in the link above. It was a standard dining area like downstairs. So perhaps it used to be a "swank lounge" but apparently they've
changed it. Only the grand piano was still there sandwiched in between tables.

The food was good but overpriced for what it was. We both ordered the same entree we had a couple of weeks ago at Cascina - veal piccata for me & ravioli with mushrooms for him - and both were better at Cascina.

FYI, there's no issue with stopping in at Pigalle for just drinks & dessert
as it's a "24 hour brasserie" (http://www.pigallenyc.com).