My husband and I are taking my parents on a surprise early 40th anniversary trip from DC to NYC this Fri (Mar 23). It's a quick trip of 2 nights; staying at Affinia Dumont in Murray Hill.

Here's what I have planned so far:

FRIDAY
* Dinner/Evening: Ultimate Belgian Tasting II (Belgian beer tasting with Belgian food hosted by Ale Street News)

SATURDAY
* Breakfast at Penelope
* Tickets to Bodies the Exhibit at 10:30
* Beers (and potentially lunch) at Ginger Man
* Dinner at Wallse

SUNDAY
* Drive back to DC...probably leaving too early for brunch

It just occurred to me today that I need to plan for lunch on Friday. We'll probably arrive in NYC around 1:30 so it will be a late lunch. Would like someplace where jeans are appropriate and mains are under $15. We love all food. Some recent NYC favorites were Tia Pol and 'Ino if that helps...did not like food too much at Spice Market and thought it was overpriced.

Any thoughts on lunch on Friday? Don't care if it's in Murray Hill or not. How is Agave? As a last resort we would consider going to Artisnal Bistro - love that place but a little more than I wanted to spend since Saturday dinner will be pricey.

Saturday a.m. could potentially have a change in plans. Although we already have tickets to Bodies the Exhibit, and although I know it's something that my parents would quite enjoy seeing, we had a recent death in the family (like 12 hours ago) and I feel like the timing may be a little crass. I am going to give my parents the option to NOT see Bodies the Exhibit Sat a.m., but that will require me to come up with an alternate plan!

Thanks!

The place that I alway reccomend is The Lower east Side Tenement Museum. Go on their website and book a tour. It's like stepping back into history. Your parents will love it.

I totally agree. I thought the Tenement Museum was great, so did my kids, so does everyone I tell about it.

Sounds like there's a German/Viennese dining theme for the weekend. What about Cafe Sabarsky for Fri. lunch (owned by the same people as Wallse). You could then have a look at the galleries at the Neue Museum where it's located or walk across the street and have a quick look at the Met museum.

If you don't want to go uptown, what about a walk over to Grand Central Terminal? The Oyster Bar for some clam chowder or Metrazur has a $20 prix fixe lunch.

Excellent suggestions so far...thanks.

And McLaurie - you are correct. The two big themes this weekend are beer (we're all passionate about it) and German/Viennese. While we're surprising them a little early for their 40th, they're celebrating their actual anniversary in May with a trip to Germany and Austria.

Love the suggestions so far!

For Friday lunch, would more German be too much? Rolf's (in the Murray Hill area) is fun. Even more casual would be either of the two "Hallo Berlin" locations. Here is a link to German things in NYC. The restaurants are on the first page of the link, but there is also a calendar on the site that may have something that interests you.

Absolutely Rolf's for lunch on Friday. No question. Neue Gallery and Cafe Sabarsky are on my favorites list. Penelope is adorable for breakfast. Get there before 10:30 or you will have to wait.
Also, in keeping with the German theme, there is a butcher in the food market (not to be confused with food court in lower level) at Grand Central. He has the best selection of German sausage, lunch meats and appetizers I have seen in NYC. Stop there on Sunday morning and pick up some stuff to take home, or for sandwiches enroute.
If you have only a bit of time on Sunday, you could go to the Morgan Library (newly renovated) within walking distance of your hotel, then pop into Grand Central, and back to the hotel.

Another place to consider is Zumschneider-Bavarian Indoor Beer Garden in New York. It's in the East Village though.
www.zumschneider.com
If the weather is good, they even have outdoor seating... giving it that true garden feel .
And if you feel like Swiss food at all, you can try Trestle on Tenth. It may be a bit expensive for your budget though.

And oh by the way, if you're a fan of Belgian beer, you should try The Three Philosophers. I just had it a couple of weeks ago & it was excellent, even though I don't drink that much beer.

Excellent additional suggestions...very excited to have multiple things that sound very appealing.

mdn - LOVE Three Philosophers...made by Brewery Ommegang in Cooperstown, NY, and Ommegang will be present at the beer tasting Friday night. Can't wait.

Can I ask how you found out about that beer tasting on Friday? I'd love to find things like that but don't want to buy Time Out NY all the time!. We were in Germany last September and loved it so much.

Sure...last time we were in Ginger Man (last month) we picked up a free copy of the latest Ale Street News newspaper. We always use it and the regional brewing newspapers for beer events.

Also, beeradvocate.com and realbeer.com are other good sources of beer events.

What great suggestions! One more terrific restaurant owned by the same wonderful chef at Wallse and Cafe Sabarsky is the fun (and wonderful food) Blaue Gans, at 139 Duane St. in Tribeca. Might be out of the way for your itinerary, but a light lunch there and then a stroll around downtown - City Hall Park, Century 21, Trinity Church .. . could hit the spot.