Elainee

Do make reservations for lunch after St.Pats. Restaurants get crowded in NYC. The restaurants in Rockefeller are lovely for a special treat.
I recommend Memphis as the show to see. Great for kids and it has an excellent message. Wonderful music.
Of course you are going to see Columbia when in NYC. Great college and the campus might surprise you. Of course the term will be over but there still should be kids around.

emd3

Don't be afraid of driving in NYC.

Recently I drove a 10 ft. Budget rent truck through Manhattan, from the GW bridge at like 178th st. all the way down Broadway to and through Times Square to a hotel on W.40th St. At 9 p.m. in the dark by myself.


It is like driving in any big city really. Just watch out for the other guy and watch for the one way streets. And know ahead of time where you are going to park the car- research this ahead of time.

5alive

Elaine and others: Which restaurant near St. Patrick's should I look at for lunch?

Emd3: Thank you, it is good to have that reassurance. I had to direct my brother when were driving in Rome and that was absolutely a war zone so I'm figuring this can't be worse. I will definitely have it mapped out though!

Elainee

The Sea Grill at Rockefeller center is lovely. A real treat. In the Theater district I recommend Becco esp. with kids. Just upscale enough to feel special and most kids really love the pasta and the way it is served.

5alive

I think we are probably looking at something more casual for lunch. I notice there are a couple of sandwich shops in Rockefeller Center (wichcraft or hale &hearty) and so we will probably just do one of those and maybe go into dean and deluca for some dessert treats after.

nytraveler

While Sea Grill at Rock Center is very good - and has nice views - the prices are definitely upscale. There are other choices in the area that have menus with non seafood choices. You might look at Rock Center Cafe or Bar Americain.

Cheek out menupages.com for actual menus with dishes and real prices.

emd3

5alive, if you are looking for sandwich places in Rock Center area, take a look at Tri-Tip Grill. They have all differnet kinds of sandwiches, salas, small plates, etc. and wines. Reasonable prices and good fresh food.

We have been there several times and really like it.

http://tritipgrill.com/#/food

doug_stallings

I prefer Pret a Manger for sandwiches in the Rock Center concourse (which is open on weekends), though there is limited seating, so you sometimes have to take things over to the big dining area by the windows.

Aduchamp1

Many consider the two most beautiful architectural designs in NYC Central Park and the Brooklyn Bridge. It is s not only known for as a green oasis in the largest city in America but for its grand design including the exquisite bridges, the reservoir, the rambling paths, the zoo, the statues, and the activity it attracts.

There is plenty for kids and adults.

For ice cream:

Il Laboratorio de Gelato
Cones on Bleecker Street
Grom, an expensive Italian chain
Chinatown Ice Cream factory
Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory
Cones and Sundaes on East 10th Street

mclaurie

5alive, Im not a techie but I do good rearch. B & H and J & R are places for great prices but not necessarily for touching and feeling. The Wired store is one place that looks promising http://www.nyc.com/shop/the_wired_st...al_review.aspx. This place also looks promising but isnt open on Sundays. http://www.computernyc.com/. Why not get your son to do some research himself on where HE would look to look. Yelp.com is one good source for reviews.

As for lunch after St. Pat's, for a casual place, you can't make reservations. There's a food court under Rockefeller Center with a bunch of options. But if you walk over to 7th ave, Fluffy's is a good diner that serves breakfast & lunch where you can get table service. http://www.menupages.com/restaurants...s-cafe-bakery/

5alive

We'll definitely do one of the casual choices mentioned above for lunch that day. I especially appreciate the gelato and ice cream recs, Adu.

Thanks, mcLaurie for your additional finds. The computernyc store looks promising. We had nixed the Wired store because on Yelp it was described as a popup store for the holidays. Obviously there's a website that you found for the actual store. (Yelp also listed stubhub as a computer store so their search on this topic is less stellar than usual.) I will probably leave this point to him until when he gets out of school and has more time. I should be more specific in these posts but tend to get too long already. My hours looking, he was home and helped look during breaks from working on a research paper. He isn't realistic yet in thinking through the logistics of getting places. He had reasons for two ones we narrowed it down to--probably prices or specific products.

5alive

Guess I posted too soon-- I read the wired web page more and it's a pop-up store for the holidays.

ggreen

5alive, I just remembered to come back and read through your full thread. Great advice so far!

Driving:
- Doug's comment about rush hour traffic near your hotel is no joke! In the afternoon/evening rush, a huge volume of traffic will be heading east towards the outbound Midtown Tunnel, accessed from 34th Street.
- So if your travel from Ithaca ends up being on the later side, *do not* come down the West Side Highway and then across - much better to go south on the FDR Drive from the top of Manhattan and exit at 34th Street... (Look at google maps to see all this.)
- Traffic in NYC is almost entirely volume. And car honking. And obstinate NYers not budging an inch when you try to merge (guilty as charged...). And, when the opportunity arises, some hotshot thinking he can zig and zag and cut you off as you inch forward! But in the end, nothing compared to the cities you mentioned!

Hotel neighborhood:
- This area is pretty generic, but happily centrally located. For example, it's an easy walk to Grand Central Terminal (less than 1/2 mile), and also to Madison Square Park (notable for the first Shake Shake, which still operates there).
- Lex in the immediate blocks is fairly barren. However, head south a few blocks and you'll be in "Curry Hill", one of the best places in the city for Indian food, especially South Indian. If you're interested, I can give some specific rec's.
- You'll find more restaurants along 3rd Ave. A few long-time NYC chains have locations near you: Patsy's Pizzeria, Jackson Hole Burgers, Blockhead Burritos, Lemongrass Grill.
- Daniel's Bagels is old-school, with a case full of smoked fish right when you enter the store and fresh bagels all day. And you're so lucky to be near the "new" location of 2nd Ave Deli!
- Murray Hill Diner is a perfectly serviceable diner nearby, and Guy & Gallard is good for takeaway sandwiches and salads.

Regarding tech stuff:
- If your son is into building his own computers, he might want to check out the NYU Computer Store, probably the best brick-and-mortar store in NYC for components, sensors, etc. However, you'd have to switch this for a different day since it's closed on Sundays.
http://www.bookstores.nyu.edu/computer.store/
- School will be out for the summer, but if he's interested, you could see about meeting with someone from NYU's Computer Science or ITP programs. Parsons has a similar program to ITP called Design + Technology, but unlike the former includes an undergrad program. Both NYU and Parsons are in the Village.
http://itp.nyu.edu/
http://amt.parsons.edu/programs/dt/
- I know there are locations in NYC related to Make Magazine. I swear I walked by one just the other day! But can't seem to remember at the moment... If I do think of something, I'll let you know.

As for your itinerary:
- Friday and Saturday will be easy to begin from the 6 subway station around the corner on Park Avenue and 33rd Street.
- Personally, I would combine your SoL/Ellis Island with walking around in the area, including Wall Street. You won't see much different on a weekday in the financial district anyway. Depending on the weather, you also could take the free ferry from Bowling Green to Governor's Island:
http://www.govisland.com/html/home/home.shtml
- Sunday, I would swap this afternoon with Monday (see my note about NYU above, and the AMNH is open on Mondays). I'm not sure I'd recommend Pret a Manger for lunch: while I find the sandwiches yummy, and until recently this chain was a novelty in NYC, they are very pricey for the amount of food you get, and the shops are really geared for takeaway service. I'm not sure I have a better suggestion though, especially on a Sunday when the work-week places will be closed. Places I like are a little farther north, like La Bonne Soupe on 55th Street, or Joe's Shanghai for soup dumplings on 56th.
- Do come out to Brooklyn! Even if it's just a walk over the bridge to DUMBO. Any interest in going out to Coney Island?
- One thing I'll say about the Tenement Museum is that it is very different from any museum you'll see in DC. (In scale, the Met is more similar to DC museums.) The fact that it's accessible by guided tour only means that its history comes alive for visitors. However, if it's hot out, it gets very stuffy in those small rooms - talk about realism LOL.
- On Tuesday, if you haven't by this point, you could visit Grand Central and take a tour. An easy walk to/from your hotel, and you could check out the food options on the dining concourse for lunch:
http://www.grandcentralterminal.com/
- If you still have time after that, walk a little farther west to the New York Public Library and Bryant Park behind it. More lunch options here and you could picnic at one of the many small tables - but know it gets crowded with office workers at the peak of lunch hour!

ggreen

After all that, I still forgot two things I wanted to add...

Rental car dropoff:
- Regarding logistics, IMO I think your best bet will be to pull over on 34th Street and unload everyone and the luggage, then have the driver go straight to the rental car office to return it while the other parent checks into the hotel.
- There is a loading zone in front of the hotel, but it's not meant for parking. The opposite side of 34th Street doesn't allow any stopping. There is metered parking if you turn left onto Lex, or continue around the block onto 3rd, but no guarantee any will be available.
- If you do end up approaching the hotel on 34th Street from the east (FDR Drive), to end up in front of the hotel: turn right onto 3rd Ave, left onto 35th Street, left onto Lex and then left again onto 34th Street.
- If it seems like too much to deal with the car straightaway, you could always spend the $$ to put the car in the parking garage across 34th Street from the hotel for a half-hour or so.

Supermarkets:
- I covered places for takeaway and bagels, but meant to include area supermarkets too! The closest decent supermarket (not deli or grocery) is the Food Emporium on 3rd Ave and 32nd Street. It's better than the D'Agostino on 3rd Ave/38th Street. (FWIW, you can purchase beer in delis and groceries in NYC, but have to go elsewhere for wine and hard alcohol.)
- There also is a large Duane Reade drugstore on the corner of 34th and 3rd Ave, which would carry mainstay grocery items in addition to health & beauty products.
- In Curry Hill, do stop into Kalustyans, an emporium of spices and all comestibles middle eastern and south asian, even if it's just to see the eye-popping array of goods.
http://kalustyans.com/

5alive

GGreen: Need to give up the computer for homework priorities but wanted to let you know I checked back in and will be studying the traffic routes into the city and also your dining recs. I did stumble onto Murray Hill Diner and Second Ave. Deli on my own and I printed out a multi-page food post of Aduchamp's that I need to take to a Google Map and find some that I will get to.

I do like the NYU store idea. Honestly we hadn't seriously thought about visiting there this trip. I don't enjoy long driving trips if I'm the main driver, and DH loves them, so the CMU/Ithaca thing grew out of our personality preferences. My thought was I'd be coming back to the East Coast at least once with my son, and that I'd see more then.

Will post back with more questions later....thanks for now!

ggreen

Well, good thing you didn't read my posts too closely. Even though I previewed before submitting, I still see some gaps... Should be Shake ShaCK in Madison Square Park. And by "combine your SoL/Ellis Island with walking around in the area", I meant in the area of Manhattan in the vicinity of the ferry dock, not in the waters around the islands-!

Aduchamp has excellent restaurant rec's. I just wanted to provide some guidance in the environs of your hotel - and I see you already have done some excellent sleuthing! I'm pretty sure we've all told you by now about menupages.com, too. Second Avenue Deli was a favorite of mine in its original location; sadly I haven't made it to dine on 33rd Street in too long... great corned beef!

And I wouldn't add on the universities for this trip, either. I think I got a little carried away! But at least you'll get an idea on this trip if your son has an interest in returning to look at NYC more closely.

Have you heard about the tech campus Cornell will build on Roosevelt Island (part of NYC)? Phase 1 might even be ready before your son starts looking at grad school LOL:
http://cornellsun.com/section/news/c...yc-tech-campus

sf7307

I ate at the "new" Second Avenue Deli two weeks ago, and can say from personal experience that the corned beef and the pastrami are both outstanding!

doug_stallings

They're half the price, though not quite as good, at Sarge's, which is on Third Avenue between 36th and 37th Streets.

This neighborhood has a lot of great restaurants, many suitable for families and all quite close to the Affinia Dumont. Shake Shack is within walking distance, but if you don't get there by 11am on a weekend, the lines are just too long to be worth the trouble.

If you like barbecue, we have two excellent nearby options. Blue Smoke is very nice, a little expensive, but really requires reservations about a week or 10 days ahead of time unless you want to go for brunch or a very early dinner. Hill Country is much more casual (you buy by the pound and eat off paper rather than real plates).

ggreen

Good rec's all, Doug. I wouldn't have thought of the proximity of Hill Country since it's crosstown, but really it's not far. I always am overwhelmed by the by-the-pound thing so just order one of the pre-set combos. Always delicious (and never any room for those yummy-looking desserts!).

doug_stallings

Desserts are better at Hill Country Chicken.