Hi Again!! as you know from my prior post I'll be in nyc with my husband 5 nights in december (staying at the new york palace)
we'll finally arrive later than we expected so the day of arrival we'll take a quick bite near the hotel (I like an italian restaurant nearby, but any other suggestions will be welcome)

day 1 (a sunday): We want to eat bruch at pastis (so we can also visit the meatpacking district) afterwards go to some offhand shopping not likely to go any other time, maybe Macy's...

day 2 monday: Morning: SOHO area. Night: It'll be the day of the "Fine Dinner" we were thinking of BABBO, but after reading some reviews are thinking of changing to BOULEY, or 11MADISON PARK, or CIPRIANI or GOTHAM..what do you all think??

day 3 tuesday: 5th avenue area, maybe have lunch at the restaurant in Barney's or a hamburguer in the Le Meridien Hotel... Night: we were thinking of trying to find last minute tickets for any musical or get tickets for the TOP of THE ROCKS ant then book a table at a more casual place like RED CAT or any other...

day 4 thursday: morning: Don't know..maybe some exhibition on the met, walk central park...Night: we have tickets for the Jersey Boys. Don't know where the theatre is: is it better to eat before or after? any nice place near the theatre?

day 5 Friday: leaving on the afternoon so we'll probably do some last shopping near the hotel as we have to be at the airport at 16.00.

what do you think??

OOPPSS missed Wednesday...as we arrive home on friday I got mixed up with the days...our last night (jersey boys tickets) are on wednesday...

I think your plan sounds great. It's your decision to eat before or after the Jersey Boys. Keep in mind that anyplace in Manhatten pays a premiem for the restaurant space, so it would be very hard to go wrong on choices to eat. If you like italian, my favorite in little Italy is LUNA. It's not fancy & the entrance is through a hallway past the kitchen to the dining area. But the food is so-o-o good, anything you order there. If your arriving late right in the heart of Manhatten and don't want to go far from the hotel, I suggest an Irish-type restaurant. They're usually open late have a diverse menu.

From your list IMO: Bouley, make your reservation for 9pm for a more pleasant less crowded experience, Babbo would be 2nd choice from your list. Also, advisable to eat later.

11 Madison is perfunctory at best and not worth the cost, Cipriani is more about the name rather than the food, Gotham is meh.

Red Cat is good choice.

Not much for decent food in the theater district, though I would suggest the restaurant at MOMA (it has a separate entrance from the museum), and is a few blocks from the theater district.

I would not eat in little italy, better Italian can be found elsewhere in the city.

On your Soho day, note many shops don't open until 10 or 11, Balthazar would be a nice place to start the morning for breakfast, I know you are already going to Pastis, but they are 2 very different places.

Gotham is "meh"? If you mean to be dismissive I'm sorry but I strongly disagree - as do many food critics and the dining public - Gotham Bar and Grill is consistently rated among the best restaurants in NY. Check out the NY Times, Gourmet magazine, Zagats (it rated a 27 for food in the 2008 Zagats), Gayot . . .

For the others on your list - Cipriani is in no way the same league as Eleven Madison, Bouley or Gotham.

The restaurant mentioned in Little Italy (Luna) gave me food poisoning several years ago when I ate luunch there during jury duty. The court officer who helped me shook his head and said, "it happens once a month . ." 'nuff said.

What does meh stand for? Thanks.

meh is the "latest" trendy sort of internet word meaning blah or "nothing". If you are the type who jumps on using words like meh, then yes, you'd probably think Gotham Bar and Grill is meh. It isn't the "latest, in" place to go. It's simply one of the best of the classics as good as ever -- which to some would be "meh".

Meanwhile, I'm trying to understand the comment: "Keep in mind that anyplace in Manhatten(sic) pays a premiem(sic) for the restaurant space, so it would be very hard to go wrong on choices to eat." Places like Olive Garden, MacDonald's, and Bubba Gumps pay those high premium rents too, but if you're looking for something really great or unique, I think you'd be making a "wrong choice" if you chose one of those. Paying high rent does not guarantee quality in my book.

One of my favorite places to have lunch is Le Bilboquet (63rd between Madison and Park). It's a tiny little french place that's especially great when the weather is nice. My mouth is watering just thinking about the cajun chicken.

"Not much for decent food in the theater district"
You're kidding, right? Sure, you may pay more but the quality is there!

neo: yeah your right, I just haven't had a bad meal in Manhatten or any of the surroundings. Maybe I'm easy to please - dunno.

Just my opinion on Gotham, but then again I am not impressed by many of the places that are considered "greats" such as 11 Mad., Le Bernardin, Chanterelle, etc. I also don't put much weight in Zagat's survey results. I said Bouley (which is not a hot new hyper-trendy spot) was better than Gotham, IMO.

Personally, I think plenty of restaurants rest on their laurels and prior reputation and have become tired. I would never advocate going to the hot new place and expect to be served decent food at a comparable price. Frankly, I wouldn't advocate going (or personally go) to the next hot place anyhow as I don't wish to be annoyed by those who flock to be seen rather than enjoy a meal.

I wasn't aware that "meh" was a newfangled trendy word used only on the internets by the hip young folk these days. It is merely spelling out what is a common usage slang word that my grandmother even uses--and she has no clue how to use the internets. Then again I also don't slag people's tastes, opinions and choice of phrase regularly in an anon. forum. I do appreciate that you have been able to form an identity for me as a trend-chaser into the next big thing based on my use of "meh."

I live in the city, my rent is high, I like to eat out often and expect to be wowed in some way if spending $200+ on a meal. My opinions are based on that rational. I can spend far less for well done "classics" in a neighborhood restaurant.

Whatever the OP chooses will be enjoyable I'm sure.

Surprised to hear 11 Madison Park described as perfunctory--under Daniel Humm, it is now again one of the best dinners in NYC (slipped a little in the last few years under Kerry Heffernan, who I think is now running the Danny Meyer catering arm)...But, as always, such a subjective topic, I guess.

Nougatine is a great place to have dinner pre- or post-theater if you don't mind leaving extra time since it is at 60th/CPW in the Trump Building and a little bit of a walk or subway ride to the theater. It's the "casual" side of Jean-Georges.

Oh, and if you're shopping on the first day, why not stay in the meatpacking district? Macy's is a zoo--and you're more likely to find small boutiques, etc. in the area. Jaunt cross town to the Lower East Side might also be fun.

the meatpacking district, from what I read must be really expensive (stella mcartney, prada...)so, I'll "window shop" and then will have to go to banana, gap, macys, blomingdales...
up to now the winner for the formal dinner is BOULEY (I'll wait 2-3 days before calling the concierge to book in case I get any other opinions..)
If We finally decide to go and see the ALVIN ALEY Ballet we won't have time to go to the RED CAT...is it better choice than Bouley if we have to decide between the two??

I much prefer Red Cat to Bouley, but I think they are apples and oranges - Red Cat is more of a neighborhood, artsy, mixed crowd serving very good food.

My experiences at Bouley have not been great - for me it is much more formal, and while the preparations are 'correct' (in the French sense) I find them a bit uninspired. But some people love Bouley . . . just not me. If I were looking for more formal French, I would pick Le Bernardin or Chanterelle.

cherrybomb - if you are referring to my post referencing Zagat you will note I also suggest viewing the judgments of the NY Times, Gourmet magazine and Gayot. What probably prompted the strong reaction from myself and others was your dismissive tone of several restaurants that are extremely respected by many people. As you can read in this post, I am careful to explain my preferences without resorting to flat declarative statements like "perfunctory at best and not worth the cost." I also work hard to avoid making patently ridiculous statements like "Not much for decent food in the theater district" . .. and finally, Balthazar and Pastis are very different places? Actually, I think they extremely similary - right down to the fake "old" big mirrors and the raucous scene . . .

MP--I was actually referring to a different poster. You gave your opinion, rather than dismissing me for using a word. BTW:We actually agreed on Cipriani and Luna, not that it makes much difference.

Because a restaurant is well respected does not mean it is up to par, a good value for the money or worth the hype or that everyone should/will like it.

Food/dining is highly subjective--the poster wanted opinions, I gave mine, yours differ. For instance, I quite like WD-50 in that price-point, many dislike it as can be witnessed on the endless debates on the chowhound boards. You may dislike it. All subjective, no one is right and frankly, I admit that part of the reason I like it has nothing to do with the food--though I do like their food quite a bit and constantly return. My like also has to do with the atmosphere, the warm staff, that I have been eating Dufresne's food since he was the first to open a restaurant on a block that was on the beginning edge of gentrification and was the only "finer" dining option in my neighborhood, being east of Essex.

Pastis is closer to Schiller's than Balthazar or at least split the difference between Balthazar and Schiller's and Pastis sits there. The crowds are only raucous at night--when I certainly wouldn't urge anyone to go any of the McNally places. All 3 are fairly relaxing to different degrees during weekday mornings/afternoons, with Balthazar being the most crowded.

I still will not budge on my dismissal of Zagat.

thanks! I obviously don't expect you all to agree, everyone has it's tastes...I just want to hear everyone's opinion and hear the pros and cons of each place or suggestions of other places...

Carlota:
People all have conflicting ideas about what is the best . You'll have a great time at any of the places!


To the person who asked what "meh" meant--it means okay, nothing to write home about, not negative, not great, but fine.

I am laughing, b/c I know my mother in law is laughing from wherever she is 'resting' - long gone, but her favorite word was "meh" or "metza, metz"
and I'm probably not spelling either correctly ! -
and we used to kid her and imitate the way she'd scrunch up her nose and waffle her hand and say "meh" - she'd get a kick out of knowing one of her old phrases has made a comeback ! wish I could tell her......

Pre/post theater, one of our long time favorites is Remi which is on 145 W 53rd

Just got back from NYC---try Roberto Passon for a nice Italian dinner in the theatre district. I believe it's on 8th or 9th Avenue and wonderful food, atmosphere, and service.
Also, if you are thinking of Babbo--get your reservations as soon as you are able --I tried this and still couldn't get a table. For a very nice dinner, you might also try Grammercy Tavern. It's a lovely space, great food and so nicely decorated for autumn.