New York trip help
 

Dh and I are going to a wedding in New York in Oct. We will be flying in on Thursday - arriving into JFK - staying in the city at the Marriott in time square - Friday we are seeing Jersey Boys -- Sat. is the wedding - as is pretty standard with dh's family - the wedding is earlier in the day and then the reception is in the evening -

The reception is in a place called "Woodbury" at Crest Hollow Country Club on the Jericho Turnpike.

I am looking for two different suggestions:

One dinner in New York on Friday? I would prefer to dine after the show - budget 200.00-300.00 with tip is the max we would want to spend. - within walking distance of the our hotel -

The other is any good suggestions on where to stay by in "woodbury"? We do not fly out till Monday - but I think we are going to drive back by JFK on Sunday night and sleep by the airport (I have plans with friends in Isslip <sp> on Sunday).

Thanks in advance!

Dawn

Oh I am sorry - regarding dinner - we like basically all types of foods other then french (sorry!)

Dawn, first question, are you driving out to Woodbury? (P.S. I got married in Woodbury 34 years ago; also, we did a similar trip to your's, stayed in the city, then wedding out on Long Island last summer, but we didn't stay on the island)

Hi dmlove,

Yes, sorry - we are picking up our rental car on Sat. - heading to the wedding itself in Brooklyn, then I imagine we will drive out to Long Island - check into our hotel and then go to the reception.

There is a Marriott about 3 miles away from where the reception is - I booked a room there - but watned to make sure and check here as I get the best advice :-).

How long of a drive is it?

I have actually never been to Long Island. Dh is from Brooklyn - but we live in Southern Calfornia.

You probably realize by now (from the thread on Palm Springs) that I also live in California (Bay Area), but I grew up on Long Island. Depending on traffic, it's a 40min-1 hr. drive. When we did it last summer, it was for a Sunday afternoon wedding -- we figured we'd hit beach traffic, so left plenty of time. Of course, we hit no traffic, so we had time to swing by the town I grew up in and show the kids around. It was fun. I don't think you can go wrong with the Marriott. Have you checked the reviews on TripAdvisor?

A resturant in times square is tricky... they are generally overpriced, not the best service, and CROWDED! But I work in the area and my favorite is still Victors on 52nd. It's Cuban... I love love love it. An italian spot I like is Trattoria de dopo Teatro... I think thats the spelling on 46th East of Broadway.

Thanks Vaborne! I will check out both of those places. I know what you mean about noisy and over priced... hoping we can avoid that :-)

Dmlove - that is a while - I have to mapquest my friends address as well to see how far it will be from the hotel.

Yes, I looked at trip advisor - seemed like a pretty standard Marriott - if nothing else I like that we get our points :-)

I live in Orange County - so further south. I made a few trips to S.F.last year - we thought our son would be going to art school there.

DB Bistro Moderne, Orso and ViceVersa are nice restaurants not too far from the Marriott.

Hi Dawn, saw your post on the other post... ;)

The Marriott should be a good bet, especially with the visit to Islip farther out on Sunday. Unless your flight coincides with rush hour, I would even suggest you stay there on Sunday night and head to JFK early on Monday; it's pretty straighforward.

A friend of mine got married/reception at Crest Hollow a few years ago. However, I don't have a hotel recommendation (my BF's family lives in the area and we stayed with them). That drive too is quite straightforward, and the country club is well marked from the road.

Where in Brooklyn will the wedding be? I can definitely help with driving directions! Depending on which end of the borough you're at, you can take the Belt Parkway, LIE, or (my preference), the Jackie Robinson Parkway to the Grand Central...

Oh and lastly, for your dinner Friday night, look at restaurants on 9th Ave in Hell's Kitchen (also called Clinton, but not Clinton Hill!), from about 42nd to 57th Streets. There are some nice venues and it's just two avenue blocks from where you're staying.

ggreen,

Thanks for your help. Sorry about the confusion with the other post. I hate to highjack threads :-).

The wedding itself is at Ss Simon and Jude R.C. Church 185 Van Sicklen Street Brooklyn NY - where in Brooklyn? I have not a clue.

Thanks for the advice on staying another night at the hotel - I would prefer to not move again - that would be 3 hotels in 4 nights.

I will check out the Hells Kitchen area.. sounds kinda scary though ;-)

We did the drive from Manhattan at about 1pm on a Sunday and it took barely 40/min... no traffic whatsoever, but leave yourself a bit more time... just in case. Some family members stayed at the Marriot and those flying out stayed overnight and drove to LGA or JFK next morning.

Sandi - thanks for the information. I did change my reservation to stay two nights at the Marriott. I have plenty of time to change it if dh has a better plan.

For the Woodbury trip, have you checked out the Fox Hollow Inn? That's not too far. Or you can call Crest Hollow and see if they have any recommendations - maybe they can get you a price break somewhere.

There's a ton of places in the theater district, but if you're going to be hungry then I'd suggest Becco on W. 46 b/w 8&9 for good pasta and a much calmer scene then you'd encounter pre-show. They also have a fun wine list. Good luck!

<i>For the Woodbury trip, have you checked out the Fox Hollow Inn? </i>

That's where I got married (in 1973)!

That address sounded to me like Bay Ridge or Bensonhurst and sure enough, Google Maps says it's Gravesend (adjacent to Bensonhurst).

[Aren't all these old-time NY names creepy? LOL. Hell's Kitchen has at least one other official designation - Clinton - but I think we NYers prefer the grittier nomenclature! Don't worry, though - despite a rough past, the neighborhoods are now a lot nicer than the names! :D ]

Anyway... Gravesend is on the southern end of Brooklyn, not far Coney Island. You'll basically get on Ocean Parkway south (ask someone at the church for directions to it) and pick up the Belt Parkway east to head to Long Island.

From there, you have some options, depending on traffic. First, some background:
- Basically, you'll be on the southern side of Long Island, and Jericho Turnpike is on the northern side.
- There are three major roadways that run east/west along the island: Northern State, Southern State and the LIE, the first two of which are winding and don't allow trucks. (Note: the Northern State begins where the Grand Central Parkway ends in Queens. Also, don't confuse the Northern <i>State</i> with Northern <i>Boulevard</i>, also known as Rte. 25A, not to be confused with Rte. 25, which is Jericho Turnpike! *sigh*)
- There are a number of major north/south roadways that intersect the three east/west ones. The eastern end of the Belt (after JFK) splits to go either to the Cross Island Parkway (north/south) or the Southern State Parkway (east/west).

So. Your most straightforward option would be to follow the signs for the Southern State Parkway and stay on that until the Seaford-Oyster Bay Expressway/Rte. 135 and take that north. This parkway ends on Jericho Turnpike (Rte. 25): head east on Rte. 25 for about a mile and the Crest Hollow Country Club is on your left. Your Marriott is also on the Seaford-Oyster Bay parkway, in the stretch between the interchange for the LIE and the end of the parkway.

If the traffic on the Southern State is bad, you can head north before Rte. 135:
- At the end of the Belt Parkway, take the Cross Island Parkway north (instead of the Southern State) to the Grand Central Parkway east (becomes the Northern State once you cross the Queens/Nassau County border), or to the LIE/I-495 east. Exit for Rte. 135/Seaford-Oyster Bay Expressway north, then shortly thereafter, exit for Rte. 25/Jericho Turnpike east.
- Take the Meadowbrook Parkway or the Wantaugh Parkway north from the Southern State to the Northern State east. Exit for Rte. 135/Seaford-Oyster Bay Expressway north, then shortly thereafter, exit for Rte. 25/Jericho Turnpike east.
- Note that you don't want to get on Jericho Turnpike earlier, because despite its name, it's a smaller roadway with stop lights and will take longer than the parkways.

Of course, this being the NYC area, you'll likely hit traffic; the Belt gets bogged down but tends to clear after JFK airport, and pretty much any roadway in Brooklyn or Queens has the tendency for traffic jams! Even so, the drive from church to hotel should be about 1 hour, or less.

To get to JFK on Monday, take any of the east/west roadways to the Van Wyck Expressway/I-678 south; it feeds right into the airport. (If you take the Southern State, you will first merge back onto the Belt Parkway west, then follow the signs for the Van Wyck and the airport.)

I know I've given you a ton of information here! Definitely look at a map to get an understanding of our messy, intersecting roadways. (Google Maps is a good one; you can even zoom in to see cloverleaf interchanges and exit numbers.)

:) ggreen

...So of course my edits didn't take(!)
I had just wanted to add this:

Note: Unless they've improved it in the last few years, the on-ramp from Ocean Parkway to the Belt Parkway east is one of the trickiest I've experienced - but far from impossible. First it's a tight curve, then you are going uphill merging into traffic that is also going uphill - but without one of those nice long merge lanes you get on the interstate! Like I said, not impossible but very surprising if you don't know how it is.

Also, in re-reading my directions, I feel I should emphasize that the Marriott hotel is very conveniently located on Rte. 135, between where you'll get on it and the reception on Jericho Turnpike. Since it's just north of the interchange between Rte. 135 and the LIE, it also will be easy for you to head east to visit your friend in Islip.

I have never been to Woodbury other than for the wedding I went to, but I recall that there appeared to be a number of nice shops; I'm sure you'll be able to find a good bagel place for some Sunday breakfast and coffee! :)

Okay ggreen - you are offically my new best friend - you were not even looking for one now where you? I am definately printing out your posts and will take them in my travel file! Thank you!!!!

Depending on what type of food you like, here are some recommendations:
Steakhouse - Del Frisco's (really great steaks)
American - Bar Americain (newest Bobby Flay, good but very noisy)
Greek/Seafood - Milos (delicious, pricy!)
Japanese - Nobu 57 (tasty and good for the occasional celeb spotting)

I have wanted to try Nobu57... I think they have other locations as well no?

Technically, there are two other locations in NYC (both in Tribeca), but really it's just Nobu (the original) and Nobu Next Door (literally next door which doesn't take reservations and does take out). The food is basically the same at all three restaurants. Nobu 57 (on 57th st) is the newest, biggest and closest to Times Square. I think there are also a bunch of others opened around the US (like in Vegas and Miami), but I've only been to the NYC ones.

You've gotten excellent directions. I just wanted to say that both the church and reception hall are beautiful. You're going to have a great trip.

Dohlice,
thank you so much for the feedback and everyone else as well. This is such an awesome forum!

We have always had a blast at his families weddings - they are a wonderful large New York Italian family - very fun.

Thanks Dawn!! :&quot;&gt;
I'm glad my directions can be of help. (There's gotta be some payoff for years stuck in traffic, right?)

I used to work around the corner from Nobu 57. I've never eaten there, but can tell you that some of their coctails are quite yummy! I like the space, especially since they took what was a drab store in a drab commercial block and turned the interior into something special - yet you could walk right by and never know it was there! It's a bit of a walk from your hotel but certainly do-able. And you may well want to stretch your legs with a stroll after your meal!