Firstly, thank you to everyone for all your patience with my questions and your great advice (mclaurie, Patrick, HowardR, GoTravel, nytraveler and all the others)..

I'm finally going to NY next week, and based on your advice we will be doing the following in our 4-day anniversary trip:

Staying in the RC Central Park
Going to Wicked
Visiting the MoMA
Seeing the tree in the Met
Looking at the 5th Avenue Display windows
Walking across the Brooklyn Bridge
Going up the Empire State at night
Have drinks in the View bar in the Marriott Marquis

We tried to book a cross-section of restaurants in different areas. We have reservations in:

Blue Smoke
Erminia (anniversary dinner)
Tao (post theatre)
Otto (pre-theatre)
Cafe Botanica (Brunch)

My questions are:
* Are these good choices? In order of importance our criteria is food, buzz/atmosphere, service. Would prefer to keep it to about $200.
* Does Erminia really only have 12 tables? Does this make the service overbearing?
* Any recommendations for pre-dinner drinks near Erminia, Tao, Blue Smoke ?

Its not too late to change - I have discovered the joys of opentable.com!

Claire, I like the Broadway Bar on the 8th Floor of the Marriott Marquis much much better than The View.

You are only on the 8th floor so you have a fantastic view of Times Square without sitting on top of a high rise.

For a top floor view of Manhattan, I like the view from The Rainbow Grill Bar at the top of Rockefeller Center much better.

Why not just have your pre-dinner drinks at the restaurants? Assuming you are planning on sitting down for dinner by, say, 8-9 p.m., the "trendy" bars will not be that alive at an early evening hour!

When you eat at Otto for pre-theater, make sure you allow for a little extra time since it's down in the village and not the theater district.

Have to agree with GoTravel and the suggestion for the Broadway Bar at the Marriott. Much more interesting than The View.

I have to agree that lately I've been hearing/reading not great things about the View. I'd go to the Rainbow Grill instead.

I don't find the service at Erminia overbearing at all but it's clearly not a "buzzy" place. You asked for romantic and this is excellent food and a place where you're very much with your dinner partner. If you want to go someplace nearby for a drink before (just to see what another place is like) King's Carriage House is a block away (I think they have a bar area for a drink). Elaine's is about 5 blocks away and is a famous writer's hangout with a big bar. If you're doing this on a Fri or Sat night, the Met Museum is open late, has a bar and also live music and is not an unpleasant walk away (assuming it's not pouring).

You could stop for a drink at Gramercy Tavern before Blue Smoke. It's about 7 blocks away.

I think I mentioned before a stop into the new Time Warner building which isn't too far from your hotel. I'd at least do a drink there. You could stop at the lobby bar at the Mandarin Oriental (on the 35th floor) either before Tao or instead of the View etc.

I think the choices are good. The only one I'd question is Erminia. I worry it won't be special enough. I love it as a local (and have seen celebs there) but it isn't new or trendy or buzzy.

The lobby bar at the Palace is also a lovely place for drinks and with all the christmas lights in the courtyard, it's very pretty.

Also do you have to walk the Brooklyn Bridge, it will be VERY COLD, instead I would take a harbour cruise or even the Staten Island ferry (it's free) a much warmer way to see the lights of the city.

The windows to see are Macy's, Lord and Taylor, Saks (a total building show this year on every half hour), and of course lots of pretty windows heading up Madison Ave. as well.

Have a wonderful time in the city and congratulations on your anniversary.

mclaurie, what's the view like at the Pentop Bar at the Penninsula? Is it seasonal only? I haven't gotten a chance to go and I thought it was you who recommended this bar.

Most always have a cocktail on the 8th floor overlooking Times Square!!! The View doesn't impress me. I think the Pentop is seasonal as it was closed last april/may when I was working in Manhattan. Still on my list!

I've never been to Pentop in winter. I think I read they glassed it in but don't know. Wouldn't be the same.

I'm with you. I enjoy having a cocktail somewhere before going on to dinner -- just able to enjoy more places that way.

Near Tao, how about Monkey Bar. It's a fun and lively place, and they have great bartenders and even better drinks! By the way, they are really busy on week nights from 5 until dinner time -- local business yuppies delaying their trips home or on to dinner.

I know it sounds corny, and I'd never do dinner at Sardi's, but I love having a drink before the show at either their upstairs or downstairs bar. Also I love the horseradish cheese spread they put on the bar, which holds me over until I have dinner after the show.

And for something different, but I don't see where it falls into your schedule, you might want to have a drink in the Campbell Apartment (is that the right name?) inside Grand Central Station. It reeks of atmosphere and class.

Thank you again for all your help.

Don't worry about Erminia, I'm sure we will love it. I got engaged in Rome, and go back to Italy regularly, so it sounds perfect.

I will also visit the Time Warner center, the bar in Grand Central, the Monkey bar and the Met.

I will let you all know how I get on! My only worry is that the poor husband is afraid that this is organised like a military operation and he is going to be marched from place to place. But planning is half the fun.