My daughter wants to have her sweet sixteen in NYC at the end of November/beginning of December, but she can not decide where to have it. She was going to have it at the Sugar Factory, however one of her friends beat her to it. She wants to have it somewhere similar to the Sugar Factory; somewhere that is loud with music and has a really fun atmosphere. She doesn't want somewhere that serves chinese or mexican food; she likes American. We have no budget. Thank you!

How many people? Private room?

Are you speaking of THIS year? Like in a few weeks? If so, you should decide asap. I think your choices will be very limited at this late date.

Stanton Social, Tao? Those seem to attract out of towers for celebration meals..I've not been to either, though.

What do you mean by "American" food? Hamburgers? Pizza?

What do you mean by music? Is it ok if the place plays music in the dining room or are you talking about music to dance to?

20-30 people, does not matter whether it's a private room or not. Yes, in a few weeks, so I would like to plan ASAP. By American food I mean things unlike chinese or mexican. By music, I mean similar to Sugar Factory where the music is currently popular and loud

I've never been to, or even heard of, Sugar Factory, so I don't know what the music is like. Ma Peche plays pretty loud current music, and I would bet that the others I mentioned do the same.

It won't be easy to get tables for that amount of people on such short notice, so try to do it soon. I gave you a few ideas in my post above.

Another idea os Momofuku Ssam Bar where you can book a large format meal. The food is great and the place is very hip and well known; I think it would be a good bet if you can get space. Music is loud.



https://ssambar.momofuku.com/ssam-ba...group/#bo-ssam

eks, Ma Peche and Momofuku are not what I would call "American" food. These are teenagers, so I assume that the OP means no Asian, nothing "ethnic".

I have no idea what would compare to the Sugar Factory, it serves a very specific niche clientele, kind of a cross between a restaurant and a cheerful, bright sort of club. A friend of mine described it as Chuck E. Cheese for older teenagers and younger twenty-somethings.

Maybe some of our resident NYers will weigh in...

https://www.yelp.com/search?find_des...New+York%2C+NY

Midtown loft
On a yacht?

Google is your friend in a case where you have little time, no ideas and not too likely to get first hand answers here.

OKAY -- I don't live in Manhattan -- but even in my mid-sized city this would be very VERY late to be planning a party for that many, and especially wanting a specific atmosphere.

IF Sugar Factory is available -- even if your daughter's friend is going there, it might be your best bet.

A Sweet 16 party ? Thought those went out long ago.

https://www.nywatertaxi.com/charters

I have a friend that does their marketing but she just had a death in her family so not bugging her but they do events and you could do a late afternoon/sunset cruise.

Ma Peche and the Momofukus have many dishes that are not overwhelmingly Asian. Ma Peche, for example, is famous for fried chicken which sounds pretty American to me. I'm posting the Ssam Bar menu below, where you can find, among other dishes: Oysters, oxtail, pork chop, roasted scallops, steak, etc etc.

David Chang's places (I've eaten quite a few times in both those eateries) are en eclectic mish-mash with a youthful vibe. And music that sounds very loud to me. I think they would be great for teenagers. But not the kind of teenagers (and I know there are many of these) who would turn their nose up at one unfamiliar ingredient. Maybe teenagers with a little bit of sophistication in the food sense.

https://ssambar.momofuku.com/ssam-bar/menu/dinner/



But agree that you might want to make a Sweet 17

None of the Momofuku restaurants is appropriate. While they are eclectic in their approach to cooking, they are CHINESE restaurants, based on Asian tastes and an Asian menu of food, the exact opposite of what the OP is asking for. The fried chicken dinners (while they have a traditional American option) accommodate 8 not 20 or 30.

Ironically, there are more options for this kind of thing if you are interested in Asian tastes. Tao, Buddakan, and Spice Market all offer the atmosphere you are looking for. Though I still would argue that none of the Momofuku restaurants is appropriate.

How about Max Brenner? I'm just not sure about their playlist.

I was going to say the same, doug_stallings, that all the sort of club/resto hybrids I can think of are Asian in style. I guess I thought that as an out-of-towner I could be wrong about that.

I thought the OP was looking for something more than a sit-down restaurant, but who knows if shell ever come back to fill us in??

David Chang is a Korean American and I do not think that he would think of his restaurants as chinese. Most of the exotic spices listed on the menus are Korean; I see little Chinese and have not encountered any dish that I can remember as being Chinese at any number of meals at his various places and I am curious how much you know, Doug, about his restaurants and about Asian cooking.

The large format SSam Bar dinners do not include Fried Chicken in any case. The choice is brisket, duck, or rib eye in various combinations. The chicken is a much lauded specialty of Ma Peche.

Someone who is interested in Max Brenner would not be interested in any of the places I mentioned so I will back out of the conversation.

As an editor here, Doug, you should also know that Spice Market is closed.

What about booking a section or the balcony at Ellen's Stardust Diner on Broadway?

The food is definitely 'American' -- that is diner food. The music is not what your daughter might be thinking of but it's lots of fun. The waitstaff are all singers and dancers and do loud, fun Broadway, etc. numbers while serving and they get the patrons very involved. It's great fun and will be something different than the other girls' Sweet Sixteen parties.

I took my then 14-year-old niece there and she loved it. You could go to the dollar store and buy the girls kitchy 'costume' stuff like glitter sunglasses and feather boas!

Here's the link
http://www.ellensstardustdiner.com/

It sounds like the OP Is looking more for a party than just a meal and frankly I'm stumped. When my girls were that age they loved Tao - but it was for the food and over the top atmosphere - no music.

FYi Spice Market closed a few weeks ago..