My wife and I are taking our daughter to New York for a long weekend to celebrate her 16th birthday. We've got tickets to a matinee on Saturday and reservations at Tavern on the Green for Sunday Brunch.

I'm looking for suggestions of restaurants for Friday & Saturday nights as well as suggestions for daytime activities - my daughter has been to NY before so she's seen the Empire State Building and the Statue of Liberty. Any ideas that would appeal to a teenager would be much appreciated.

Does your daughter like sports? Maybe take her to a Yankees game - you can also go on a tour of the stadium.

For dinner, I think she may like a World Yacht Dinner Cruise - check out www.worldyacht.com.

Enjoy!

Hi Mike...I have taken my teenaged nieces and nephews on the World Yacht Dinner Cruise and the Bateaux New York Dinner Cruise and they all loved the experience...it's a wonderful way to celebrate a special occasion...World Yacht leaves from Pier 81 at West 41st Street and it's $70.00 per person for a 4 course meal that's very good...there's also a live band...you board at 6 and sail from 7 to 10...(212)630-8100...Beateaux New York is also wonderful and you get a good 3 course meal and entertainment...I think it's over $100.00 per person now...it leaves from Chelsea Pier 62 at West 23rd Street...you board at 6:30 and sail from 7 to 10...the views are wonderful...I've also taken my nieces and nephews to The Russian Tea Room and they loved the opulence of it...many will post that the food isn't worth it, but I think it's fine and it's worth the experience...afternoon tea at Lady Mendl's at the Inn at Irving Place, The Plaza, or the Pierre are also good choices for a special weekend...a shopping trip along 5th Avenue is also a good idea...Tiffany's sells a silver heart charm bracelet that's very popular with young girls.

How about River Cafe in Brooklyn? Spectacular views of Manhattan skyline, and, surprise, good food! If she likes sushi and/or Japanese, Nobu might be fun for celebrity spotting, although reservations are verrrrrry hard to get, and some say the in crowd has moved on.

Museum of Natural History is near Tavern on the Green, new planetarium is great.

Here are some of my daughter's favorite restaurants in Manhattan:
America on 18th Street between 5th and Brdwy-ecclectic American menu big and loud. In Flat Iron district which has great shopping and is quite cool.
Other cool area is St. Mark's Place. A 16 year old might enjoy a walk down this Street as well as 8th Street from Broadway to 6th Avenue, and Orchard and Clinton Streets and a few others on the Lower East Side-cool area.
Saloon restaurant on Brdwy across from Lincoln Center. Near Columbus Avenue- also great shopping area.
Cool Downtown places: Time Cafe on Lafayette Street, Bowery Bar off of Bowery has a great outdoor space and good brunch menu, Odeon in Tribeca-bistro menu downtown cool- Bubby's in Tribeca for great brunch. Balthazar on Spring Street in Soho- chic. Walk along Broadway and West Broadway in Soho. Italian greats are Bar Pitti (trendy)on 6th Avenue in the Village, Grand Ticino (old world) on Thomson, Lupa (trendy Roman) on Thompson.
Brooklyn: Smith Street is very cool. Great shops loads of restaurants lots of young people. Take F train to Bergen Street- Pepe Viola restaurant on Smith Street- good Italian food. Court Street in Brooklyn is also lovely- Casa Rosa old world Brooklyn Italian restaurant.
For the best Pizza in the world go to Grimaldi's Pizzeria under the Brooklyn Bridge. The lines are long but it is worth the wait. Order two pies. Then indulge in the great view of Manhattan. You can walk over the Brooklyn Bridge back to Manhattan and walk off the Pizza.
Have fun.

The Saloon restaurant that rb mentions (near Lincoln Center) is closed. And if you do go to Brooklyn to walk down Smith St. as rb suggests, there's a cool teenage clothing store called Crush there.

I'm not too good with teenage things yet (will be in 5 more years) but what does your daughter like? Art? Shopping? Baseball? (I would have loved a ballgame and the Natural History Museum exhibit at that age.) Music? History? Bowling? (Bowlmor in the Village!)

If she likes Mexican food, you can come uptown to Mama Mexico on Broadway & 102nd St where the mariachi band can play "Happy Birthday" for your table. And have the fresh guacamole!

It's been a while since we've been uptown-thanks for the update on the Saloon. We're downtown folks...but Bowlmor Lanes is a good suggestion- also, Chelsea Piers has a "disco" evening bowl-rather pricey but fun. YOu need reservations.

Don't miss shopping on Canal Street. The stretch between Mulberry & Broadway is the best.

shopping all day, interspersed with a great meal now and then, stopping in at MTV's TRL in Times Square and a show in the evening -- My 16yr old would not need to do one more thing in the City

Consider letting her bring a girlfriend and cut the two of them loose in Chinatown and/or the Bleecker Street area for a few hours on their own. My daughter is now 20 but for the past several years whenever she and her girlfriends come down here to visit, they always head straight for thse two areas to browse and windowshop. Boht areas are lively, safe and full of people. They absolutely love it. When she was a few years younger and did this I would just find an interesting cafe to park myself at (Cafe Reggio or La Lanterna on MacDougal are both good choices) and then meet up wiht them for dinner a few hours. they loved the freedom of being on their own for a bit but I had the piece of mind of knowing they were in a specific and limited area with a defined meeting place for later on.