Pre & Post Broadway Show Dining - with Teens
 

Looking for dinner and after show dessert recommendations for family with 3 kids, 14, 17, 21, on a Thursday night. Any suggestions appreciated.

If you like Italian, I can recommend Carmine's on 44th off Broadway. We ate there a few weeks ago and plan to go back in June with a teen.<BR><BR>The food was great, as was the service. The atmosphere was lively and it's a good choice for a group. They serve family style (very large portions meant for sharing).<BR><BR>They also seat until midnight, I believe. I'd suggest a reservation since they were still quite crowded at 11:30 p.m. when we were there. It might also depend on what night of the week you're there as to how crowded it gets.<BR><BR>It's well worth a try if you get a chance to go.<BR><BR>

This is what I did when I took 3 teenage boys to see the Producers: Chimichurri Grill - (it's between 43 & 44th Street on 9th Ave) the salad bar is an outragious first course to an amazing amount of meats that arrive at the table - this worked out so very ell with boys and their bottomless stomachs...<BR>as suggested by someone else I took a (mixed age) group of 6 to dinner before cabaret and we went to Ruby Foo's - we had a round table in the back room and ordered an array of salads, soups, dumplings - it was fun and delicious!

Sandy, I think Carmine's is a good idea for a family...they serve very good Italian food family style...make sure you're all hungry...the only place I can think of for dessert that's near the theater district that would be open would be something like the Stage Deli or the Carnegie Deli...they serve huge portions of cheesecake, pies, cakes, etc....I'm pretty sure the Stage on 7th Avenue is open 'til around 12 or 1, but I"m not sure about the Carnegie...Serendipity on East 60th Street is ideal for dessert, but I don't know how late they're open.

Another idea for dessert is Roxy on Broadway across from the Times Square Visitors Center near TKTS. I can't think of the cross street now, but I think that it might be 46th.<BR><BR>Roxy also serves great deli style entrees and everything there is huge, too.

You'll like Carmine's, but you may also want to consider Becco, for one main reason: They have all-you-can-eat pasta specials, so if you're feeding teenage boys, you won't break the bank. Plus, the food and service are good.<BR><BR>As an aside, Becco is a little less festive and elegant than Carmine's, but my philosophy with teens has been: when you're taking them out, make it feel as if it's something special and different. Of course, that's totally personal.

Oops! Meant to say Becco is MORE ELEGANT than Carmine's.

I'll throw a spanner in the works and recommend Joe Franklin's Memory Lane, on 8th at the corner of 44th or 45th. It's relatively new and doesn't have the rep of the more established theatre-district restaurants, but like Avis, they try harder. They have a prix-fixe theatre menu and from what I've sampled, very good food. Also to their advantage is that it's not packed.