Is there a restaurant you would recommend for an early dinner for a fairly large group (16) on the Saturday night of Thanksgiving weekend in the Madison Sq. Garden area?

That area doesn;t have a whole lot of restaurant choices.

But for us to give recos it would help to know"

who (a family groups - a bunch of 20-somethings)

budget range

cuisines you like/dislike (there are some ethic choices in the area - but if you want steak/burgers we need to know)

I of course meant to include all those factors, so here they are -- 6 adults, about 10 twenty-somethings. Not fancy and not terribly high-priced, since we adults will be paying for all the kids, even the ones who don't belong to us. Cuisine can be almost anything - burgers, Italian, barbecue, diner, not fish and not haute cuisine. It doesn't have to be "at" MSG, but we are going to the Garden for an 8:00 event.

"Not terribly high priced" really doesn't help that much. Be specific. Give a dollar range.
When you say "adults" and then say, "10 twenty somethings," I assume the adults are old enough to be the parents of the "10 twenty somethings." I'm not sure, since in my world, "twenty somethings" are considered "adults"!

Howard, good point about the "adult" comment. You're right -- 2 50-somethings and their 20-year old daughter, 2 50-somethings and their 20 and 22-year old daughters, 2 50-somethings and their 18 year old daughter, 20 year old son and 23-year old son and his friends.

Dollars - I'd say up to $30-40 a person would be fine. Is that reasonable, or should I increase the "budget"?

If you're going to an event at MSG, I understand staying in that area. There are some good Korean restaurants on 32 st. (look on menupages.com) or you could go to Keen's STeakhouse and eat off their pub menu. http://www.keens.com/pubmenu.html

If you're not going to MSG, go to another neighborhood with more interesting dining options.

Sorry, I see you did say you're going top the garden. Be sure to leave yourselves PLENTY of time to eat. Serving a group of 20 takes a lot more time unless you pre-order which is something you might want to consider. The Zipper Factory Tavern
http://www.menupages.com/restaurantd...=0&cuisineid=0

or Seven
http://www.menupages.com/restaurantd...=0&cuisineid=0
are some other options.

None of the restaurants in Little Korean would be able to handle a group that large, and to be honest the food in that area is a bit dicy, unless you know of a specific restaurant.

The only one I can think of that could handle your group and the food is good, is the Italian restaurant in the Ramada on 8th Ave and 35th ST. The restaurant is large enough and is usually not full. You would need to make a reservation for a group that large and I will be in that area today so will get the name and post back.

I have eaten there several times and have always been impressed with the food and service.

Maybe we'll stick to hot dogs at the Garden!

We like Il Bastardo for a pre-garden dinner, it's owned by the same group as Roberto Passon. It's on 7th ave btwn 21-22 street, About 10 minute walk from the garden. Food is good and reasonable.

Ginger's - a Chinese restaurant on Seventh Ave. between 37th & 38th. The last time I was there, they had a large group in a downstairs room.

512 7th Ave,
At 38th St
Phone: 212-768-3100
Fax: 212-768-0033

you should do a search for this question on chowhound.com There are tons and tons of posts on this subject.