My fiance and I will be spending several days from Dec. 26th til the end of that month in Manhattan and are thinking about eating dinner at Tavern on the Green as it seems like it might be a neat place to be during the holidays. I would appreciate any suggestions on this as to whether or not you agree that it would be a good "Christmas" place to dine or if not, what other suggestions would you have?

Please, not this discussion again. Look up Tavern on the Green in the index and you'll find a whole lot of discussion about that place -- great to tourists, terrible to residents.

Since this appears to be your first post WELCOME. What earl30 means is there is a long thread on this restaurant with all the pros & cons. If you type Tavern on the Green in the text search box above all the threads with a mention will load on the left. Look at the most recent with thta title. It has about 40 odd responses.

It IS a good place for the holidays. To look for other suggestions try typing restaurants AND celebration AND nyc in the text search.

Trying to keep out of the pro and anti Tavern on the Green debate this time, I'll just add that if you decide to go, make sure you make reservations at least a month before you go (even sooner if they'll accept them), as you are going during the peak time of the year.

I'm really laughing, Mclaurie. "about 40 ODD responses". I couldn't have put it any better myself.

I can't help but laugh at your post, Tobin. So if the food is terrible or for whatever reason the restaurant is overrated, it is OK to eat lunch there. Why on earth is it OK to eat a bad lunch, but not OK to eat a bad dinner. This makes no sense to me. Either you should eat at a place or not, but to say eat lunch there even though it isn't good, just seems silly to me.

Maybe because the 'experiment' would be less costly at lunch. (I'm guessing that's what was meant).

Well, Ted that would make some sense if the restaurant were an unknown, but I can't figure out why someone who seems to know would say the place is overrated, but I suggest it for lunch. Especially in a city where there are thousands of other good possibilities.

I totally agree with that, Tobin. That's why on these Tavern on the Green posts, I am often the one saying to ignore the detractors. It is a famous and memorable place, so if you want to go, then go. But I just didn't get why going for lunch is necessarily a better idea than for dinner.

C'mon, Patrick, it's quite obvious what Tobin meant. And his point is quite logical and valid: Spend as little money as necessary to experience this famous tourist mecca! That's it!

Wow, guess I'm not good at explaining myself, Howard. I thought my last post meant that I "didn't" get the original idea, but now I do.

All this hullabaloo about the Tavern on the Green just makes me want to eat there to find out who is right.

The last time I was in NYC, I had lunch at Fraunces Tavern because I had never been there. It wasn't gourmet, but it was OK. I have no complaints and I did see the musem on George Washington's Farewell Address upstairs.

Now I wonder if I committed a terminal faux pas by eating at a tourist place even though I was a tourist.

Please enlighten me.

I had Thanksgiving dinner there with my husband and son many years ago. I don't remember the food at all, but the Crystal room is beautiful at night. I would recommend going for dinner for that reason, not for the food