BoxcarWillie

My wife and I and three children (ages 17, 15, 9) are going to New York City for four nights between Christmas and New Years. It's our first trip to NYC. We are staying at the Essex House.

We plan on going to theater shows three of the four nights. Can anyone recommend good restauarants to eat dinner prior to the shows? Our requirements are good food and service and not necessarily white table cloth. We prefer a "unique" NYC experience for dining in a fun atmosphere. We are willing to eat earlier if we have to travel more of a distance. We want to vist Chinatown, SoHo, Little Italy and Greenwich Village while in NYC, so would it make sense to eat in each of those areas and then go to the shows?

I hope there is a NYC logistical consultant out there who can help me. Also, any recommendations on self-walking tours would be greatly appreciated. Thanks very much!!!!

Patrick

So many places, so little time! A few "special" but moderately priced places to eat that would be fun in the theatre district are:
Becco: on 46th, unlimited three pastas of the day served from pans at your table. Popular and reasonable -- book ahead.

Ollie's Noodle House: Inexpensive but good Chinese on 44th just off 7th (Times Square).

Ruby Foo's, more of the same as Ollies', a pretty place and more upscale and trendy, but not as good in my opinion -- just more atmosphere.

Tao: Even more trendy and upscale. Huge, spectacular with a giant Buddha in the middle. Share Asian dishes -- really fun, but noisy.

JR's, behind the Marriott Marquis, an old-fashioned bar looking place with absolutely wonderful hamburgers (especially the blue cheese ones) as well as a full menu at inexpensive prices. I think it fits the idea of a "unique New York experience".

Utsav, between 6th and 7th off 46th Street. A pretty upstairs Indian restaurant for something different. Especially great for its very reasonable lunch buffet -- perfect before a matinee.

Joe Allen's: on 46th, a real celebrity haunt, but mainly for late dining after the shows. You need to book one week ahead. Inexpensive, brick "basement" feel filled with posters of Broadway "flops". Hamburgers, salads, omelettes -- a real varied and moderately priced menu.

kab3164

I always like to go to Bubba Gump's Shrimp Co. in Times Square - it is fun and the food is good.

tpatricco

kab are you serious? With all the excellent culinary choices at varied price points in Manhattan, that's like going to Olive Garden for Italian!

michelleNYC

Willie, You will not be able to have dinner downtown (i.e., Village, SoHo, Lit. It., or Chinatown)as this would not give you enough time to get to your shows which are in Midtown. If you want to have dinner before your show you will need to stay close. My recommendation is to have dinner before your show one night and after your show another night -- this assumes you will not be seeing shows all four nights of your stay! Patrick's suggestions are, as always, quite good with the exception of Tao, which is good but a little too far. I recommend Joe Allen or many of the restaurants on Restaurant Row. How about Becco?

kab3164

Yes, tpatricco, I am serious. BoxcarWillie did say that he has 3 children and is looking for a fun atmosphere. I don't see why going there one of the four nights would be such an awful choice. They may have fun there.

Patrick

Michelle, I wouldn't have normally mentioned Tao for theatre district, but notice that they are staying at the Essex House. Isn't Tao sort of "right on the way" coming or going to the theatre?

HowardR

I agree with previous posters that it would be impractical to dine in Soho, Little Italy and/or Chinatown for dinner just before the theater. Perhaps you can include one of more of them for lunch during one of your walking tours.

HowardR

As for restaurants, I too think Becco would be a good choice for your family, assuming they like pasta. If that one sounds good to you, make reservations NOW! I kid you not. It may already be too late! You are coming to NYC the busiest week of the year and restaurants in the theater district will be booked solid for pre-theater dinners. Becco's number is 212-397-7597.
If you like BBQ, then try Virgil's (212-921-9494). But be forewarned: It's very, very popular and even with reservations, you may have a wait that week.
Again, wherever you decide to go for dinner, especially in the theater district, make your reservations right away for that week.

michelleNYC

Yes, Patrick, it sort of is but I'm thinking that they're going to have to walk everywhere Midtown -- getting a cab and traffic will make it impossible to do anything but walk. That said, it probably would be a good idea to get to somewhere in the area, have dinner and calmly walk to their show and not have to actually run. Round trip subways are a must for the other areas -- everyone should keep in mind that the week between Christmas and New Years in NYC is traffic HELL, gridlock to the extreme -- subways and walking are really the only option unless you want to cab it before 7:00am and after 1:00am. ;-)

PS. Thanks for reminding me re: Tao! I think I'll drop by there tonight for a cocktail!!

KathrynT

BoxcarWillie,

I am seriously considering the Essex House for my family's vacation (also first time) next summer and will be curious to hear how you liked it. I'd also love to read a trip report all about your trip. Have a great time!

paige

Check out Menupages.com. They list full menus, most with prices. I used it for our trip to NYC in October. Got suggestions from this forum, then printed the menus and consultanted with my family before making reservations. For Italian, we liked Tony's I think it was on 46th or 44th. They also serve large, family size portions. For the three of us we ordered one salad, one pasta and one entree and had left-overs. I thought it was more reasonably priced than Becco. We ate at Joe Allens after the theater one night. It was okay, but the food was nothing spectacular. Also tried John's Pizzaria which is in an old church and enjoyed that. Might be a good choice with your teenagers.

I'm with Tpatricco on avoiding the chain restaurants when you are in New York.

tpatricco

Thanks Paige. We made the mistake of eating at Bubba Gump's a number of years ago in Maui. With so many excellent choices in NYC, I'd definitely skip the chains.

Shelly's New York is great for a Theatre night. Good steaks & something for everyone.

Cara Mia on 9th Ave. in Hell's Kitchen is good, not wallet breaking for Italian. http://www.caramianyc.com/

BlueSmoke for BBQ is good. http://www.bluesmoke.com/blue/index.html

Duke's for American home cookin' type food on the corner of 19th & Park behind City Crab.

Have a great time in NYC!

BoxcarWillie

Thanks to everyone for your advice. It sounds like there are many very good restaurants in or near the theater district.

We will take your suggestion and not try to eat in SoHo, Chinatown or Little Italy before the theater. Does anyone have suggestions for late breakfast or lunch in these areas?

Are taxis really that scarce the week between Christmas and New Years? Are the subways safe after the theater heading back to the Essex House? Or could we walk? It looks like it might be 15 blocks or so, depending on which theater we attend.

Thanks again for everyone's input.

nytraveler

The subeways are perfectly safe - but I would walk unless the weather is really bad - great to cleaar your head after sitting in a show for hours.

Getting a cab after the theater is always difficult - can easily take 15/20 minutes - and will be especially hard at that time of year. You will stand no chance against locals - don;t even try.

mclaurie

I agree trying to eat downtown, especially that time of year before theater is not a good idea. If I had 4 nights to dine, 3 being in the theater district I'd pick

1)Trattoria Dell 'Arte - Italian, fun (plaster body parts everywhere including a big nose in the window-some celeb sighting), great food but also good pizza and antipasto on the way between your hotel and the theater.

2)Joe Allen-good basic American from burger and salads to chili and meatloaf. Also some celeb sightings but more after the theater than before.

3)Foley's Fish House with a view of Times Square (in the Renaissance Hotel)

No one mentioned Virgil's BBQ which is good if you like BBQ.

4)Spice Market or Sushi Samba or someplace else downtown and a bit trendy.

Yes, it's very hard to get a cab that time of year and it's always hard to get a cab after the theater. I'd take a bus uptown on 6th or 8th ave. to Central Park South if it's too cold to walk.

For breakfast downtown, Balthazar in Soho has their own bakery. The Cupping Room is also good in Soho.

JBRaceway

Hey board... Thanks for the tips ! Saw 700 Sundays & The Producers (both Excellent)! Joe Allens was great (John Lithgow & Jeff Daniels at the next table). Good menu and very nice people. Sardi's "garlic Shrimp" for $38 was not as good as my wife makes.
Marriot room service bacon cheeseburger & coke $34 !!! Glad it was a business trip ! PS Is there a more beautiful "man made" structure in America than St Patrick's Cathedral ? Not that I've seen.