<p>atomom- which of the cheap restaurants did you enjoy? Any suggestions for good, reasonable would be great!</p>
<p>Another vote for broadwaybox.com. Easy to use and great discounts. You can view seating charts as if you were on Ticketmaster. </p>
<p>Someone earlier mentioned the Frick. There was an article in today’s WSJ about a current exhibit:[What’s</a> Ticking at the Frick Collection | Precision and Splendor | By Barrymore Laurence Scherer - WSJ.com](<a href=“What's Ticking at the Frick Collection | Precision and Splendor | By Barrymore Laurence Scherer - WSJ”>What's Ticking at the Frick Collection | Precision and Splendor | By Barrymore Laurence Scherer - WSJ)</p>
<p>Other smaller museums, worth checking in advance to see what is on display.</p>
<p>Museum of the City of NY (105th & 5th or thereabouts): [Museum</a> of the City of New York : MCNY Homepage](<a href=“http://www.mcny.org%5DMuseum”>http://www.mcny.org)</p>
<p>Museum of Arts & Design :[MAD</a> Museum](<a href=“http://www.madmuseum.org%5DMAD”>http://www.madmuseum.org). This one is right at Columbus Circle so you can stop into the Time Warner Center and go up to the third floor for a sweet treat at Bouchon Bakery. </p>
<p>NY Historical Society:[New-York</a> Historical Society<a href=“77th%20&%20Central%20Park%20West–just%20down%20from%20Museum%20of%20Natural%20History”>/url</a>.</p>
<p>These three are all small museums and only worth visiting if one has an exhibit that interests you or your group.</p>
<p>Sportsmom–inexpensive dining (relatively speaking)…I mentioned Bouchon Bakery above. They have a cafe with table service (as opposed to the bakery). Limited hours, and I don’t think they take reservations, but I haven’t eaten there in years so worth calling. For anyone in town during holiday season, late afternoon seating affords excellent views of Christmas decorations down 57th St and CP views.
<a href=“http://bouchonbakery.com/storage/uploads/bbtw-cafe-menu-2013-01-23.pdf[/url]”>http://bouchonbakery.com/storage/uploads/bbtw-cafe-menu-2013-01-23.pdf](<a href=“http://www.nyhistory.org%5DNew-York”>http://www.nyhistory.org)</a></p>
<p>Along the same lines as Eataly and Chelsea Market (but still different), the Food Hall at the somewhat recently renovated Plaza Hotel: [The</a> Plaza Food Hall | The Plaza](<a href=“http://www.theplazany.com/dining/foodhall/]The”>http://www.theplazany.com/dining/foodhall/)</p>
<p>Balthazar was good although loud, but that is a function of the French bistro decor. You may end up squeezed around a bistro table but the food is good. Bryant Park Grill—not bad, not amazing…not inexpensive. Location is the key here, but b/c of that, they do a lot of tourist/one-off business so service can be rushed. If the choices were between eating at Bryant Park Grill and Central Park Boathouse, I would choose the Boathouse for its more magical location, but if you want to eat outside in midtown and go into the meal knowing that this is what you are paying for, then it will be great.</p>
<p>A couple of suggestions–</p>
<p>If you are going to the WTS, get tickets online before you go. It is very crowded. And if you are downtown, a fun relaxing time for you and your friends is a round trip on the Staten Island ferry. You see the NYC skyline, Statue of Liberty and Verazanno Bridge. I think it is free.</p>
<p>Make sure you have the Open Table app. You can see times open and make reservations at restaurants that you know you want to go.</p>
<p>Shows, museums and parks ( Central, Highline, Battery, etc) are all good ideas. Shopping can be overwhelming. Walking around is a must–Village, Chelsea, UES, UWS, Brooklyn Bridge, etc. So much to do. Have fun!</p>
<p>On an early fall trip we took to NYC last year, we had a great evening at the Metropolitan Museum of Art rooftop. Go to the back of the museum, take the elevator up, have a glass of wine, walk through the installation and look over Central Park. Never had been up there before and it was great fun.</p>
<p>[url=<a href=“The Met Fifth Avenue | The Metropolitan Museum of Art”>The Met Fifth Avenue | The Metropolitan Museum of Art]The</a> Metropolitan Museum of Art - Roof Garden Caf</p>
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<p>sportsmom, what are your dates? Some of my actor friends regularly do shows there and they’re great fun. I can check and see if any of them are scheduled for the time of your visit. Very talented performers and a fraction of the price you’d pay anywhere else.</p>
<p>The actual diner where Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld conceived the show is the Westway on 9th Ave around 44th (I believe). Food is plentiful, cheap and good. Tom’s, where the exterior shots for Seinfeld were done is on the UWS and not that great, in my opinion. </p>
<p>I agree with fafnir about going to see a show. If there’s a particular show that you definitely want to see, get your tickets in advance, even if you use broadwaybox or playbill, both of which offer discounts. I wouldn’t waste time standing in line at TKTS. An alternative, if you’re in the theatre district an hour or so prior to curtain, you can check at the box office for any available tickets. Often people will turn tickets in, which won’t show up on the websites, and if house tickets (those available to cast and their friends/families) aren’t gone, they will also be available last minute. You are likely to get far better seats this way, and often at a discount. Keep checking playbill.com prior to your trip so that you’re familiar with what is playing and will still be running during your visit.</p>
<p>On a sunny afternoon, the South Street Seaport can be fun. Lots of street performers, a bit of shopping and some good spots for a nice lunch or a cold drink, overlooking the Brooklyn Bridge. You can also get the boat tours here but I would advise against the long trip all the way around Manhattan. It does get boring after a while and it eats up a lot of time. The Staten Island Ferry ride is a better idea, in my opinion, and it’s free. The hop on/hop off bus tours are a good way to see lots of different areas and not have to worry about getting cabs/navigating the subway. There are different routes to choose from, too.</p>
<p>The museums are all great. I happen to love the Met and second someone else’s suggestion of a drink on the rooftop. Beautiful!</p>
<p>There are lots of great restaurants–we especially like WD-50, Ma Peche, and Jewel Bako. We recently went to Mission Chinese, which was great but you have to wait in line. For (relatively) cheap food, a trip to one of the Indian restaurants on 6th Street is fun.</p>
<p>Another nice casual place to eat is Bar Boulud across from Lincoln Center. It’s got a lot of charcuterie and outside seats as well as a big table where you sit with strangers. It’s less fancy and less expensive than some of his other places.</p>
<p>I will second the recommendation for Bar Boulud. The food is good and certainly less expensive than his other restaurants, they honor their reservations and you can actually have a conversation with your fellow diners.
The Met roof is lovely and pretty magical at evening. I’ve been in the museum several times however when access to the roof is closed because it is too hot, or about to rain…</p>
<p>South Street Seaport was heavily damaged by Hurricane Sandy. pier 17 is slated to be torn down this fall and replaced with a new building. </p>
<p>The free Staten Island ferry is one of the true hidden bargains of NYC.</p>
<p>We just ate at Bar Boulud this weekend for the first time–I agree, it’s very nice and the food is excellent. We also had a nice meal at Artisanal.</p>
<p>The Brooklyn Botanical Garden, although not as big as the NY Bot. Garden in the Bronx, is much more accessible–at Grand Army Plaza in Brooklyn, nearest subways the 2 and 3, less than 15 minutes from lower Manhattan. If you go on a Saturday, there’s a greenmarket at Grand Army Plaza, a long block away from the garden entrance. The one in Union Square is much bigger but this one is pretty good. The Union Square one is there Mon, Weds, Fri, and Sat.; the Brooklyn Grand Army Plaza one Saturdays only. Both are best in the morning.</p>
<p>Ok…we’re back. And we had a great time. We went to see Mathilda…wonderful. Walked Central Park, the Highline, Didn’t do any shopping…darn! Had dinner with cousins…Everything is wonderful. You never know what surprise is on the next street.</p>
<p>Right around the corner from Bar Boulud is Boulud Sud – tasty small plates and drinks.</p>
<p>Others have mentioned shows, and don’t forget off broadway. If you have never been there, check out what performances are going on at Carnegie Hall, it is a jewel just to go inside it, let alone the performances there (and for trying to get it torn down, may Robert Moses rot in hell, along with the other things he did to attempt to destroy NYC)</p>
<p>The NY Botanical gardens is not a big deal to get to, you can get to it from Grand Central in about 20 minutes on Metro North, the station is literally right across the street. Especially in may, it is stunning to be there,and is worth the trip IME. </p>
<p>The highline is a trip, and the district it is in is fascinating, especially remembering what it used to be like:). Lot of high end boutiques and restaurants, though I do recommend Park 17 (10th ave btween 17th-18th), really neat restaurant, not super high priced. </p>
<p>Walking around the village, both the west village and east village, is always pleasant, even though it has so gentrified it retains little of its bohemian past. One place to stop is along bleeker street in the central village, where venues like Cafe Wha? and The bitter end still exist as they did in the 60s when Dylan and other got their start there. If you like coffee, wander down Christopher Street to Mcnulties, which is between 7th avenue and Hudson street. During the day, wander down to the river, what they have done on the west side is amazing. </p>
<p>Chinatown is still a lot of fun if you aren’t into upscale stuff. There is always Katz Deli on Houston and Ludlow, though you have to be careful about that, the food is still great, but you have to time it, with the tourist bus influx deciding this is authentic NYC, it can be crazy at times, as I found out one lunch hour when a fellow employee and I decided to take a long lunch and hoof it down there…(stay away from the Carnegie Deli, it is overpriced and the food is not so great). </p>
<p>For high end shopping (or window shopping) 5th avenue in the 50’s cannot be beat, or madison avenue (above my budget, but still a lot of fun). </p>
<p>Other restaurant I would suggest, for something different, is Carmine’s , not the one on 44th street in the theater district, but the one near 92nd and broadway. Kind of family style Italian food, but def a NYC original.</p>
<p>If you want to try something different (perfect for a girls trip into the city), try Lips Restaurant, been around a while, it features outrageously funny drag shows (if your friends and you have that kind of a sense of humor), I believe it is in the 50’s on the east side now, used to be in the west village. </p>
<p>The staten Island ferry is a really fun ride, and given it is free, well, helps save money for more important things:).</p>
<p>One other possibility, check out the cloisters, part of the Met Museum, it is pretty accessible from the A train, and features beautiful grounds that will be flowering, plus they often have music and special shows there, as well as the permanent collection of medieval items. </p>
<p>If the weather is nice, do walk across the Brooklyn Bridge</p>
<p>All great ideas.
Thanks</p>
<p>The group could be as small as 4 and as large as maybe 8.</p>
<p>I grew up in the tri-state area and haven’t spent much time in the city in years (just college touring with the k1 and k2)</p>
<p>Milestone event and most of the group would fly in.</p>