Everything & Anything New York City

richardw

Threebabes wrote: »

...Any advice on eating out, we are room only....

I'm a big fan of the classic American diner, great for breakfast, there are a good number of them, but some are much better than others, google maps is your friend to find them.

Are you thinking of a Broadway show, or is that stretching the budget a bit too much?

Which street and avenue is your hotel near to?

Threebabes

richardw wrote: »

I'm a big fan of the classic American diner, great for breakfast, there are a good number of them, but some are much better than others, google maps is your friend to find them.

Are you thinking of a Broadway show, or is that stretching the budget a bit too much?

Which street and avenue is your hotel near to?

American diners sound good. The kids want to go to Carlos bakery (tv chef) is that easy enough to get to?

Also best shopping areas would be good.
Yes i would love to go to a show if possible. I have found out about a tkts booth, would you recommend?

Having checked out whats on maybe Les Mis or School of Rock.

We would something to suit the kids, we have already been to see lion king, matilda, wicked.

My daughters and I are so excited about going, its somewhere Ive always wanted to visit. We may have combust by october :rotfl:

Thank You

John259

Threebabes wrote: »

The kids want to go to Carlos bakery (tv chef) is that easy enough to get to?

Presumably you'd want to visit their Manhattan location?
You can use Google Maps https://maps.google.com to plot routes from your hotel to the bakery, then select between walking and public transport (bus or subway).
Here's the Manhattan location in Google Maps:
https://goo.gl/maps/4eQAHCSB51k
(Zoom out to see the wider picture)

BTW here's the official NYC subway map:
http://web.mta.info/nyct/maps/subwaymap.pdf

And here's a video about how to ride the subway:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xXbSqFqZvFc

Indout96

Threebabes wrote: »

We have 5 1/2 days/6 nights staying in midtown, near central park.
Any advice on eating out,

We were at Sheraton on 7th ave between W52 / W53 so I am guessing in the same area you are looking at.


Good food :
The Irish Pub
Park Caf! @ Wellington hotel (you don't need to go in the hotel)
Applebees - might be a chain but great food


Bad Food
Rosie O'Gradys - poor food and poor service.


Lindys - always busy but we just never got to eat there but looked very good

John259

PeacefulWaters wrote: »

For breakfast we just went to McDonalds

An excellent idea. I'd also highly recommend Hardee's breakfast biscuits, which are scones cut in half with a choice of fillings much like Egg McMuffins have. (The same chain is called Carl's Jr in western states.)
Photo:
http://c767204.r4.cf2.rackcdn.com/00534349-2d7d-41ef-81db-7d447caa7ccd.jpg

John259

richardw wrote: »

It's a long way from NYC by ground transportation

FWIW, Google Maps showing a possible route from NYC to Bangor Maine via Boston:
https://goo.gl/maps/h6u2qPwYGvj

bluenoseam

Threebabes wrote: »

American diners sound good. The kids want to go to Carlos bakery (tv chef) is that easy enough to get to?

Also best shopping areas would be good.
Yes i would love to go to a show if possible. I have found out about a tkts booth, would you recommend?

Having checked out whats on maybe Les Mis or School of Rock.

We would something to suit the kids, we have already been to see lion king, matilda, wicked.

My daughters and I are so excited about going, its somewhere Ive always wanted to visit. We may have combust by october :rotfl:

Thank You

I used the Tkts booth in Times Square last year, can't say I noticed much in the way of discount on the ticket which for an off-Broadway show was $70 all in. Just be warned that yes it's discounted, but it's still not going to be cheap & that there are plenty out there who'll take advantage of tourist's drive to rip you off. If you've already seen Lion King & Wicked, how about trying to get tickets for Aladdin, it's not long opened, it's getting rave reviews & winning awards right left & centre. It could possibly be pricey, but well, there's the fact that your kids can always say they've seen a premier show on Broadway - that's pretty cool to me!

Threebabes

richardw wrote: »

I'm a big fan of the classic American diner, great for breakfast, there are a good number of them, but some are much better than others, google maps is your friend to find them.

Are you thinking of a Broadway show, or is that stretching the budget a bit too much?

Which street and avenue is your hotel near to?

We are on W57th between 9th/10th Avenue.

PeacefulWaters

Threebabes wrote: »

We are on W57th between 9th/10th Avenue.

Holiday Inn.

You'll do a lot of walking and it will be worth it!

There's a Deli on the corner to the left for brekkie. Maccies 10 minutes walk. Starbucks opposite. TD Bank free ATM 5 minutes away. Irish Bar nearby too. Ask on check in if the hotel have any food deals.

I can't stress how useful google maps is for maximising the time you have there.

bluenoseam

Worst case scenario being that on 57th you're a 5-10 minute walk to Columbus Circle & 5-10 minutes into Times Square on the subway, granted it'll be chain stuff but you can spin round 5 times and fall into some place to eat there!

Some of the best "discoveries" I had in New York was to ask at reception in the hotel, I've been lucky enough that the times I've asked I've had real good suggestions. All the guide books in the world will tell you the hottest places to go, the best eateries & all that jazz, but they'll also be telling everyone else too. Natives on the other hand know good places where it's quieter, so don't rule out asking the receptionist if they know some place good to grab breakfast/lunch!

I've never personally bothered with the NYC pass (or any other variants), I've always thought about it before hand & went with a plan. With that being said I can't stress enough the importance of figuring stuff out before hand - then you can see if the expensive pass actually works out to be cheaper. Look at the sites you want to visit, price them up individually & then you can properly evaluate the value of the pass, if you're visiting several of them already it may make sense.

Write a list of options that you'd all like to see & do, it might help you to grab a map so you can see the proximity of the various things you want to see & do. Then that way you can maximise the impact you can have while minimising the amount of transition between the activities - cos no one really wants to spend half their holiday on the subway. Good thing about that is it also lets you figure out stuff like finding recommendations online for meals etc a lot easier.

Pah why is it this thread constantly makes me want to say "fudge it" and go back to New York, been twice now & still barely scratched the surface!!