Recommend a New York restaurant & show

Cafe Society
1

My wife and I are having a weekend in New York to celebrate her birthday and would like to go to a nice restaurant and see a show.

For the restaurant, something romantic but not stuffy. Cost is not terribly important, but I’d probably avoid the real high end stuff. We like most types of cuisine, although I cannot say that I have ever seen a romantic Asian or Indian restaurant, so it is more likely to be American/French/Italian.

For the show, this is a bit tricky as we don’t generally like modern musicals. I hated Cats (one-song-show) and walked out of Les Miserables (no-song-show). On the other hand, I liked Oliver! and love My Fair Lady - shows with a good story and penty of good songs.

Your help will be appreciated.

2

If you like blood and gore with a humourous touch, I recommend The Lieutenant of Inishmore. It’s a play, so you will be safe from song and dance numbers.

You got me on a romantic restaurant. I like places with good food and good atmosphere, and don’t really care how intimate/dimly lit they are. As long as I can talk to my wife, we’re doing fine.

3

Show: Wicked and The Producers both have catchy tunes and good stories.

Restaurant: I don’t know if I could describe this as “romantic” in the classic sense, but Foley’s Fish House in the Renaissance Hotel (7th Ave and West 48th St) is a memorable dining experience. Good seafood, and a spectacular view of Times Square (the restaurant windows are just below the giant Coca-Cola sign).

4

Are you talking about a dinner & theater evening, as in, should the restaurant be close to the theater district?

5

Possibly a horse drawn carriage ride away…?

6

My fiancee who generally hates the typical broadway musical loved Dirty Rotten Scoundrels. Johnathan Pryce is great and so is Norbert Leo Butz. It’s exactly like the old movie, but with dirty songs. So if you liked the movie there’s a good chance you’d enjoy the show.

7

They don’t have to be close - we are there more than one night.

8

OK - hit me with those then.

9

Don’t know how you feel about comedy, but I saw Avenue Q over spring break and it was fantastic.

10

Part of your show decision will be based on what tix are available. If you don’t have a big lead time, the most popular shows like Wicked, Spamalot, Mamma Mia and Lion King just won’t have tickets for you to buy, unless you feel like spending BIG bucks. I really liked Dirty Rotten and the Producers, they’re well done shows. If you’re thinking romance, I’ll plug my wife’s show, Beauty and the Beast. It’s a nice little love story, lavish costumes and sets, with dancing silverware!

For a pre-show meal, I’ve always had a nice time at Joe Allen, which is down 46th st. I had a miserable time at Broadway Joe’s (also on 46th) the one time I was there, so I’d suggest avoiding that place like the plague. The pre-show dinner experience is a tad rushed, since everyone has to get out by 7:45, so it may not be as romantic as you’d like, you can’t dawdle over that glass of wine for a half hour. For an un-romantic meal, you can eat where the crew and actors eat, at the Cafe Edison (in the Edison Hotel). AKA the Polish Tea Room, it’s pretty much a diner with good food, served speedily, at theatre worker prices.

11

If you haven’t seen Phantom of the Opera, GGGOOOOO! There’s good reason it’s the longest running show on Broadway ever.

12

I second Foley’s for the quintessential spectacular Times Square view. It’s quite unbelievable, actually.

For a dreamily romantic restaurant, I’d grab a cab and head to Osteria Stella, located at 135 W. 50th St., between Sixth and Seventh Aves. The food is Italian, the interior is bathed in sumptuous golden hues. Beautiful. Go a bit early/late and miss the crowds.

13

All righty then.

L’ecole (full name, L’Ecole at The French Culinary Institute, 462 Broadway in Soho) is the most romantic spot I’ll list. It’s a training school for chefs, which makes it somewhat more affordable. Always packed.

Like meat? Try Cambalache on 64th and 1st ave. Although I’ve never had the steak at this Argentinian steakhouse, everything else on the menu is great. GREAT!. You must order a spinach empanada if you walk in. Otherwise I will hunt you down. :wink:

If you want Mexican that won’t break the bank, try Mama Mexico (214 E. 49th St. or 2672 Broadway). I always like guacamole made at the table and my own personal mariachi band. But wander away from the traditional fajitas and tacos and try their fish instead. Trust me.

For more good latino flavour, head to the Upper West Side and Calle Ocho (446 Columbus Ave) I went there last year for restaurant week and enjoyed it. Can be loud though.

You can play “which episode of Sex and the City took place here” at Eleven (Madison Ave). And if you don’t enjoy the food or the atmosphere, go have a milkshake across the street in the park.

Where else do we frequent… Alice’s Tea Cup has two locations (or chapters, per the book-related lingo) on the Upper West Side and near Bloomingdale’s. Nice place for lunch or High Tea, if you’re into that sort of thing (MrsB is a regular…)

More French-- Payard (1032 Lexington Ave@73) is nice and pricy and full of beautiful people eating hoity toity desserts.

14

If he hated Cats and Les Miz, I doubt that he would like Phantom.

15

I’m English. High Tea will do very nicely.

Thanks for the suggestions.

16

For Traditional (capital ‘T’) Italian with servers who will treat you and your bride like both royalty and family, I recommend Patsy’s. Sinatra used to eat there. It’s close to the theater district, about 10 blocks north of Times Square. However, it’s best to allow yourself plenty of time and linger over dinner and wine. It’s not for a quick bite before the show. I love (and rarely indulge in) restaurants that take care of your every need, and this one does. Or did, when I was there a few years ago.

As for the show [deep breath]:

The Big Obvious:
The Drowsy Chaperone: big Tony winner, sort of a meta-parody of cheesy musicals of the twenties and the cast is great. I saw a bit on the Tonys and it looked like a lot of fun.
Jersey Boys: the other big Tony winner. By all reports the (good) exception to the rule for "Jukebox Musicals."If you don’t mind the songs being sixties pop songs, and the (true) story being about Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons, this one’s a good bet.

Better Chance for Tickets:
Dirty Rotten Scoundrels: I’ve heard nothing but praise for this show since it opened. Often when the original cast leaves the show quality declines, but every follow-up I’ve heard has been nothing but love. That indicates strong story and songs. I don’t think you need to have seen the movie to enjoy it.
The Producers: Another one that doesn’t suffer from loss of its high-profile leads. A really enjoyable, big, splashy Broadway spectacular.
The Light In the Piazza: Romantic story, and really gorgeous music. But I believe it’s closing July 2?
Sweeney Todd: If you like Sondheim, you must see this superb stripped-down version. But if you want uplifting singy-dancey-kissy, this isn’t for you. Dark, dark, dark.
Wicked: None of the songs do anything for me, but apparently it’s wildly popular.

Not So Much:
Avenue Q: Basically a R-rated version of “Sesame Street,” complete with songs about porn, loud sex and racism, and includes plenty of profanity and “full puppet nudity.” In short: hilarious. I loved it, but it’s not for everyone.
Spamalot: Fun, but I felt the music was kind of blah, and not particularly interesting for the non-Python fan.

Don’t forget Off-Broadway! Many hit Broadway shows start there, and you might find some real gems in a smaller venue, for less money. Of necessity, these are usually more arty (Slava’s Snowshow, Blue Man Group), plays, or non-traditional musicals ([title of show] - yes, that’s the title), so perhaps not what you’re looking for. Check for reviews and take a chance, they could use the business.

Do not assume that tickets will be hard to get for any show. Competition for audience is fierce. If you’re willing to gamble a little, try the TKTS booth in Times Square (bring cash) for half-price tickets on the day of the show. If price really is not an issue, try buying direct from the show’s box office before you go to a ticket broker or hotel concierge. The box office will nearly always have the best selection of seats for the standard ticket price (they will not offer you discounts, don’t ask), and low - if any - service charges.

Sometimes great seats that are unused by VIPs are released for sale 24-48 hours before curtain time, so with good timing you could get something in the 7th row center when the day before it was only row ZZ. However, don’t ever ask the box office if “something better” will be released later. They don’t know, they won’t tell you, and the question will just upset them (can you tell I’m in the business?).

17

My favorite restaurant (now that Lutece is defunct) is The Four Seasons. In the Seagram building. Impeccable service & lovely food every time. The pre-theater menu is reasonable and you are served & out for your theatre engagement without ever feeling rushed. Ask to sit by the pool.

http://www.fourseasonsrestaurant.com/index2.htm

VCNJ~

18

Then you will enjoy Alice’s. Cookies, cucumber sandwiches, proper scones and a tea selection that takes up 8 pages of a book.

However, if you find yourself feeling a need for bangers and mash with a pot of Typhoo, check out Tea & Sympathy (108 Greenwich Ave) or the chippie next door.

19

Saw Sweeney Todd on a recent NY trip and was disappointed. I’d always wanted to see the play (how can you go wrong with a musical about cannibalism?) but I hadn’t read enough of the reveiws to realize how stylized and “artsy” this production was.
It was good up to a point. The acting and music were good, and the comingling of the musicians and actors was interesting for a while. Serious theater enthusiasts probably saw more in the production than I did, but the bottom line was that it just didn’t entertain me the way I had expected.

20

Thank you everyone. I thought I would come back to post where we eventually went. For dinner we chose Foley’s Fish House, as that was recommended by a couple of you. The view was great, the atmosphere fine, the service very good, the food decent (but not great) and the alcohol plentiful. We had a great evening.

For the show we chose something not recommended in this thread at all - Chicago. This was partly because it sounded like the opposite of a LLoyd-Webber style musical, and partly because they had a show on Sunday evening (few others did) and that best suited our schedule. We loved it - we both thought it the best musical we have ever seen.

And to add a recommendation myself, we had pre-theatre dinner at Pigalle on the corner of 8th Avenue and 48th street and it was excellent for the price.