Where to eat on Broadway? What to do before & after show??

[moopdog]

I'm talking my 10 year old to see Matilda The Musical on Saturday!! We are taking a bus trip that will drop us at 10 AM and leave the city at 7 PM. The show is at 2. I've only been spent the whole day in NYC twice before - I'm NOT savvy.

I definetly want to show her:
Central Park (quick walk is fine)
Times Square: M&M store, quick walk through ToysRus, not sure what else.
FAO Schwartz

I really wanted to try Ellen's Stardust Diner. Has anyone been? Are there long waits? It should be near the theatre, right?

Really wanted to do Bodies the Exhibit but I guess it's closed right now.

Really wanted to go to SOHO to check out the Scholastic Book Store because we are book nerds & I'd love to see it. But not sure if it's "walkable" or if a taxi or subway would be needed.

Open to ideas & suggestions. The show smack in the middle of the day will make it difficult to do much so I need to have a game plan.

Thanks guys!!

 

[bamagirl@hrt]

I've only been to NYC twice, so I'm certainly no expert. On my last trip two years ago, I did eat at Ellen's Stardust Diner. My party of 4 ate a late dinner (around 8pm) and we waited 30-45 in line. It totally was NOT worth it! The singing is cute, but the food is mediocre at best. It would be totally doable for you. The theatre for your show is on west 44th Street. Ellen's is on Broadway at 51st Street - a walk of less than 1/2 mile.

I would recommend Junior's, and there is a location on the same block as your theatre. They have delicious burgers and their cheesecake is to die for! We ate there before our matinee show. We had a short wait, but not too bad. The inside of Junior's (that location anyway) is bigger than most of the other NYC restaurants I went to.

The M&M store & Toys R Us are both between your theatre and Ellen's. FAO Schwartz is near Central Park on 5th Ave. The Central Park Zoo is in that lower right area of the park, which is close to the 5th Ave entrance. You would cover the area pretty briskly, but it's doable in the time you have.

I'm sure others with much more NYC expertise will also come along to help you out. Have fun! My family is planning to go back to NYC next year. My son hasn't been yet. It is an amazing city!

 

[FiggieFan]

I love NYC! We went looking for Ellen's Stardust Diner and got turned around and missed it. We ending up eating elsewhere.

We always do Rockefeller Center (get a nice shot of Radio City) and walk into St. Pat's Cathedral which is right there, then down to FAO Schwartz and Central Park.

The Time's Square area is usually the most congested, so be careful about being separated. We were clinging to each other on our last trip so the flow of the crowds didn't push us apart. We tried the Disney Store there and had to fight to get in, then could barely move once inside. As much as I love Disney, the crowds were a bit much.

We usually eat away from Times Square just because the crowds can be so horrendous and try to eat an early lunch over by Rockefeller Center, but that is just us.

I wouldn't go too far off the beaten path for one day. Have a great time! I am sooo jealous, but excited for you!

 

[bennifer]

I love NYC! It's been about 5 yrs since I've been there, but I'm hoping a trip is in my very near future! I've been to Ellen's numerous times, and I love it. Not the best food in the world, but it's not bad, and the atmosphere totally make it worth it! Have fun!

 

[hsmamato2]

Ellens is a lot of fun, I would think if you spend a couple of hours there either before or after the show..reserve ahead!

 

[czycropper]

We live an hour outside of NYC and my DDs favorite place to eat before a show is either Ellen's Stardust Diner - free show and we actually like the food but it depends on what you order and the other is Sardi's. Sardi's is reasonable if you order the pre/post show menu otherwise it's pretty expensive but with big servings. We've done both several times. We just went in with my DD band and choir and the whole group ate at Ellen's before going to see Wicked.

Carmine's is good but they give you way too much food and you have to remember that it's family style so only order one entrée unless you want to come out of there with a $160 bill for three - yep, my DD15 and her friend wanted different things so ended up getting 3 entrees plus dessert. Lesson learned!

Just walk around Times Square. Central Park is going to be a hike unless you just want to go to the corner and see it.

Have fun!

 

[msmama]

Maybe I'll see you in the city on Saturday!

If you have a smartphone, download Hopstop. I, frankly, don't know how it was done before that, lol. If you put where you're going and where you are, it'll give you options for bus, subway, walking, etc. It'll even do a combination of them.

SOHO is not walkable, but it's a fairly easy subway ride.

 

[donac]

We did Ellen's last time we were there. We went at 11 and there was no line. We then spent the time walking around Times Square. Central Park is a hike. I have also eaten at Juniors and those meals are also pretty big and so is the cheesecake. Carmine's always gives way too much food. There were 4 of us and we started ordering 4 meals and the waiter told us it was too much food so we ordered 1 entrée and one side. There is a 2 story McDonald's close by that we have eaten at and that was pretty cool. We did go into the Disney Store, M&M and Hershey

Have fun

 

[hlg22]

I ate at Ellen's Stardust Diner on a sisters/aunts/cousins family trip to NYC a few years ago - one of my aunts had heard about it and wanted to go. The atmosphere was fun, we went for breakfast on Sunday morning. Food was ok, not great, and it was too loud to really carry on a conversation with the singing. I think my little cousins (ages 10 & 13 at the time) enjoyed it though.

I've spent quite a bit of time in NYC as I've got many friends there but we generally eat at more adult focused, foodie restaurants, so I don't really have any other suggestions for you, sorry!

 

[Sagginit]

I'm talking my 10 year old to see Matilda The Musical on Saturday!! We are taking a bus trip that will drop us at 10 AM and leave the city at 7 PM. The show is at 2. I've only been spent the whole day in NYC twice before - I'm NOT savvy.

I definetly want to show her:
Central Park (quick walk is fine)
Times Square: M&M store, quick walk through ToysRus, not sure what else.
FAO Schwartz

I really wanted to try Ellen's Stardust Diner. Has anyone been? Are there long waits? It should be near the theatre, right?

Really wanted to do Bodies the Exhibit but I guess it's closed right now.

Really wanted to go to SOHO to check out the Scholastic Book Store because we are book nerds & I'd love to see it. But not sure if it's "walkable" or if a taxi or subway would be needed.

Open to ideas & suggestions. The show smack in the middle of the day will make it difficult to do much so I need to have a game plan.

Thanks guys!!

Soho is not walkable from Times Square. It will require a train or taxi. Honestly I can't see spending that much time of your day going downtown to a bookstore. My only suggestion would be if you do find somewhere to eat down there.

Central Park is also a bit of a hike so again it will require transit of sorts. i suggest skip it.

if i were you i would consider this. get off at 10 am and head to the sites in times square. you will probably end up around 50th and can then head over to 5th ave to take a peek in some windows as you stroll down to bryant park. this will also take you to Rockefeller center to walk around their a bit. on the way you could even head over to grand central. pick something up on the way to the park for a quick lunch as they have tables and bunches. there is a small carousel in there too and the NY library is at the one end of it. head back over to times square for the show. after hit juniors for dinner and if you have some time you can go back to times square for more.

trying to go to times square, soho, central park, and back to times square in one day is almost like trying to hit all four parks in one day.

 

[holden]

We love to eat at Trattoria Trecolori when we visit NYC. Our kids have eaten there a couple of times. American Girl store has lunch too, but the time might not work for you. Our kids also liked Bubba Gump, but I am not big on chain restaurants.

You should get to the theater early (maybe 20min. before the show), so you'll have only 3hrs. to kill (if the bus gets there a little late). I'd allow about 1hr to 1.5hr. for lunch, so that doesn't leave much time. Exploring Times Square will be fun! She will love the M&M store. The Disney store is neat too, though it's smaller than it used to be (it's in a new location). Rockefeller Center is fun to see too - lots of stores/places to eat. The Lego store there has neat lego sculptures.

Maybe do Times Square/lunch before the show and hit Rockefeller Center after? You could do the Top of the Rock, shop, eat, etc.

Enjoy the trip!

 

[clh2]

I second the getting to know HopStop - and if you have a smartphone - download the app. It is awesome, and will give you a time estimate on getting from point a to point b.

I think you need to really take a look at the area between where your bus drops you off, vs. your must do - which is the theatre, and then figure out what you can do in that general vicinity. It is easy enough to take the subway up to central park and back - but if it potentially only allows a very short time to see the park, based on needing to be at the theatre for a 2pm show. You really wouldn't have time to see something really cool - like the Belvedere Castle in Central Park.

I agree that the scholastic store looks like fun - but again - I would really try to determine if you can take a subway there - as odd as it sounds - I have heard that cabs can be somewhat difficult to get.

I would recommend going to Juniors - if just for the cheesecake

When we were in NYC in December - we enjoyed the Bryant Park area. Grand Central Station is really a neat building, so is the NYC Public Library - which is really in the general area.

Hope you have a great time!

 

[CarpeLiberum]

Hi!
Bill's Burger's is pretty good- it's on West 51st Street at 5th Avenue.
http://www.billsbarandburger.com/

Or there's a Shake Shack on 8th Ave & 44th St
http://www.shakeshack.com/

John's Pizza is decent 260 W. 44th Street New York, NY
http://www.johnspizzerianyc.com/

Hope these help- I live in the city, feel free to PM me if you have any questions.

 

[moopdog]

Thanks for all of your advice. I sooo appreciate it. I sent a PM to one of you, but I have another question. We are willing to heed your advice on skipping SOHO, but now I'm wondering about doing Top of the Rock. I see that there are ticket options online, where I can buy tickets now for a time tomorrow. But...how long should I expect to allot for that? Would I need to spend an hour there, or more? I don't really want to tie us up with any one attraction for much longer than that.

And if I DID do it, would we better to go right after getting off of the bus (10:30 am) prior to the 2pm show? I'm sure they serve some type of food at Rockefeller center...we could grab a quick bite, & do TOTR. Would we then, have time to look around Times Square (is that right around the corner)?? Then after the show we could check out FAO, & Central Park...right? I am having trouble with the logistics. I 'think' I know where stuff is, but until I get there & use my apps, I don't really know for sure

Also - my daughter is obsessed with awesome cakes (cake boss, etc). Is there a bakery that will blow her mind?? Kind of has to be in the area I'll already be in. Thanks so much!! Can't believe I'm just now getting a gameplan together and we leave tomorrow

 

[klacey1]

I'm not sure how long Top of the Rock takes but I'd be leery doing anything time consuming before the show. You'll want to be lined up outside the theater by 1:30ish and I'd hate to be constantly checking my watch at Rockefeller Center, worried about cutting it too close. (That may be just me though-- I'm a worrier about stuff like that and would much rather leave more time than I believe necessary to get from Point A to B!) If you do Top of the Rock, there are bunch of quick places to eat in Rockefeller Center-- Au Bon Pain & witchcraft are the first that come to mind. Neither are amazing, but if you're looking for a quick bite, they'll do.

The Scholastic Store is gorgeous (I used to work on that block!), but it would easily take you 30 minutes each way to get from Times Square or Rock Center to SoHo on the N or the R. Not worth it for such a short amount of time, in my opinion.

There is a Magnolia Bakery near Rock Center-- http://www.magnoliabakery.com/ Not so much in "fancy" decorated cakes, but if she loves yummy tasting cupcakes, your DD will love it!

 

[minnierocks]

Subbing for ideas...we will be there soon for a few days, so I am appreciating the input.

 

[flamestarrdust]

I lived in NYC for 5 years and my favorite Broadway restaurant is Ruby Foo's. It's pricey like the other restaurants there but the flavor and quality is well worth the price. If you go a couple streets over towards 8th Avenue, there are really great restaurants that are overlooked because they are not directly located in Times Square. They have terrific food at more affordable prices.

 

[ceecee]

Central Park is also a bit of a hike so again it will require transit of sorts. i suggest skip it.

if i were you i would consider this. get off at 10 am and head to the sites in times square. you will probably end up around 50th and can then head over to 5th ave to take a peek in some windows as you stroll down to bryant park. this will also take you to Rockefeller center to walk around their a bit. on the way you could even head over to grand central. pick something up on the way to the park for a quick lunch as they have tables and bunches. there is a small carousel in there too and the NY library is at the one end of it. head back over to times square for the show. after hit juniors for dinner and if you have some time you can go back to times square for more.

trying to go to times square, soho, central park, and back to times square in one day is almost like trying to hit all four parks in one day.

THIS! I totally thought the same thing when I read that post. Just not enough time especially if you are relying on a bus to get you home. Save SOHO and Central Park and Ellen's for another day trip.

 

[jls886]

Our family LOVES the cupcakes at Crumbs Bakery! There is one on 42nd right by Bryant Park. Magnolia Bakery is cute but we personally didn't like the cupcakes there, but they have great banana pudding if you like that!

I second Shake Shack or John's Pizza - both are very good and we have gone to both more than once. We are a family that didn't love Ellen's Stardust Diner. We were really hungry and our service was terrible because our server was always singing and collecting tips. We went there to eat and to have a fun show on the side...it really is a show restaurant with a little eating on the side.

 

[aprilgail2]

We are heading to the city in about an hour to see Matilda and then going to dinner at Tony DiNapoli. We usually go to Carmines since it is so cheap for 2 adults and 2 kids we got one entree and it fed us all-under 40.00 for 4 people! Trying Tony DiNapoli this time- they take reservations. Avoid Ellens if you are looking for anything edible-the food is horrific there.