Nyc Tomorrow!

[pixiegirl]

I have copied down the list of restaurants that have been posted here but was really looking forward to eating at Blooms Deli on 350 Lexington Ave, because I can have french fries... but the web site isn't working and I heard that they were undergoing some renovations, does anyone know if they are open??

Also we only have a few days but any suggestions of things to do with a 14 year old, my daughter, would be great! We are going shopping and will see a lot of the tourist sites, but anything else that is a must see? Do you think she will enjoy a few hours at MOMA? She wants to see the wax museum so we will do that too (kids!).

Also if Blooms is closed are there any other deli's that are gluten-free?

Susan

[mookie03]

I dont know if Blooms is open or not, but you should try Peters- it is a diner on the upper east that i heard is excellent. Definitely check out the MOMA, the renovations are great and i think they have some good exhibits right now. It is free on friday afternoons if you will be here on a fri (but beware- long lines those days!) I love the wax museum- i think its really cool. If you plan on seeing a show, i really liked Doubt. You could also try the cheap tix line for other shows. Also, dont forget Risotteria has pasta tuesdays, so if you are here on a tuesday, u should definitely go. And also in that area is Cones- great ice cream. Should be nice weather this week, so be sure to spend some time in central park Have a good trip!

[flagbabyds]

RISOTTERIA

Best gluten free dining in the world, sooo yummy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I wish I could go there everyday because it is so yummy, you must go. When I go to visit my sis, we go like 5 times w/in 1 week. It is so good, their website is www.risotteria.com

According to their website it is "gluten free heaven" and i wholeheartedly agree with it.

MOMA is a lot of fun, and I am 15. Just shopping and walking around is what is really fun.

[penguin]

I would definitely reccommend the Sony Wonder Technology Lab at Madison Ave. and 56th st. It's in the Sony building, and best of all, it's FREE !!! It's kind of a museum type thing with technology and you get to play with gadgets and video games. I think a 14 year old girl would like it, my 28 year old brother and I (I was 19 at the time) both loved it. I've been there a couple of times since, and it's awesome.

The Central Park Zoo is my favorite zoo in the whole wide world! It's cheap to get in, I think it's $8, and they have seals, polar bears, penguins, and tons of other animals. It's not the biggest zoo in the world, but it's got a lot of charm. Spend a lot of time in Central Park, actually. You've got strawberry fields, Belvedere Castle, you can rent a bike...so much to do.

Shows I've seen are RENT, Les Mis (obviously while it was still on broadway), Chicago, AIDA, and Into the Woods. I'd reccommend all but Chicago, I wasn't terribly impressed. Tix are way cheaper at the cheap tickets booth in Times Square, and you would be surprised how good the seats are. Get there early, and have a top three shows you'd like to see, more than likely one will be available.

If she's up for getting up early, go to the Today show and stand outside. One of the most touristy things you can do, but it's a fun experience. Also ride the Staten Island Ferry, it's free and you can get better pics of the skyline and the statue of liberty than you can on the boats that go to the statue of liberty. Oh, and the best places to find knock off designer stuff is in Battery Park, and to a lesser extent Chinatown.

I don't have a clue about what to eat, I haven't been up there to see my mom since Dx. I think I've read that sabrett's hot dogs are gluten-free though...

I'M SO EXCITED FOR YOU!!!!! :-D

[pixiegirl]

thanks all I'm getting ready to leave for the train now, we are both so excited, will have a full report when we get home!

Susan

[TinkerbellSwt]

wow chelse.. you have seen quite a few broadway shows! I love going there, I just saw The Producers a few weeks ago, I loved it! It was so funny. I want to go and see much more, but my dh doesnt like broadway much. He only wants to see Spamalot! The best show I have seen to date is Beauty and the Beast. It was fantastic.

I cant wait until she gets home and gives us a report on how NYC went!

[jkmunchkin]

I don't know if you'll have internet access while you're gone but if you do Avenue Q is the best show ever!! Then again this also depends how old your daughter is. It's not that appropriate for really young kids.

Definately go to Risotteria!!!!

My favorite thing to do in the city is just walk around and shop.

Again, depending on her age, take her to American Girl Place. It's right next to Saks, so you can do some shopping after too!!! And it's in the middle of Rockefeller Center so you can kinda kill a few birds with one stone.

Great week to be here. Perfect weather!!! Hope you're enjoying your time here, and if you don't have internet while you're here well then this was no help. LOL!

[Robix]

I know this trip is with your 14 year old - but the Oyster bar (hope you like seafood!) in Grand Central Station is an institution! Its been there forever, the ambiance is really cool in a checkered table cloth and diner kind of way - and of course, the seafood is amazing (and naturally gluten free! Just don't eat the crackers!).

I LOVE that place - its a bit more expensive than a hamburger joint, but garanteed you won't get sick.

Have an awesome time there! And of course, matinees on broadway are great - she might enjoy seeing the Lion King! Or waiting by the stage door for Julia Roberts' autograph (she is on broadway these days). Actors usually arrive 90 minutes before curtain, the ideal time to nab an autograph.

Enjoy!

[pixiegirl]

Ok we are back from NYC, wow we had a wonderful time! We ate at the Risotteria twice and hit a lot of the other restaurants that were suggested in various places on this board. Blooms the Deli is closed, bummer. We did eat at the Oyster bar and they were fine with gluten-free, our waiter totally understood it and had had many customers with the problem, he kept saying yes I understand, it can't touch gluten things, no sauce, clean the grill, and I didn't get glutened at all.

As far as what we did... well everything, this is just a small taste of our exploits: World trade center memorial, wall street (I'm a stockbroker), South street seaport, Statue of Liberty, Staten Island Ferry (its free and has great views of NYC and Liberty), shopping (from Bergdorf's to Century 21), Moma, Time Square at night, Wax museum, Broadway, Top of the Rock, NBC studio tour, Today show, carriage ride around Central Park, the Dakota and Strawberry Fields, Flatiron building, St. Patricks and St. Pauls, the Village, SoHo, Tribeca, the subway!

We never stopped but really had a blast!

Susan

[jkmunchkin]

Ok we are back from NYC, wow we had a wonderful time! We ate at the Risotteria twice and hit a lot of the other restaurants that were suggested in various places on this board. Blooms the Deli is closed, bummer. We did eat at the Oyster bar and they were fine with gluten-free, our waiter totally understood it and had had many customers with the problem, he kept saying yes I understand, it can't touch gluten things, no sauce, clean the grill, and I didn't get glutened at all.

As far as what we did... well everything, this is just a small taste of our exploits: World trade center memorial, wall street (I'm a stockbroker), South street seaport, Statue of Liberty, Staten Island Ferry (its free and has great views of NYC and Liberty), shopping (from Bergdorf's to Century 21), Moma, Time Square at night, Wax museum, Broadway, Top of the Rock, NBC studio tour, Today show, carriage ride around Central Park, the Dakota and Strawberry Fields, Flatiron building, St. Patricks and St. Pauls, the Village, SoHo, Tribeca, the subway!

We never stopped but really had a blast!

Susan

Wow, glad to hear you guys had such a fabulous time!!!! If you come back soon, I called Bloom's today and they are scheduled to open between May 5th and May 10th. Good to know about the Oyster Bar. I commute from Grand Central every day and never would have thought to eat there!

Oh an also if you come back, right by the Dakota is a restaurant called Sambuca that has a gluten-free menu. It's a family style Italian place. I used to love it pre-celiac, and although I haven't been there yet to try their gluten-free menu I've heard from a couple people it was good.

Come visit us again soon.

[pixiegirl]

Jillian,

I'll be back in June to see 3 Days of Rain, even thought Julia isn't getting great reviews I'm excited to see it. Sambuca was on my list but I didn't make it there, what is the restaurant like atmosphere wise... I'm going to be there with my best friend and she's umm high end, so I need to scope out a few really good places...

I was worried about the oyster bar but my fish was done plain and simple and my veggies and red skin potatoes were steamed... I react easily and didn't have any problem there. I'm sorry we missed Blooms, I will certainly hit it in June!

Susan

[jkmunchkin]

Jillian,

I'll be back in June to see 3 Days of Rain, even thought Julia isn't getting great reviews I'm excited to see it. Sambuca was on my list but I didn't make it there, what is the restaurant like atmosphere wise... I'm going to be there with my best friend and she's umm high end, so I need to scope out a few really good places...

I was worried about the oyster bar but my fish was done plain and simple and my veggies and red skin potatoes were steamed... I react easily and didn't have any problem there. I'm sorry we missed Blooms, I will certainly hit it in June!

Susan

Well Sambuca isn't the place you go to be seen, but any time I went there they had great food. The atmosphere lends itself to a homey feeling, family style restaurant on the Upper West side. Has pretty, warm decor. It's a place to go eat if you just want good food in a nice setting but not all the drama of an "it" place. I'e never heard anyone, high end or not scoff at Sambuca.

Lumi, which also has a gluten free menu is a bit more of high end italian restaurant. Again, not a place to necessarily be seen, but it's more of an upscale italian restaurant, and not your typical chicken parm. type of entrees. They have an incredible gluten free pasta with shrimp and asparagus. Lumi has an air of sophistication without the snottyness about it. It has become one of my favorite restaurants. I should add that the management is extremely, extremely nice.

A 3rd option with a gluten free menu, is Asia de Cuba. A few years back this was one of "the" restaurants to go to. It's since cooled off in status, but it's still had the status at one point and it's a restaurant that no one would go, "where'd you go?" Everyone knows it. Which sounds like something your friend is looking for.

How high end is your friend? It doesn't get any more high end than where I work, so to be honest I'm I tad skewed in my perception of what high end is and the above options may be high end enough for her, but I'm writing this with people I work with in mind and if I suggested Sambuca as a viable option I think they would kick me out of the building but for most normal people this is a nice place. Let me know if something more exclusive and "fabulous" is what she is looking for and I'll see what I can come up with.

[pixiegirl]

Oh well she is fairly high end but not snooty, back in the days when i could eat pizza we ate at some real dives but they had the best pizza! We don't need to go to a place to be seen... both of us will be happy with really good food. I wanted to try both Lumi and Asia de Cuba when I was there last week, so maybe we will try them in June along with another stop at the Risotteria and Blooms!

I can guarentee our shopping will be high end! Thanks for all the info!

Susan

[mookie03]

Susan- i agree with everything Jillian said- u could also look at Tropica if you will be here on a weekday- its pretty expensive but supposed to be excellent. www.restaurantassociates.com. All of their restaurants are great, and really nice atmospheres. And by the way- my roommate just went to see 3 days of rain and said it was pretty good-- julia wasnt great but the play was really good.

[pixiegirl]

Excellent, thanks for the help, I can't wait to go back to NYC, what a great town and so much more friendly then my own, Boston.... Also thanks for the info about the play, I'm a big Julia fan so I know I'm going to enjoy it either way. We have good seats too right in front, we got them the day they went on sale.

I'm thinking of going a day early by myself I want to see Jersey Boys too and spend an entire day at MoMA and I don't think my friend would do that (she does like art but not an entire days worth).

Susan

[jkmunchkin]

Susan- i agree with everything Jillian said- u could also look at Tropica if you will be here on a weekday- its pretty expensive but supposed to be excellent. www.restaurantassociates.com. All of their restaurants are great, and really nice atmospheres. And by the way- my roommate just went to see 3 days of rain and said it was pretty good-- julia wasnt great but the play was really good.

Oh yeah Tropica is nice too. Especially in June it has a nice relaxing atmosphere. It's a good lunch place. Restaurant Assoicates actually does the food in our cafeteria at work, and they definately do a good job.

Let us know when in June you're coming back. Maybe we could all meet up?!