Soho clothing stores for teens

And..here we go! Clothing stores for teens; right now I am concentrating on Soho and Broadway, where a host of stores from rityzy to chintzy attract all pocketbook levels.... H&M: bway bet broome and prince-2; TopShop 478 bway; Necessary Clothing, 442 Broadway

Restaurants for teens and 20's

I've a friend with a 16 year old daughter who I am meeting for lunch in NYC...and am a bit perplexed where to take her to show what a cool person I am! 30 years in NYC, but I really don't eat out that much--and when I do it is usually someplace like Sido, sitting on a plastic seat outside! I want someplace sort of trendy-- but not standoffish or too sophisticated. Here are some ideas I heard about after some research online at Chowhound and a few other spots: Cafeteria : 119 7th Avenue New York (at 17th St), NY 10010 212.414.1717 Schiller's Liquor Bar 131 Rivington St., New York, NY 10002 at Norfolk St 5 Napkin Burger Many locations including: 2315 Broadway @ 84th Street; 150 E. 14th Street, (212) 228-5500; Hells Kitchen-630 9th Ave @ 45th Street Delicatessen 54 PRINCE STREET, 212 226 0211 Gemma (Bowery Hotel): 335 Bowery bet 3rd and 2nd Pulino's Bar & Pizzaria-- Bowery and Houston Lunch Menu LePain Quotidien: (all over --these are Soho locations) Grand & Mercer; Bleeker bet Bway and Lafayette; (between Grand St & Howard St) Lombardi's-Spring&Mott 7A Cafe: 7th Street At Avenue A Cafe Orlin (st Mark's bet 1st and 2nd Grey Dog Coffee : 244 Mulberry Street and 90 University Place and 242 West 16 Street

Department store restaurants-blast from the past with a view

Like the author of this excellent review of NYC department store restaurants, I'm nostalgic for restuarants-within-stores, a holdover from my childhood when my mother would take me to Woolworth's for an open-face turkey sandwich, an experience I remembered both for its culinary pleasures, and the bonding experience with my mother while my older siblings were in school). That, trips to Boston Store as a pre-schooler, where (I am told) I was more than content with just a roll and butter, make me long for the experience of the department-store cafe.
Some of these restaurants sound like an excellent place to take mom and dad or nieces and nephews on a NYC visit, as many come with a view: Here are some that I'd like to explore:
1- Saks Fifth Avenue’s Cafe SFA, on the eighth floor. "The view alone is worth it: Rockefeller Center Promenade and rooftop gardens on one side, and along the other wall of windows, the neo-Gothic spires of St. Patrick’s Cathedral across East 50th Street"
2- Le Train Bleu at Bloomingdale’s "appears to be suspended between the sixth and seventh floors."
3-"Bergdorf Goodman houses the two best department store restaurants in town. BG Restaurant is a seventh-floor stunner: robin’s-egg blue whisper chairs and chinoiserie wallpaper. The vista of Fifth Avenue and Central Park leaves me awestruck. Meals are served, but I opt for afternoon tea ($35). The sun is shining as I start on the finger sandwiches (smoked salmon, egg salad, turkey and dill). By the time I’ve finished a perfect scone with Devonshire cream and four petits fours, it is dusk, and Manhattan is ablaze."
4- "Bar III at the Bergdorf Goodman Men’s store. Different décor — dark wood and white marble — but the same food as its sister restaurant, and there’s never a wait."

Hell's Kitchen doesn't live up to its name

I approach basically everything between 34th and 59th with trepidation. The tourist crowd is overwhelming and makes walking, people-watching--everything I love about NYC-- frustrating at its best, and infuriating at its worst (and I usually lean towards the latter, in case you're wondering). But a recent necessary foray into the wilds of the Theatre District/ Times Square (to see July 4 fireworks from the Interprid--which were FANTASTIC!) introduced me by default to a "new" Hell's Kitchen; a wondrous thing. We walked up Ninth Avenue (far less crowded and crazy-making than B'Way or 7th or 8th) and from about 44th to 55th were just amazed at the number of chic/ cool/ hipster-y restaurants and bars, filled with young people-- and we also saw lots of interesting looking and affordable menus. While I myself probably wouldn't hang out there on a regular basis I think it's a great area to send a younger crowd looking for more sophisticated bars than the usual East Village or Columbia or NYU fare--and I definitely want to check out at some point some of these really interesting looking restaurants. Or take a walk up or down just to people-watch. Hell's Kitchen definitely looks like the hot new place to live based on the crowd we saw there and it's wonderful to see it coming into its own.

Best seats in the house: Ballpark Cafe and Pain Quotidien in Central Park

Summer is here and perfect for outdoor dining (when it isn't raining that is--which it does a lot!!)--and two of the best outdoor dining choices are also the cheapest! Le Pain Quotidien has an outpost with seating for both table service and take out directly north of Sheep's Meadow (around 66th Street in the Park, past the old Tavern on the Green which also has great takeout and lots of seating!); also the Ballpark Cafe mid-Park at 65th (above the ...you guessed it...ballpark!) has bratwurst to die for--for only $4! And the view cannot be beat in either of these. It's a wonderful way to spend a weekend or especially weekday morning in the park.

Bingo at Le Poussin Rouge-Bleeker and Thompson

Saturday night I spent a fab evening with girlfriends at Le Pouissin Rouge at Thompson and Bleeker; it was hilarious and I cannot recommend this more for the sheer comedy and strange sweetness of the show.
Best of all drinks are cheap (sodas $2, well drinks $4), there is no cover charge, and Bingo cards are only $2!
This would be tops on my lists fro most of my relatives under 80. And maybe some of those over!!

Good Mom-Is-Coming to NYC Restaurants-59th Street area

Carnegie Deli 5th and 7th


Sarabeth's Restraurant: 59th and Central Park South--this is good food in a nearby location

Palm Court at the Plaza - 59th and CPS --offers breakfast lunch and afternoon tea-a la carte brunch on Sunday - spectacular open room in the Plaza Atrium --tea on Sunday would be 31- 50...honestly this is well worth it as I think your mom would love this if she likes hotels and old New York

Oak Room and Oak Room Bar at the Plaza Hotel ) entrees around $32--Oak Room Bar looks out on Central Park

The Algonquin Hotel brunch (one of my fave old hotels--where Dorothy Parker's Roundtable was held). This is also pricey for Brunch --25-35 or so


Brunch at Carlyle Hotel - 76th and Madison -$59 prix fixe brunch

New York City Pass

I always rely on out-of-towners to introduce me to new things in NYC; my friend Pam is not exception. She unearthed the New York City Pass, which offers free admittance to over 50 attractions in NYC including the costly museums such as Met. Museum and the Guggenheim, and very worthwhile attractions such ac the Circle Line, Top of the Rock, Empire State Building, Madam Tussaud's etc. It definitely is only worth it if you plan to do a lot on one day. But I think the freedom-factor also helps tremendously. Not having to think about how much something costs tends to free you up to try new things without worrying if they are "worth it"--and for that factor alone this sounds like a good deal for a couple of days in NYC.

Reviews of the pass are good also.

10 Things NOT to Do in NYC

I ran across this interesting post on Concierge.com --10 Things NOT to DO in NYC--and what to do instead. Some of their "not to do's" I agree with --especially the Empire State Building, though it is hard to talk visiting friends out of this one, and I have an odd fondness and sweet memory of the whole process with my niece and her friend, once was enough!--but they say Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty are worth it and unless you are in town for 2 weeks, I beg to differ. I find the boat trip to these locations to be onerous , as is the process for getting tickets.  I still think the best way to see the Statue of Liberty is from afar--by boat, preferably one of the Adirondack/ Imagine sailing tours, but the Staten Island Ferry can also suffice if you are on a budget. The views are spectacular, and you are not waiting in line forever (or regretting that you didn't get one of the limited tickets to actually enter the statue).
And I think everyone should get a hot dog from a cart. The chances of food poisoning are not THAT high....
Anyway, it made me wonder what MY "10 Must Do's" and "10 Never Do's" would be. I'll be working on that but in the meantime--suggestions welcome!

The Doughnut Plant

For years I have been reading about The Doughnut Plant on the Lower East Side and wanting to visit. As someone who considers doughnuts a practically-perfect food ("perfect" it would be if it had any nutritional value whatsoever, and we all know the answer to that), this seems like the mecca for my kind; you can actually see the doughnuts being made! These award winning sweets are available at Zabars and Bloomingdales (and, it seems, they have opened or are opening a location at the Chelsea Hotel of all places!) among other places, but one of these days I want to make it down to the plant at 379 Grand (about three blocks east of Ludlow, 2 blocks above Canal...).
HOURS
Tuesday - Sun. 6:30 til donuts are sold out (5-7PM)