August 8 to 10 Visiting

[justherehanging]

Posted: 8/7/14 at 10:00pm

I am going to be in town this weekend, beyond seeing some Broadway shows:

Beautiful
Violet
Cabaret
Atomic


Was debating about Studio 54 Friday night at 11pm, but that would be rushing over after my show.

Looking for suggestions on any thing to do at night or must eats...looking for hole in the wall places or any unique events

[ethan231h]

Posted: 8/7/14 at 10:03pm

you must try the cookie place called Schmakary's on 45th street in the Theatre District!!!

[PrinceCaspian]

Posted: 8/7/14 at 10:16pm

http://www.nycgo.com/restaurantweek/

[brdway411]

Posted: 8/7/14 at 11:05pm

Restaurant week sucks. It is food that is not usually on their normal menu. usually one chicken, one pasta, one fish. The ONLY place in the area I would even consider doing restaurant week would be VIctor's , but they ALWAY have a pre fixe menu and it is VERY GOOD.
No, I don't work for Victor's either. I do work in the business though. I can also recommend Paragola des artists. Kodama sushi (Lots of broadway people eat here, constantly see members of the cast of Pippin, and other shows here). Cafe Edison in the Hotel Edison, sit at the lunch counter, you might see some Broadway people. I used to see cast members from In The Heights there all the time.

Updated On: 8/7/14 at 11:05 PM

[FishermanBob]

Posted: 8/7/14 at 11:56pm

Restaurant Week is a terrific deal. There are well over 200 restaurants participating and you can sample some wonderful food for a relatively small price. When else would you be able to grab a lunch at Nobu or DB Bistro Moderne or pop into Ruth Chris for a seafood gumbo, petite filet mignon and bread pudding for dessert, all for $25. It's designed to get you to want to come back so most places put their best foot forward and give you a heck of a bargain.

Updated On: 8/7/14 at 11:56 PM

[brdway411]

Posted: 8/8/14 at 12:09am

Fisherman Bob, I am glad you enjoy RW. As someone who works in the business for many years and has worked RW in many NYC restaurants, it can be a good deal, BUT , usually it is a dumbed down version of a normal menu item (that has been my experience. Also they have a tendency to use a cheaper grade of meat). Or it is 3 or 4 easy additional things that are not on the normal menu. I avoid it like the plague.

[FishermanBob]

Posted: 8/8/14 at 12:29am

Brdway411, like anything else, with well over 200 restaurants, some are good deals and some are not. Some dumb it down and some use it to showcase what they do best. But to say the whole thing sucks is I think a very unfair generalization. With any sample size of almost 250 New York restaurants regardless of whether or not it is for restaurant week, you will get a wide range of quality and value. Most of the "name" restaurants in the program have a hard earned, good reputation and they don't want a bunch of people running around saying "I ate there and it was crap". And if a petite filet is advertised, I think most people can tell if they are getting top round. Do some research, check the RW menus, check the Yelp reviews and pick a place that's serving the type of food you'd enjoy. Be realistic that you will get a good deal but may not get exactly the same portion size for the 3 courses for $25 deal that would cost you $82 a la carte. It's very possible to have some wonderful experiences. I know I have.

[brdway411]

Posted: 8/8/14 at 12:46am

I have checked the menus, Many over the years. And I have always been disappointed. I just avoid it now. Not worth my time or money. It is usually stuff not on their regular menu. NO thank you. I will go some where where I know I am getting the same quality I would all year. I recommended Victors , they had a great deal. but it's the same deal year round.(their pre theater dinner prix fixe. I recommended Paragola, Des, Artists (they have a great pre theater prix fixe). I am not going to say where I worked but they would dumb it down use a lesser cut of meat and not the usual top of the line ingredients (at least 3 places over the years) So I avoid it. It's my opinion, I can state my opinion. You don't have to agree.

[FishermanBob]

Posted: 8/8/14 at 1:16am

Brdway, I never said you can't state your opinion or that you have to like RW, just that I very much disagree with you. In fact, in my first post I didn't even respond to you directly or state you were wrong, I just shared my experiences and opinion which you then felt compelled to respond to. Can't I state my opinion just as passionately and forcefully as you can state yours? You're citing experiences at a grand total of 3 places you worked at during Restaurant week in the past that may or may not even be in the program for 2014 and as a result saying the whole program and all 250 restaurants in it "sucks". Doesn't make a lot of sense to me but you are certainly entitled to your opinion. Again, I think most diners can tell if the cut of meat they are being served is not what they ordered. Sorry if you seem to have a problem with someone having a different opinion about Restaurant Week even though you are clearly the industry "expert". It's ultimately up to the OP to decide what he wants to do.

[brdway411]

Posted: 8/8/14 at 1:23am

I have eaten at well over 30 places during RW over the years and we just stopped going. Most were very disappointing.

[FishermanBob]

Posted: 8/8/14 at 1:37am

Well then you clearly shouldn't dine in restaurants during the program again if you didn't have good experiences. Many others have had very positive experiences and think it's a great deal. Can you accept that others have had different experiences than you without continuing to feel compelled to reiterate you don't like it?

[dramamama611]

Posted: 8/8/14 at 6:22am

But, Bob, he said so. Why don't you acquiesce to his superior opinion.

I've always had good luck with RW. Why does it matter if the dishes aren't on their regular menu? You act as if restaurants are forced to participate and want to shun possible future customers. Why wouldn't they want to impress?

Updated On: 8/8/14 at 06:22 AM

[Jane2]

Posted: 8/8/14 at 9:12am

I enjoyed RW at Nobu. I would not normally eat there because of the prices, but boy was it good!

If the consumers like Bob, Drama, and I (and I'm sure thousands of others) enjoy RW, what's the difference in what you, 411, think of it from your point of view being in the business? We're the ones it's geared towards.