kathryn

Assuming you'll be getting drinks around 8:30 or 9pm on a Saturday night, a lot of the great cocktail bars downtown will already be full from walk-ins. I would recommend making a reservation at PDT (call 3pm on the day of) or Milk and Honey (email ASAP, as I'm not sure what non-member reservation policies are like these days). Milk & Honey is no longer private but does require reservations: milkandhoneyreservations@gmail.com http://milkandhoneynyc.com [currently appears to be down?] If that doesn't work, you can always try to walk into Death & Co, Mayahuel, or Pegu Club, but expect a wait with no clear duration. In the case of D&C and Mayahuel, they will take your name and number down, and call you if/when seats are ready. (Cocktail bars aren't like restaurants, where you can predict when tables will be vacated -- someone could be in for one round of drinks, or twelve.) Or you could just go to Ma Peche.

They do, however, serve the full menu at the bar at Esca, do they not?

1. Theatre district cocktails -- depends how far you wish to walk from your theatre. Personally, I'd drop into Ma Peche, Bar Room at the Modern, maybe the lounge at Le Bernardin. Maybe Oak Bar at the Plaza or King Cole bar at the St. Regis for something fancier. Campbell Apartment also has a wonderful setting but I've found my cocktails there to be overly sweet. 2. After Les Halles, I might get a drink at 'inoteca liquori bar, Eleven Madison Park's lounge area, or perhaps the new cocktail bar, Rye House. After Aldea, I'd go to Flatiron Lounge (although it can get loud and crowded in there as the night progresses). Raines Law Room is also near Aldea, but I've not been. Post-Jean Georges, there's nothing really in the immediate area but this thread about cocktails post-Per Se will be enlightening. 3. For an interesting lunch around Lincoln Center, I might share the charcuterie board for two at Bar Boulud.

I could have sworn that lunch (Monday-Saturday) in the formal dining room is always prix fixe. I would call to clarify. Last time I was there, I remember being torn between the caramel dessert set and the chocolate dessert set, and they brought us the molten chocolate cake from the chocolate dessert set. Perhaps something like that, or some roses and chocolates (from Bespoke or Kee's) waiting for them upon their return to the hotel?

If you don't end up going to Chinatown, I would try to reserve at Szechuan Gourmet near Times Square. Assuming your family can tolerate spicy food, of course.

Also forgot that Danny Meyer's new restaurant Maialino is located in a hotel and will most likely be open that night.

I'd do Locanda Verde or the Breslin or Ma Peche or Jean George (all hotel restaurants and likely to be open) over Sea Grill, which was unremarkable. Not terrible, but not noteworthy either. Momofuku Ko is open on Christmas Day. Might be one of the few times you'll be able to get a reservation.

I think the problem will be not so much what's open (most Chinese restaurants will be open), but rather that the entire neighborhood will be a mob scene with long waits. Maybe one of the Chinatown spots that takes reservations would make it easier for such a large group. Amazing 66, Ping's, or Red Egg, perhaps? There's also Peking Duck House but their non-Peking Duck dishes aren't special at all.

I would use this list as a starting point: http://nymag.com/guides/holidays/52734/ Hotel restaurants tend to be open, so I would predict that the Breslin in the Ace Hotel and Locanda Verde in the Greenwich Hotel would also be open for dinner service on Christmas Day.

I just looked and saw nothing really of note. This is most likely because so many restaurants are either closed or don't open up their books this far in advance.

Yes -- they have a stall (more like a large corner) in the Essex Street Market. 9-3, Tuesday-Saturday. Not recommended for picky eaters, groups > 4, people with allergies, people who mind cursing, etc.

Clinton Street Baking Company for blueberry pancakes with maple butter or a biscuit sandwich with tomato jame, eggs, and cheese, but only on weekdays. Shopsin's if you don't mind the atmosphere, swearing, close quarters, and odd hours. But, hey, bacon and egg pancakes with good maple syrup and their housemade hot sauce. Otherwise, Locanda Verde is at the top of my list right now: ricotta cheese with truffled honey on burnt orange toast, and the Uova Modenese (poached eggs with cotechino hash, spinach, and tomato hollandaise)! I like Prune, too, but the lines are too long, and their menu's been the same for ages and ages, so I'm a little burnt out on it. Skip Norma's.

I've been to the 24th Street Grand Sichuan, St Marks Grand Sichuan, 33rd Street Grand Sichuan (not affiliated with the 24th/St Marks/7th Ave/Jersey City ones), and Szechuan Gourmet on 39th this year. Szechuan Gourmet has been the best out of all of them.

I encourage you to stop into Cafe Zaiya for lunch at some time.

In NYC, fans of "authentic" banh mi have a hard time finding baguettes with rice flour (Banh Mi Saigon is one of the few spots doing it). A typical Vietnamese baguette is made with 50 per cent rice flour and 50 per cent wheat flour, although there's a bit of contention even within the Vietnamese community as to the "right" flour to use.

My notes say that in 2007: jamon iberico bellota seleccion de Salamanca, Andalucia, and Extremadura - 24 EUR each region jamon iberico bellota seleccion en texturas (three different parts of the leg) - 27 EUR So I'd ball park it around 30 Euros.

The sandwich at Cafe Viena is good if you are starving and on La Rambla and don't know where to go. But Cafe Viena is really more like a fast food/quick service restaurant with a laminated menu in several different languages. I'd go to somewhere where they take the jamon more seriously if you have time. I loved Cinc Sentits, particularly for the suckling pig. Didn't go to Commerc 24. Went to Tapac 24, it was good, but not as good as Quimet i Quimet or Paco Meralgo or Inopia (the last one being my favorite). My as-yet-unfinished trip report is on eG, Barcelona starts about here: http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showto...dpost&p=1681805

Got my Bitter Truth Celery Bitters in the mail today. I'll probably start out by trying a Loop Tonic. 2 oz Heradura Silver 1 oz Dolin Dry Vermouth 3/4 oz freshly squeezed lime juice 1/2 oz simple syrup 1/2 oz green Chartreuse Dash of the Bitter Truth celery bitters Any one else have other suggestions?

Norma's is not good. Even if you have a reservation, you might still have to wait. The service is absentee. The coffee is too weak. The dishes themselves are poor overall (poorly conceived or too sweet or overcooked). And the bill is way too expensive for the value proposition. I gave it a few chances, ugh, no more. Go elsewhere: Bar Boulud, Nougatine, Sarabeth's Central Park South, or get a bagel and save your time and money for dinner. NYC brunches = land of endless lines. If you're only here for 24 hours, wouldn't you rather spend your time sightseeing?

IIRC Grimaldi's does not take any reservations. John's in Times Square is a good choice. I've definitely large school groups in there. They can even be seated in their own alcove, upstairs. For Chinatown, Golden Unicorn definitely does group dining and is surprisingly empty at dinner time. Another option is Congee Village as they have multiple dining areas and two locations. Closer to Times Square/Midtown is the new Szechuan Gourmet on W 56th St, between Broadway and 8th, which apparently has two floors, and might allow you to take over an entire floor. Otto is good if you order carefully but the pizza is not really "New York" style at all.

We went on a Wednesday about two weeks ago, and it was pretty full by the time 8, 8:30 pm rolled around.

They're slowly implementing later hours. If you get there after midnight they might not let you in, but they aren't going to kick you out at 11:55pm any more. You might even get to stay until 1am.

Didn't think that the fried chicken dish could get better, but I was wrong. Corn fried chicken (two juicy bricks of light and dark meat glued together and breaded), with pickled chanterelles, fresh summer corn, wonderfully peppery wild arugula, and "vadouvan" which turns out to be used to create an Indian spiced cream of corn sauce. Drool.

Bryan, it's my understanding that a Vietnamese baguette using rice flour yields the unique crumb characteristics you noted.

correct, the new number is rather useless for nonmembers and shouldn't be distributed. plus they still ask for your key. ← That's why I didn't mention it! It's easier for non-members just to do everything through email.