Drama Club Trip!

[Okbrewer]

My daughter's high school drama club will be taking a trip to Broadway for Spring Break. My wife and I are going along to chaperone. A few of the meals are included in the package price, like dinners at Planet Hollywood and O'Casey's, but there will be a lot of free time, especially during the morning and early afternoon. I want to be a good chaperone and recommend some places to go for lunch, places that are HS kid friendly, good pizza to not-too-pricey higher end LOCAL places (they go to Applebees or Outback here in OKC!) Any suggestions!? Also, if there any other 'must see or do' things, please let me know. We will be staying at the Novatel "in the heart of the theatre district". There will be about 35-40 on the trip, but we will break into smaller groups, so I may have 8-10 with me. Thanks for any suggestions!

Bob R in OKC

[Luckylies]

Chinatwon for dimsum on saturday or sunday

Koreatown for korean bbq!

Katz's

Barney Greengrass for New York smoked salmon and bagels.

[phaelon56]

John's Pizza on W. 44th is a good bet. It's nearly as good as the original John's on Bleecker but unlike that one it has room for groups. It's in an old converted church and is an unusual space aesthetically speaking. You can find better pizza in Manhattan but John's is still among the top ten by most estimations and its far better than any pizza you'll find in OKC (or most other places).

Chinatown for dim sum yes - but also just to walk around. Chinatown Ice Cream factory is a great place for kids of all ages - they have some cool flavors (green tea, lychee flavored etc.). And there's a little bulk candy place next door that has unique novelty candy (my daughter and her high school friends loved Chinatown when they went to NYC and always visited those two places).

The size of your group might make some of the great ethnic options over on 9th Ave in the 40's and 50's a challenge as many of those restaurants can't seat a group that large. But if you have enough chaperones and enough kids with moderately adventurous tastes it's worth a try. Take some to the Kebab House... a few others to the Vietnamese place on the corner of 49th (can't recall the name)... and so on.

Also consider Carmine's in the Theater District. Loud, fun red sauce Italian joint. It's not reputed to have stellar food but by most counts serves decent Italian-American fare and is oriented towards groups.

[Okbrewer]

Thanks, Emma and Owen, for the great suggestions!

Bob R in OKC

[SusanGiff]

If you have a smaller group of 8 or 10, you actually could hit the downtown John's, which is a much more "New York" experience (although if last weekend was any indication, you'll have to wait in line longer than you would uptown). FYI, my family and I went to the uptown John's pre-theater a few weeks ago, and while the pizza wasn't CLOSE to as good as downtown, the service was very quick and friendly. So a good place if you need to eat before a show.

Ollie's Noodles, a Chinese place, isn't too bad with a crowd of high school kids--the Times Square one is loud and fun and fast, although, again, hardly the best Chinese food in town.

Do avoid Mars 2010, if anyone recommends it. It's really terrible. The Hard Rock Cafe, though, has surprisingly decent food, I've found. I haven't been the the TS one, though.

And for a genuine New York pre-, post-theater experience with excellent, albeit expensive, Jewish deli/coffee shop food and classic surly New York service, definitely try the Cafe Edison, in the Edison Hotel on 47th between Bway and 8th. Just go into the hotel if you don't see the sign. You can get any number of sandwiches, burgers, etc. But do make them try the chopped liver and the matzo ball soup. So good.

Have fun! They're lucky to have a chaperone who won't let them stick to the old familiars.

Susan

[Pan]

I have a thought for you. Harmony Palace, 94 Mott St. (just north of Canal, east side of the street), (212) 226-6603, holds banquets all the time. They're also known for dim sum, but I think it would be fun to reserve it for your full complement and have a Cantonese dinner banquet there. I haven't been to Harmony Palace for a while, but they have a very longstanding reputation for excellent banquet food (better than their dim sum), and clearly uphold it, because so many Chinese weddings and communal functions take place there. It's a big eating hall and has a classic Chinatown feel that I think high school students would enjoy. To give yourself some idea of what it looks like inside, you can look at this page and click on the "Dinner in Chinatown" photos. They're a little washed out in places, but should at least give you some general sense of the place. Reserving space for 40 would not fill the room by any stretch. If you want to do this, call as far in advance as possible, because the place is often rented out in totality for large functions.

[Okbrewer]

Alright! More good ideas! Thanks, y'all!

Bob R in OKC

[Okbrewer]

Just got back from our excursion to NYC! Had a great time, saw a lot of shows, and thanks to you all, ate some great food! I am proud to say that none of the folks in our group ate at McD's or Applebees, or any other place that they could eat in OKC!

Two of our meals were included in the tour package, first night dinner was at Planet Hollywood, and though the food was not great, it was good with large portions that were very filling! The impressive thing was the way they moved large groups in and out so quickly! At least a half dozen waiters served our group and were quick with soft drinks and water. Our pre-selected choices of dinners were roast chicken with mashed potatoes and green beans; baby back ribs and fries; or chicken Alfredo linguini. All were preceded by a large salad and garlic bread sticks. Again, the food was good and the service quick which met our needs at the time. The kids also got the chance to look around at the memorabilia before we raced over the Gershwin to see "Wicked!"

The next day I took a group to John's Pizza prior to seeing various matinee shows. Again, the service was good and quick, the pizza was good with crispy crust, and the kids enjoyed it, but I was expecting...more. My daughter made the observation that, "Daddy, your pizza is just as good as this!" Which made my day, and of, course she got anything she wanted for the entire trip!

Even though we had pizza for lunch, we had Italian for dinner prior to attend the evening show of "The Jersey Boys!" Our hotel was just across the street from the theatre, on W. 52nd, and just around the corner on 8th was a little place called Trattoria Rino. What a surprise! They immediately seated our group of 9 and promptly took our orders and served the food. Two oders of calamari for an appetizer were followed by dinners that included fresh pasta: Pappardella salsa Aurora, Cheese Ravioli, Rigatoni in a creamy pink Vodka sauce, Chicken alla Siciliana, and more! All were great! I had an antipasto platter and steamed clams, and my wife had a bowl of the Minestrone! MMM!

OH! And the show was wonderful, too!

Thursday evening, before we went to see "Phantom", we hit the Hotel Edison and the deli/grill! What an interesting place! And terrific offerings with great prices! I had a pastrami sandwich which hit the spot. My daughter ordered a Chicken Caeser salad which she described as a salad with a chicken dinner on top! Another girl had a chef salad that was topped with tons of rolled-up deli meats and cheeses. A couple others had club sandwiches that were loaded with meats, cheeses, lettuce and tomato. Another had the dinner special of roast veal, mashed potatoes and a side vegetable, it also came with a bowl of homemade chicken and noodle soup! We were stuffed! And as I said the prices were very reasonable!

Perhaps one of the meals that the kids enjoyed most was a $3 gyro from a street vendor!

I also took a group to Ollie's Noodles for lunch on Friday and all were very pleased with their selections.

The other meal that was included in the tour was at O'Casey's. The place itself seemed like a spot that I wouldn't mind taking some time to quaff a few stouts, but our preselected meals were just OK. We had a choice of Burgers, Grilled Chicken Sandwich or Steak Sandwich, all served with fries and cole slaw. Sevice was good, food just OK.

I was able to break away from the kids for a couple hours and made my way over to the Heartland Brewery on W. 51st and 6th. I had some very nice beers that I reviewed over on the 'Beer' section on the 'Beverages' board.

Thanks again for all the suggestions! We had a very enjoyable, and filling, stay!

Bob R in OKC

[Okbrewer]

OH! Forgot to mention, one of the girls in our group, a self-centered little rich girl who thought she didn't have to respect any of the adults and could do as she pleased, but that is an entirely different story, decided she just HAD to eat at Blue Fin! She took two other kids with her and dropped close to $300 for lobster stuffed with crabmeat. I don't know all the particulars because she didn't feel the need to share anything with me, like her whereabouts or being out after curfew, but, again, that's another story!

Bob R in OKC

[K8memphis]

I love the $3 gyro from the street vendor --what a deal!

[Luckylies]

OH!  Forgot to mention,  one of the girls in our group, a self-centered little rich girl who thought she didn't have to respect any of the adults and could do as she pleased, but that is an entirely different story, decided she just HAD to eat at Blue Fin!  She took two other kids with her and dropped close to $300 for lobster stuffed with crabmeat.  I don't know all the particulars because she didn't feel the need to share anything with me, like her whereabouts or being out after curfew, but, again, that's another story!

Bob R in OKC

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I kinda admire her chutzpah...but as a chaperone I'd kill her.

[BryanZ]

Word.

[Pan]

Bob, I'm really glad you had a good time, but it looks like you didn't get out of Midtown at all on your trip. I think that's understandable, given the focus of the trip, but I hope you get a chance to explore more of New York next time.

[Okbrewer]

Actually, we did take the subway down to WTC area and to Battery Park, and we were going to take a ferry tour, but it was cold and drizzling that day so we didn't. We walked up to China Town and thru Little Italy, and some of the kids ate from street vendors in those areas. I was just recapping some of the highlights! But, yeah, our focus was pretty much Midtown area.

We also took the kids to a tour of Julliard, but only had time for a brief walk into Central Park! Next time we hope to do some more things! And my daughter has already assured me that there WILL be a next time!

Bob R in OKC