[NYSPEM3]

Peter Luger is a must, but it can be quite spendy--figure $100 per person with tip and tax.
Getting a lunch reservation on a weekday is a snap. Evenings can be tough but you can give it a shot anyway.
Hotel-wise, lately many bugdet-ish (Hilton Garden Inn, Marriot Courtyard, etc) have opened and have pushed rents down. Staying in a decent room in Manhattan is now within reach of budget travel.

[NYSPEM3]

Originally Posted by boymonkey

For transportation I recommend you get a MetroCard 7-day pass. That will give you unlimited subway and bus rides for 7 days. Cost: $27, reduced fare $13.50.

Central Park does not take a whole day. I only spent about two hours there including lunch. It's a short walk from there to the Met.

I got show tickets from the same day discount place in Times Square. We watched Phantom of the Opera and really enjoyed it.

I highly recommend staying in midtown if you can find a room and price that work for you. I stayed at the Roosevelt in the shittiest room ever in my life for $180/night, but the location was well worth it. I've heard good things about Holiday Inn by Times Square.

If you're on a budget and want to save, the Met and some other places are by donation, so you don't have to pay the full suggested donation. I was on a CityPass.

For restaurants I recommend the following:
Ruby Tuesday, Times Square (good steaks w/ salad bar)
Bubba Gump, Times Square
Olive Garden, Times Square
Joe's Shanghai Restaurant, Midtown, or Chinatown (Soup dumplings/buns)
Koreatown on 32nd Street, lots of Korean restaurants if you like that

These are just some of the more affordable and easy to find restaurants. I'll leave it to the New Yorkers to tell you what are the must-try foods.

Having lived in New York City for 15 years, I approve the above message (except Bubba Gump--never been there).
For Koreatown, try BBQ at Madangsui (35th St, between 5th Ave and 6th Ave). NY Times just reviewed it and gave it a glowing recommendation. I completely second that. My office is a few blocks away and I've tried many places for lunch.
Joe's Shanghai--not a month went by without me going there. Enough said.
Ruby Tuesday and Olive Garden--if you like chain-y places they are pretty good.

[JCtx]

Originally Posted by Spoolin335

I would stay in Manhattan since you are close to everything and can basically walk/subway it anywhere you need to go.
Although a lot more expensive, we're definitely staying in Manhattan; advice taken . And no, I don't plan to rent a car, unless we can't find how to get to the Woodbury Outlets (yeah, wife and girls want to shop), which would force me to rent one one day. And yes, I'll hit you with a PM shortly; many thanks for your offer to help; greatly appreciate it .

And yes, we were considering the 'Manhattan Broadway Hotel', but read terrible reviews on Expedia, especially not being safe to walk at night on that street, so eliminated it from consideration. But thanks for the warning anyway.

Originally Posted by boymonkey

OP said he's looking for fun and economical places to eat, and doesn't mind chains.

True, but that was before my wife slapped me on the face . So never mind .

Originally Posted by captainaudio

If you are looking for a pleasant Hotel that is reasonable and is located at Rockefeller Center check out Club Quarters on West 51st Street. There is also a Club Quarters on West 45th Street Near Times Square and Grand Central. I just checdked them out and for the dates you are looking for their rates were $239/night for 2 adults and 2 children.

That's very reasonable indeed (for Manhattan ). Our top picks so far are a Crowne Plaza, a Holiday Inn Express (Madison Sq.Garden, I believe), and a Comfort Inn around there too, but need to read some reviews. Will definitely check those; many thanks.

Thanks again to all. We're making a lot of progress. We first needed to see how long we needed to stay, and settled for 6 nights. We need to book something NOW since prices keep going up every day. The next step is to book 2 shows (Wicked and Lion King), but are having a lot of trouble with that. Any help would be appreciated. All the sites we've hit seem to be resellers, at ridiculous prices, nowhere to call, and no idea where the heck the seats are. That's crazy. We read there's a place in Times Square to buy cheap tickets, but you obviously have to do so at the last minute. That'd be okay for a 3rd (cheap) show, but we prefer to book those 2 in advance, as it's probably going to be packed that week. Thanks again to all for the great help. This site rocks .

[NYSPEM3]

Yep, "Wicked" is crazy. Every show is a sell-out. The show seems to have in inexplicable pull for tweens. They even sell backstage tour tickets--yes they are really milking every dime out of their fans.
The landlord of the theatre (50th St/Broadway) where "Wicked" is shown is a client of mine and I visit the building quite frequently. The popularity of the show is unprecedented. This is a time when many Broadway shows are begging for audience.

[captainaudio]

Originally Posted by elp_jc

True, but that was before my wife slapped me on the face . So never mind .

That's very reasonable indeed (for Manhattan ). Our top picks so far are a Crowne Plaza, a Holiday Inn Express (Madison Sq.Garden, I believe), and a Comfort Inn around there too, but need to read some reviews. Will definitely check those; many thanks.

Thanks again to all. We're making a lot of progress. We first needed to see how long we needed to stay, and settled for 6 nights. We need to book something NOW since prices keep going up every day. The next step is to book 2 shows (Wicked and Lion King), but are having a lot of trouble with that. Any help would be appreciated. All the sites we've hit seem to be resellers, at ridiculous prices, nowhere to call, and no idea where the heck the seats are. That's crazy. We read there's a place in Times Square to buy cheap tickets, but you obviously have to do so at the last minute. That'd be okay for a 3rd (cheap) show, but we prefer to book those 2 in advance, as it's probably going to be packed that week. Thanks again to all for the great help. This site rocks .

The Lion King is a lot of fun and the way it is staged I think the seats up high in the balcony are in many ways preferable to front row seats.

I believe the discount ticket place you are refering to is TKTS

http://www.tdf.org/TDF_ServicePage.aspx?id=56

It is lierally in the middle of Times Square and you can't really miss it.




CA

[captainaudio]

Originally Posted by elp_jc

True, but that was before my wife slapped me on the face . So never mind .

That's very reasonable indeed (for Manhattan ). Our top picks so far are a Crowne Plaza, a Holiday Inn Express (Madison Sq.Garden, I believe), and a Comfort Inn around there too, but need to read some reviews. Will definitely check those; many thanks.

Thanks again to all. We're making a lot of progress. We first needed to see how long we needed to stay, and settled for 6 nights. We need to book something NOW since prices keep going up every day. The next step is to book 2 shows (Wicked and Lion King), but are having a lot of trouble with that. Any help would be appreciated. All the sites we've hit seem to be resellers, at ridiculous prices, nowhere to call, and no idea where the heck the seats are. That's crazy. We read there's a place in Times Square to buy cheap tickets, but you obviously have to do so at the last minute. That'd be okay for a 3rd (cheap) show, but we prefer to book those 2 in advance, as it's probably going to be packed that week. Thanks again to all for the great help. This site rocks .

Since I live here I havn't stayed in very many NYC Hotels. Neighborhood wise I would recommend the Grand Central area over the Madison Square Garden area although both are very convenient to just about everything you would want to see. The Club Quarters are very pleasant but bare bones Hotels, small clean rooms but no fancy lobby, restaurants, ball rooms, etc. If you are just looking for a pleasant place to sleep and shower they will fit the bill.



CA

[JCtx]

I'm set now, but had to pay over a grand more for procrastinating . Well, didn't really procrastinate, but waited a week for my brother's stupid travel agent to give me a quote (brother told me it was cheaper than Expedia), and it was way higher. Live and learn .

Ended up choosing the 'Holiday Inn Express New York Midtown Fifth Avenue', based on your location recommendations. A bit more expensive, but don't want any risk of getting mugged . Only bought tickets for 'Wicked' (horribly expensive, I must add), but will check that 'TKTS' place for a second show more appealing to the parents (open to recommendations).


Need one more piece of advice: What should I do about airport (LGA) to hotel transportation? What's the safest/cheapest option? We'll be arriving around 6pm on a Saturday. Thanks.

[Spoolin335]

cab it. it was about 45$ to our hotel by times square.

[JCtx]

Originally Posted by Spoolin335

cab it. it was about 45$ to our hotel by times square.

Thanks man. Pretty expensive for 6 miles . But I'm mentally ready to be raped for everything on those 6 days .

[Spoolin335]

Originally Posted by elp_jc

Thanks man. Pretty expensive for 6 miles . But I'm mentally ready to be raped for everything on those 6 days .

once your in Manhattan you wont have to cab it anymore. we only cabbed to the hotel and back to the airport.

There is a shuttle from the airport, but i think it was 15$ each person.

When your in Manhattan just take the subway or walk. We only need the subway when we wanted to go to lower Manhattan. You can walk to pretty much everything as its all within walking distance of times square.