NYC Restaurant for little girl’s birthday?

Friend,

If you are in Midtown, the best pizzerias in order are:

5. Lazzara’s
4.Angelo’s Coal Fired (not just Angelo’s, which is not worth your money. Angelo’s coal fired does not do slices, but has great seating and is a stone’s throw from Central Park, which isn’t the worst place to eat a pizza)
3. Carnegie
2. NY Pizza Suprema (nice indoor seating, and the workers are probably the nicest staff of any pizzeria in Manhattan. Ask them and they might let the birthday girl toss dough. Slices have gotten really expensive, upwards of $7, but you pay for quality and location)
1. Upside (it does not have indoor dining, so you would have to take with you)

I will never for the life of me understand why both tourists and locals like Joe’s. I’ve tried it at the location near Bleecker St and in TS multiple times and every time I think how I’d rather have a slice of Sbarro’s. It’s the Popeyes chicken of NY pizza.

Let me know if you want non-pizza recommendations. Mother and I spend at least one week a year in NYC for shopping and eating.

Yours,
TulaneLSU

You like Italian? I really enjoy La Pecora Bianca. There's a few locations throughout the city including midtown

LINK

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I will never for the life of me understand why both tourists and locals like Joe’s. I’ve tried it at the location near Bleecker St and in TS multiple times

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I've always enjoyed a Joe's slice in Williamsburg (though I'd much rather send someone to L'Industrie), but I do agree about West Village - they get a lot of drunk people running through there, so it wouldn't surprise me to see a bit less quality in the slice.

Standard kids fare,

Pizza, chicken tenders, hot dogs, tacos, etc.

We are looking at Ellen’s stardust diner, but they don’t take reservations and we’d like a backup plan if the wait is too long.

I like Lombardi's too. Pizza in Chinatown.

Another fun thing to do is walk across the Brooklyn Bridge and have pizza at the original Grimaldi's which is right under the bridge. Then walk back to Manhattan and enjoy the views of the river and skyline.

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Tea at the Plaza.

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Probably a great answer but it’s $118 a person

5. Keen’s Steakhouse


Uncle took me here for the first time when I was seven years old. I do not remember terribly much about the food that evening, but I do remember all of the oil portraits from America’s founding as well as all the pipes. Uncle sternly told me, “Do not ever put a pipe or a cigarette in your mouth. Those things doth pollute and destroy.” I think he was trying to quote George Herbert’s admonition against lust, but the lesson stuck with me. I have never allowed anything other than our atmospheric air to enter my respiratory system.


Uncle, thus, has refused to join the Pipe Club at Keen’s, but he did show me the pipe of a cousin from the early 20th century whose pipe sits close to Babe Ruth’s. So long as you teach your young one of the dangers of tobacco and drink, I think it reasonable to show her around to view the pipes, some of which have historic import.


Keen’s is most well known for its mutton chop, which I tried once, but did not enjoy. When I now eat at Keen’s, I always get the chateaubriand and I strongly recommend only getting the bearnaise sauce, as the wine and onion sauces are inferior. While expensive, it is one of the best steakhouse experiences in our fine country. I am sure they would be happy to host your daughter’s birthday.


4. Le Rock


A favorite of Uncle’s, Le Rock is often thought of as a tourist magnet, but its kitchen is as good as any in NY. Once Pete Wells gave it three of four stars last year, lines have gotten a bit long, so get your reservation here as soon as possible. The dining is unmistakably French. The interior is modern, but never loses sight that it is a part of the historic arts deco Rockefeller Center. It can be a bit loud, and you will be quite close to your neighbors. I wish there were windows, but it is still a handsome restaurant.


3. L’ Avenue at Saks


If you know me at all, you know that I enjoy dining in department store restaurants. My favorite has always been the Zodiak Room, now Mariposa, at Neiman Marcus (I still love the Walnut Room in Chicago). But the NY Neiman closed a few years ago, leaving L’ Avenue as my top rated NY department store restaurant.


L’ Avenue defines elegance. Whether you are eating inside in the politely pointed digs or on the terrace overlooking the finest sections of the city, you will feel like American royalty here. The seafood is outstanding. My recommendation is the Dover sole, which is arguably the second best Dover sole I have had after that served table side by table side by the now deceased Gerald Crozier. Superb!


2. NY Pizza Suprema


While it is not the best pizza in Midtown – Upside with its two day dough proofing, which produces one of the best crusts in pizza, is – it is hard to beat NY Pizza Suprema for atmosphere. You are across the street from Madison Square Garden, and so, you pay tourist prices. $7 is the going rate for most slices now. When I started going there it was $2.50! The seating is comfortable booth seating.


Suprema is among the ten best slice shops on Manhattan, but what wins me over and why I recommend this place to so many friends is the friendliness of the entire staff. Those guys, mostly from Central America, will welcome you with open arms. And if you ask nicely, they may even let your birthday girl throw dough with them. I would rather have a birthday party at Suprema than at Chuck E. Cheese.


1. Serendipity 3


Some will argue that this is the Upper East Side. To me, it is not far enough north to be UES. Maybe just call it East Side. It is close enough, however, to Midtown to be included on the list. And included it should be because it is a great place for a young girl to enjoy a birthday!


Reservations are recommended, especially if you do not plan to eat breakfast or a very late dinner there on the weekends. You can eat burgers, hot dogs (yuck), and salads there, but the only reason to come here, in our opinion, is for the dessert. Each time I go, I get the same two desserts: strawberries and cream and the Forbidden Broadway Sundae.


Here is a little known story for you, my dear friends. Please do not share it with anyone else. When I was finishing my time at boarding school, I gave my Beloved a $200 gift card to Serendipity. You see, I fancied this young lass from the first moment I saw her my senior year. Besotted that I was, I too was horrified to speak with her and I spent my entire year writing her stories and poems. I neither spoke with her nor shared any of those writings. In fact, no one has ever seen any of those writings, though, my editor has begged me to share them with her. My favorite of those works, without any doubt, is a poem titled, “Paddling for you in my love canoe.”


I found out through a mutual friend that my beloved’s favorite romantic movie was Serendipity a rather saccharine and stale film set in nearby NY, a film that removed God’s role in romance and life. I should have seen the redflags, but I was lost in the fog of eros.


The last day of school came and I was still petrified of my crush. I feared both her reaction to my words and my worth, so I wrote a short five page letter on how she had changed my life. I included the gift card and a final post script that read, “If you want to know who I am, please meet me at Serendipity 3 this Saturday at 3.” I included the only copy of “Love Canoe” and I sometimes wonder if she ever reads it now.


I took the transport van that weekend to the train station and arrived at Grand Central around noon. I love walking in NY, so I hiked the rest of the way, making several stops on 5th Ave. before arriving at Serendipity around 2:00. I waited until 3:15 before ordering four desserts.


Everyone in Serendipity was having a grand old time. The place was abuzz with smiles and laughter and the occasional flash from a disposable Kodak camera. But I was there in the corner stuffing my face with chocolate and ice cream, waiting patiently. I told my waitress to let me wait for my date just another few minutes. But after I finished my fourth and last dessert, it was 4:00.


My waitress said, “Kid, I feel for you, but it’s time to go.”


I shrugged. I wanted to cry, but I think all that sugar somehow blocked my tear ducts. I paid, after noticing she comped one of my desserts and left a note that read, “Keep your head up, kid.” I think she is the only person in my life who has ever called me kid.


I have returned to Serendipity a time or three with Mother, but I have refused to sit at that corner table. It would bring me great joy, however, if you go, to learn that you and your family had a great time there.

Yours,
TulaneLSU

P.S. Lombardi’s was not the first pizzeria in America. Nor is it the oldest in America or even in NYC. It was closed for a full decade in our lifetimes. It’s not a bad pizza, but I can point you to ten better pizzas in Manhattan if you’d like.

Serendipity is the first one that I thought of. Ellen's Stardust is 2nd. Serendipity 3 is really good because of location as well. It's close to walking and shopping on 5th Ave or going to Central Park.

Serendipity, she will love it.