In preparing for our trip to NYC next week I took a look back at some of my favorite posts on the city. I realized it had been quite a while since I wrote about one of my most favorite cities in all the world. I decided to revisit frequently asked questions like Where should we stay in NYC with kids or without? Where are some of your favorite places to eat in the city? What is your family’s favorite thing to do in Manhattan? I’m answering all of these questions today with an updated version on How to spend a few days in the city that never sleeps. Current favorites and anticipated favorites included.
One thing you can be sure of at The Simple Proof is while this is a family travel and lifestyle blog, this is not a place where you will find theme-park centric travel ideas or traditionally kid-friendly restaurants with children’s menus and crayons. We take our kids to pretty much any restaurant we’d want to go to and every museum we are interested in exploring. And guess what, they pretty much always enjoy it. While we have terribly finicky eaters and tired cranky kids like every other family, in our experience we have found that if you expose kids to lots of variety they are more able to handle and appreciate the unexpected while traveling. It’s always a win when they even dare to try something new! Below is a list of our current favorites. I’ve been to some of these on a date with my husband, with a girlfriend or on a family trip. When traveling with our kids, we always sprinkle in plenty of stops at bookstores and ice cream shops, our favorites in any city.
Stay
The Carlyle – Upper East Side
The Nomad – N. of Madison Square Park
The Marlton – Greenwich Village
Sheraton – Times Square
Eat
Breakfast Favorites
The Egg Shop – LES – Egg sandwiches or pretty much any way you can imagine
Maman NYC – SoHo – French inspired family food with the prettiest plates and tile floors
The Smile – E. Vilage – Cozy spot with menu inspired by owner Melia Marden’s cookbook Modern Mediterranean
Russ & Daughters Cafe – LES – Sit down spot from the world famous 102 year old NYC institution of the same name. A bagel board with your name on it!
Lunch Favorites
Jacks Wife Freda – SoHo – Possibly my favorite salads in the city.
Buvette – W. Village – tiny, French, perfect
The Fat Radish – LES – Beautifully British inspired
Mary’s Fish Camp – W.Village – Lobster roll in the middle of the city
Dinner Favorites ( and a few date nights)
The Muskat Room – Nolita – One of those spaces that you want to live in. New Zealand inspired tasting menu
The Nomad Bar – NoMad – The Bar at the Nomad Hotel – best burger I’ve ever had, second only to Wayfare Tavern SF
The Place – W. Village – Old world charm in the W. Village since 1998
Benoit – Midtown – Parisian Bistro walking distance from theater district
Sweet Stops
A.B. Biagi – Nolita – Italian-Brazilian inspired family recipe gelato
Morgenstern’s Finest Ice Cream – LES – Small-batch ice cream made in NYC
Dominique Ansel Kitchen – W. Village – made to order pastries and savory menu
Hamilton’s Soda Fountain – W. Village – Classic soda fountain and luncheonette
Do
Theater Favorites – Older kids and adults – Hamilton and The Book of Mormon. Families – Mathilda, The Lion King, Aladdin,
Museum Favorites – The Whitney, The Guggenheim, The Tenement Museum, The Cloisters
NY Public Library – spectacular architecture and breathtaking grandeur
Top of the Rock – better view and fewer lines than Empire State Building
Central Park Favorites – strolling unknown destination
Walk the Highline from Chelsea to Meatpacking
World Trade Center Memorial + Museum – With school-aged kids, the memorial may be enough
Shop – favorite places to pop into while in NYC, all in SoHo + Nolita
Clare V.
Siegerson Morrison
Stevan Alan
Isabel Marant
Madewell
ScoopNYC
This trip will bring a first time visit to the Tenement Museum for our family. I’ve been wanting to take everyone up to The Cloisters as well. If you haven’t been it’s just beautiful. A little piece of Medieval Europe in modern day New York City. Be sure to check out our other NYC travelogues for fun ways to see the city with our without the kids. Check back soon for our feature on 2 days in Brooklyn, NY.
image credit | the marlton hotel
