Hi there!
We'll be visiting New York in April. We are from France and are a family with two Teenage kids (17 and 19).
It's the first time that we will be in New York and we can't wait to go there.
We're staying at the Waldorf Astoria.
Now we would be happy to have first a few recommendations for cool restaurants with great food but also trendy.
Then my daughter and I love to go shopping, were should we go.
Which adress could you recommend us? Where are the nice shops with great clothes but not too expensive...
Thanks for your advice!
Desirée

Your hotel is in quite an expensive part of the city, so the first thing you'll need to get are unlimited metro cards for the buses and subway.

Your kids would probably like theatrical restaurants with great food. Head for the Meatpacking District. My favorites there are Spice Market and Buddakan. Spice Market has been around for quite a while, through various ups and downs. And I see it gets very mixed reviews. But I've been going there for years and honestly have never had a bad meal there. Same with Buddkan, which gets more uniform reviews. You would absolutely need reservations.

Have a look through menupages.com to see reviews and sample menus. And register at opentable.com, which is free. It's the best, easiest way to book reservations.

I'm not much of a shopper, but the Euro has been very strong against the dollar, so you'll find loads of bargains. Try Century 21, downtown, but go very early because it's insanely crowded.

Bonjour. Passe la conifiture si'l vous plait. Fours years of French. Ooouch.
I'm a Freeman's fan. Need to get there around 6:15. You'll love it. I promise.
Of course Balthazar's another cool spot. For high end and a wonderful dinning experience. The Four Seasons Say hello to Alex and let him know Ask a New Yorker sent you
[freemansrestaurant.com]
[www.balthazarny.com]
[www.fourseasonsrestaurant.com]



Edited 4 time(s). Last edit at 03/28/2010 06:35AM by askanewyorker.

Thank you guys!
Your french is great Monsieur le Moderateur !
Is it really safe to go with the metro? I've heard it's dangerous to go by metro...is it true?
Thanks and take care
Hello from FRANCE!

The subway is safe, and runs 24 hours, 7 days a week. (Curiously, the fare card is called a "metro card," but we never use the word "metro" -- it's called the subway, even when it's above ground.)

5th Ave b/w 15th and 23rd St is a teenage girls shopping paradise. BCBG, Espirit, Banana Republic, J. Crew, Juicy Couture, H&M, Gap, Zara, Club Monaco.

Higher end shopping sections are in

1) SoHo (Dolce & Gabbana, Prada, Miu Miu, Louis Vuitton, Marc Jacobs, Catharine Malandrino, Coach, Burberry, Kate Spade, Jill Stuart, John Varvatos, Ben Sherman, H&M, J. Crew, Banana Republic, American Eagle, Bloomingdales (not the main store), Steve Madden (say “hi” to the manager, Mike, for me).

2) Meatpacking (DVF (Diane Von Furstenberg), Alexander McQueen, Jeffrey (great shoes!), Stella McCartney, Theory, Scoop, Catherine Malandrino, Calypso, Ed Hardy, Scoop (a local NY favorite), Puma Black Store)

3) Upper East Side

4) Upper West Side (along Columbus Ave).

Good idea to see what "sample sales" are going on while you're here.

Pastis (Meatpacking) and Balthazar (SoHo) are great French restaurants (same owners). The ultimate (and pricey) is Daniel right near your hotel.

You can check into some April Events or sample sales, discount stores and secret NYC outlets.

Enjoy!!!!

Melissa
NYC Insider Guide
[www.nycinsiderguide.com]

I think the subway in New York is safer than the Metro in Paris regarding being robbed.

ABC Kitchen isn't that far away from the waldorf astoria...on the east side at least, on 18th St, so it would be a quick trip down there.
I went there the other night with some friends and it was quite good. All local, organic, environmentally-conscious kind of food from Jean-Georges Vongerichten.
[www.abckitchennyc.com]
make a reservation far in advance!