Notes from a Great Summer Trip to NYC

One of my favorite places in the whole wide world is New York City. I’m lucky to have been to the city a few times now, twice with my husband and most recently with the whole fam. My kids are teenagers now and fully able to keep up the pace with my husband and I. Since I’ve indoctrinated them with NYC lore, they were excited to see what all the fuss was about. To my delight, they weren’t disappointed, which is a true testament to the city because we were there during the hottest week of Summer 2022! (I’m not exaggerating — I looked it up. This past July in NYC, the three hottest days were during our visit!) Here are some recommendations from the trip in case you’re thinking about going, wondering about bringing your kids, or worried that you might pass out on a hot subway train if you go in the summer (good news: most of the cars have AC!).

The Best Thing We Did in NYC

The very best thing we did in New York City (in July) was book matinee theater tickets ahead of time. On prior trips when my husband and I have been in the city sans kids, we waited until we were there to see what was happening off-Broadway (we got to see Chris Evans in “Lobby Hero” and Nathan Lane, John Goodman and John Slattery in “The Front Page”!) or whether there were good discounts from the TKTS booth. One year, my husband won the Wicked lottery that happens before the show, scoring us two great seats for $30 each. That was all before Covid. When I was checking on tickets a couple of months pre-trip this year, it looked like theaters were filling up sooner, and there were four of us. AND we really really wanted to do matinees so that we could spend the hottest part of the day in the dark, air-conditioned cocoon of a theater. We saw Phantom of the Opera, which I’m so glad about because it’s closing on Broadway after a 35-year run in February, 2023. We also saw Harry Potter And The Cursed Child which was amazing. Bonus: it’s not that important to get seat close to the stage for Cursed Child because you get a great view of the special effects (which are incredible) from the balcony.

The Best Things We Ate In NYC

In the past I’ve spent a lot of time researching “must try” restaurants ahead of a NYC trip and my husband and I would hoof our way from one end of the city to the other to make the list work. This time around, we decided to stay close to the hotel (in Midtown) because we knew the heat and humidity would make everything take longer (or make it feel like it was taking longer). So, we experimented with using Yelp to find the best options near us. The results were mixed. I didn’t feel like we were finding real “gems” with Yelp. Going forward, I’ll spend some time researching at least a couple of restaurants/food trucks in the neighborhoods we plan to spend time in. Having said that, I highly recommend the following:

Ellen’s Stardust Diner

The food at Ellen’s Stardust Diner is fine, you’ll feel like it’s overpriced, but you’re really paying for the entertainment. If you don’t enjoy live singing, skip it! There’s way better prices for eggs and bacon all over the city. We had a great time eating breakfast while the server/performers belted out songs from Broadway musicals, Disney movies and pop music. They don’t take reservations so use Google Maps to look up which times of the day are busiest then go unfashionably early or late to avoid queues snaking around the block.

Street Gyros

I was resolved that we’d try NYC street food this visit, and gyros from Adel’s Famous Halal Food is the one thing we’re all craving now that we’re back in Colorado. In addition to the food tasting great, the price was very very nice ($8 per person for more than any of us could finish) and the people-watching on the street as we sat by a fountain across from Radio City Music Hall at night was exceptional.

Eataly, NYC Flatiron

Yes, Eataly is a chain, but it’s also a fun food/marketplace experience and my kids had never been before so we booked a reservation ahead of time to have a sit-down dinner La Pizza & La Pasta within. Three of us chose entrees of housemade fresh pasta, while my son ordered a seafood dish made with dried pasta. Everything was delicious. We wandered around long enough after our meal that some of us had room for gelato before heading out into the (hot) night.

Empire Cake

My husband and I discovered Empire Cake in 2018 and I’m so glad they’re still in business! In addition to making the BEST black and white cookies, their Swiss rolls are heavenly. We stopped in to share 2 Swiss rolls between the four of us. Normally we’d have loaded up on black and white cookies and other things to take back home, but we knew none of it would survive the heat so we just had to savor what we could in the moment.

Empire State vs. Top of the Rock?

I highly recommend doing Top of the Rock or the Empire State Building viewing decks. I’ve done both. Top of the Rock is cool because of the iconic views of Central Park on the one side, and the Empire State building on the other:

On the other hand, the interactive experience included with your Empire State Building ticket is fabulous. Historic photos and placards detail the making of the building along with posters and video that showcase its cultural significance. There’s also a room with floor-to-ceiling video displays that make it appear you’re in the midst of the ESB construction project in 1931, and a King Kong photo op just for fun. As far as an educational experience, ESB wins, hands-down. But those 30 Rock views… Either way, you’re a winner!

Tips & Miscellany

• We stayed at the Park Central Hotel. If you do this, ask for a high floor when you book and stick to your guns when you get there and check in. Don’t be afraid to go back down and ask for a different room if they stick you in a street-noise-filled 5th-floor cave that makes you claustrophobic even though you booked months in advance and requested a high-number floor at the time. This hotel had no amenities — the bar and restaurant weren’t in service while we were there and one of the two elevators on our side was out of service half the time (but the Starbucks next door does order ahead!). The location was ideal for walking or taking the subway to everything we wanted to do.
• The Coming to New York City podcast is a great resource for all things NYC visiting, like how to use public transit, which apps to download before your trip, different ways to get theater tickets, places to go with your kids and more. The hosts are NYC transplants from suburban Texas so (as a suburbanite) I find their insights more relatable than those offered by people who are life-long city folk or people without kids.
• We didn’t tour the Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty this time because I read that the internal temperature of the Statue is about 20-degrees hotter than outside. It was 80-degrees at 8AM on our visit, so… HARD PASS. However, we took the Staten Island Ferry (always free – ignore the scammers in blue vests at the entrance to the ferry station offering to “help” you – you don’t need help, it’s a free boat ride) to get a good view of Lady Liberty. I would recommend doing this as early as possible on the day that you decide to go. Adult passengers on our voyage were not giving up their positions on the rail for kids to be able to see and that boat was FULL.
• The best thing in the whole wide world is being able to wave your phone over the scanner in the subway instead of having to buy tickets at a kiosk or even an app. It’s called “Tap and Go” and you don’t need to download anything. This article explains how to do it.

What I’m reading: The Office BFFs by Angela Kinsey and Jenna Fischer. I also listen to the Office Ladies Podcast.

What I just listened to and can’t stop thinking about: Hidden Brain: Decoding Emotions about how emotions are culturally-instilled, not universally the same for all humans.