Theatre

Theatre and dining — commentary about shows, and some restaurants near theatre

La Masseria, Theatre District, NYC + Two Strangers Carry A Cake (Across New York)

During our sub-frigid winter, I chose restaurants within a 5-minute walk of our theatre. This time, the classic La Masseria is across 48th Street from where we saw the delightful two-character musical, Two Strangers Carry A Cake (Across New York)—one of those shows where you leave smiling. To start our meal—along with our bread service—we picked at their crispy, lightly fried zucchini strips, Chef Pino-style. I'd recommend it as a nice way to start our meal. Works nicely with a Montepulciano ($17). One friend enjoyed the whole branzino with roasted potatoes and diced veggies, caponata-style ($55), while another enjoyed calf's liver sautéed with onions & blueberry vinegar ($41.50). Both good. [...]

By |2026-02-21T09:44:38-05:00February 25th, 2026|NYC Restaurant Reviews, Theatre|0 Comments
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Shuka Birthday Celebration + Art on Broadway + Billiards

We kicked off our celebration at the new production of ART, this time with Bobby Cannavale, James Corden, and Neil Patrick Harris. I had seen the original version with Alan Alda, Victor Garber, and Alfred Molina in 1998. I haven't laughed so hard since I saw the original cast of Spamalot!  James Corden stopped the show.... more than once.  I highly recommend. We stopped at Amsterdam Billiards for some fierce ping pong competition before heading to dinner at Shuka on McDougal. Once settled in, we ordered lots of their shareable mezze, including squash hummus ($12), taramasalata ($14), tahini dip ($12), crisp cauliflower ($17), crudite ($11), falafel $14) and a fall [...]

By |2025-12-23T10:41:49-05:00January 5th, 2026|Big Apple Life, NYC Best Bites, NYC Restaurant Reviews, Theatre|0 Comments
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Vinateria, Harlem, NYC + It’s Only A Play

When my friend suggested going to see Terrance McNally's hilarious play, "It's Only A Play" at Morningside Theater in the Morningside Heights area of Manhattan, I suggested we first dine at my friend and fellow Dame, Yvette Leeper Bueno's Vinateria, with its Spanish- and Italian-influenced food. Yvette graciously donated the gift certificate to a Les Dames d'Escoffier raffle, which I won. She warmly welcomed us to her friendly establishment, introducing us to her special people. I started with an Old Fashioned made with Cooper's Daughter, a small-batch bourbon finished in black walnut syrup barrels. This distillery is woman-owned and family-operated, also producing its own cooperage and apples. My dining partner [...]

By |2025-12-23T10:41:09-05:00January 2nd, 2026|Big Apple Life, NYC Best Bites, NYC Restaurant Reviews, Theatre|0 Comments
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Lunch at Marseille, Hell’s Kitchen + Little Bear Ridge Road

I jumped a subway from my pickleball game to try to get uptown quickly to meet friends for a quick lunch at Marseilles before theatre. Always a good choice. To make up for my lateness, I ordered a chicken salad from the menu so it would be ready when I arrived, so we'd get to the curtain on time. I walked in as our fab server, Carlos, placed my grilled chicken salad with mixed greens, celeriac remoulade and cherry tomatoes in a mustard vinaigrette ($24). It was just missing the menu-stated haricot vert. So tasty, though. I'd order it again. One dining partner savored their crab salad with asparagus, shaved [...]

By |2025-11-28T19:09:27-05:00December 3rd, 2025|NYC Best Bites, NYC Restaurant Reviews, Theatre|0 Comments
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Salinas, Chelsea, NYC + Ethan Cohen’s Let’s Love!

It wasn't our first time at Salinas, so we knew to reserve a table in the well-lit garden room at the back. Unfortunately, a party was taking place there, so we were seated in a comfortable booth as close to it as possible, allowing the outdoor light to brighten our experience. Two of us started with their Sangria, a delightful blend of Spanish red wine, brandy, pomegranate, citrus fruit and red wine ice cubes to prevent dilution ($42 per half liter). We started our meal with a few shared appetizers, including the very tasty coliflor, featuring tender tricolor cauliflower served with a citrusy Greek yogurt sweetened with sweet paprika ($19). [...]

By |2025-11-01T09:57:58-04:00November 5th, 2025|Big Apple Life, NYC Best Bites, NYC Restaurant Reviews, Theatre|0 Comments
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Frena, Hell’s Kitchen, NYC + Caroline at MCC

Before heading to MCC, the far west theatre west of 10th Avenue, we stopped at Frena, where Taboon once was located on the corner of 52nd and Tenth Avenue, for a quick bite before our 6 pm (odd time, I know!) show, Caroline. The weather cooperated, and we were still able to sit outside and enjoy the last nice days of summer. The three-woman powerful show explores the challenging dynamics between three generations of women. This thought-provoking 90 minutes of theatre is not to be missed. As for Frena, we once again indulged in their mezze, featuring a trio of choices ($26) served with their addictive, freshly baked bread. We [...]

By |2025-10-02T09:21:30-04:00October 28th, 2025|City Bites, NYC Best Bites, NYC Restaurant Reviews, Theatre|0 Comments
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A Return to Mary Lane + Josh Sharp & Jean Smart

We stopped in for a mid-afternoon brunch at Mary Lane (part of Blackfoot Hospitality - Little Owl, The Clam and more) before heading to Greenwich House Theater to see Josh Sharp deliver his hysterical 80-minute 2000-slide one-man show. We had an attentive staff as we enjoyed an afternoon meal. We started with cocktails that included their first crush ($12) and a couple of Cappelletti spritz ($12) as we got caught up. Our server took our order, then asked if we might want anything else, as the kitchen was closing shortly. We knew that. Our show started at 5, so we leisurely sipped our drinks, awaiting our selections. One had their [...]

By |2025-10-05T08:43:25-04:00October 5th, 2025|Big Apple Life, NYC Best Bites, NYC Restaurant Reviews, Theatre|0 Comments
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**Happy Hour at Mermaid Inn, Times Square, NYC + John Proctor, The Villain

We grabbed a bite during The Mermaid Inn's Times Square happy hour, as my theatre-going friends are oyster lovers. That and it was close to the theatre where we were heading to the Tony-winning play, John Proctor the Villain, which I would recommend.  During happy hour, the restaurant offers the chef's choice of oysters for $2 each, with a minimum of six.  In addition to the oysters, we tried the fried calamari ($11), which was almost entirely composed of fried coating. I'd skip the lobster roll ($26), as it the crustacean wasn't very fresh. What I'd recommend is the country-fried free-range chicken, served with jalapeño cheddar cornbread and braised collard greens, [...]

By |2025-06-28T10:39:29-04:00July 7th, 2025|Big Apple Life, Happy Hours, NYC Best Bites, NYC Restaurant Reviews, Theatre|0 Comments
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Chez Josephine, Hell’s Kitchen, NYC + Little Shop of Horrors

It's a true New York immigrant story! I hadn't been back to Chez Josephine since before the pandemic. During my first visit, Jean-Claude Baker, the adoptive son of the restaurant's namesake, Josephine, welcomed me. This time, however, it was Manuel Uzha, the current owner, who greeted me. Jean-Claude entrusted Chez Josephine to him when he passed away. Their connection began in the 1980s when Manuel worked as a dishwasher while Jean-Claude was the maître d' at an Upper East Side restaurant. After enjoying the always entertaining "Little Shop of Horrors" at the Westside Theatre, we arrived at Chez Josephine. I noticed that the front table in the window was empty [...]

By |2025-01-29T12:14:06-05:00February 24th, 2025|NYC Restaurant Reviews, Theatre|0 Comments
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Rosa Mexicano, Lincoln Center, NYC + Robert Downey Jr. in McMeal

After seeing Robert Downey Jr. in McMeal at Lincoln Center Theatre, we crossed the street to grab a bite at Rosa Mexicano. The show is Ayad Akhtar’s new play, which closed in November, about a literary icon who gets assistance from AI. The subject matter reminded me of Glenn Close in The Wife. With five of us, we started with a double portion of their tableside guac ($32)— served with warm corn tortilla chips and roasted tomato salsa—and margies, with one ordering the frozen blood orange ($16). Being hungry, I overindulged in the guac and chips! Four of us then shared two orders of the roasted half chicken ($31) with sautéed [...]

By |2024-12-20T09:51:09-05:00December 20th, 2024|NYC Best Bites, NYC Restaurant Reviews, Theatre|0 Comments
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Orso, Theatre District, NYC + The Counter

Orso on Theatre Row was one of my go-to's when I lived in Connecticut and came into the city to the theatre. The food was consistently good, and I often saw a celebrity at a table. We started with a white pizza topped with fennel sausage, romano and mozzarella cheese, sprinkled with rosemary ($24). It could have been our meal! I had their rigatoni with a bolognese meat sauce ($28) and my dining partner, the sauteed calf's liver with fried onions ($32). Sadly, nothing stays the same. The service was lackluster, but the food was fine. I loved that they still served on a beautifully painted Italian terra cotta dinnerware. [...]

By |2024-11-26T07:45:06-05:00November 26th, 2024|Big Apple Life, NYC Best Bites, NYC Restaurant Reviews, Theatre|0 Comments
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Pre-Theatre Menu at the Greek Kellari Taverna, Theatre District, NYC + Our Town

After reading Ann Patchet's Tom Lake for one of my book groups, where they put on a production of “Our Town,” by Thornton Wilder, we realized that show was coming to Broadway and vowed to go together. We did. I highly recommend the production with Jim Parsons playing the narrator. Before the show, we opted for the $65 three-course pre-fix dinner at Kellari Taverna. We all nibbled the olives, hummus and radishes. One started with the cauliflower soup, and the other three enjoyed their gently pan-fried tender calamari with onions, peppers, capers and fava bean spread. One chose the swordfish daily special, another the lavraki (also called branzino or Mediterranean [...]

By |2024-11-03T08:02:32-05:00November 8th, 2024|Big Apple Life, NYC Restaurant Reviews, Theatre|0 Comments
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The Lambs Club + Roommate, Not

A leisurely lunch at the Lambs Club was our plan. Then, we'd walk around the corner to see Mia Farrow and Patty Lupone in Roommates at the Booth Theatre on 45th Street. We hadn't yet discovered that the show was canceled as Mia Farrow had COVID. The Lambs Club is America's first professional theatrical club, organized in 1874. At that time, no women were allowed. It moved, reorganized and re-opened after COVID in 2022. The walls are adorned with portraits of former club members. We chatted with the lovely manager about the club, the menu and the cuisine.  After that, he kindly sent us the sweet and savory summer green gazpacho gratis [...]

By |2024-11-03T19:12:06-05:00October 22nd, 2024|NYC Best Bites, NYC Restaurant Reviews, Theatre|0 Comments
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New Location of Mission Ceviche, Union Square, NYC + Once Upon a Mattress

I first sampled Peruvian food in Lima over 50 years ago when I went to meet my newborn nephew, who is now 51. I recently stopped into the newly opened, grand Mission Ceviche in Union Square for more Peruvian fare. It's a sister to the original one on the Upper East Side. This one is spacious, with Italian marble bars for its ceviche and sushi station, a mosaic octopus at the entrance and an unusual rope chandelier with lots of fresh plants hanging from it lights the expansive restaurant designed by New World Design Builders with Peruvian-inspired fabrics reminiscent of the sea and a commissioned wall covering made of thousands of fish-shaped scales. [...]

By |2024-10-13T09:07:25-04:00October 12th, 2024|NYC Best Bites, NYC Restaurant Reviews, Theatre|0 Comments
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Salinas, Chelsea, NYC + Pilobolus @ The Joyce Theater

What a find! We were off to see the second Pilobulus re:CREATION dynamic dance performances at The Joyce, looking for a new place to grab a bite. We ended up in the glass-roofed garden room at Salinas on Ninth, serving authentic Spanish cuisine from Chef Luis Bollo, a native of San Sebastian, in the heart of Basque Country. We shared everything, starting with their bravas con huevas marinas ($21), crispy potatoes topped with lumpfish caviar and shaved bottarga in a tasty brava sauce; their Canary Island octopus ($31) with black beans and Meyer lemon; and two pieces of the classic grilled tomato bread ($14), our only disappointment. For the entrees, we [...]

By |2025-09-30T14:30:54-04:00September 22nd, 2024|NYC Restaurant Reviews, Theatre|0 Comments
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Le Rivage, Theatre Row, NYC + Hell’s Kitchen

Silly me. I've avoided dining on Theatre Row, remembering it as too touristy. I decided to book the longtime French bistro serving classic fare in an old-world, rustic setting, mentioning we were celebrating a birthday. Since reading both Danny Meyer's "Setting the Table" and Will Guidara's "Unreasonable Hospitality," focusing on hospitality, I've been noticing exceptional service even more. The hostess warmly greeted me as I entered the restaurant for lunch, inquiring whose birthday it was. I said, mine. A few minutes after being seated, my server came to the table, introduced himself, welcomed me by name and said, Happy Birthday! We were off to a great, hospitable start. When my guest [...]

By |2024-09-21T11:30:51-04:00September 16th, 2024|NYC Best Bites, NYC Restaurant Reviews, Theatre|0 Comments
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Authentic Moroccan at Tara’s Kitchen, Tribeca, NYC + Pilobolus

I had never heard of 1000-hole pancakes, nor had I had them in Morocco. My friend was invited to sample these spongy semolina pancakes, also called beghrir, at Tara Kitchen in Tribeca, owned by Aneese Waheed. The pancakes are cooked only on one side and not flipped. Thanks to yeast in the batter, tiny holes appear on the surface, giving the pancakes a delicate and lacy texture. The Tara Kitchen serves them with housemade honey butter and a berry compote. We liked the texture and flavor of this tasty item on their brunch menu. We also sampled her cocktails. I'd recommend the delicious and unusual rhubarb Cosmo ($22) with vodka, [...]

By |2024-09-21T11:22:38-04:00September 10th, 2024|NYC Restaurant Reviews, Theatre|0 Comments
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Zou Zou’s, Manhattan West, NYC + The Fringe’s “Pretty Good, Not Bad” + Stereophonic

It is not normal for me to attend two shows in one day. That said, it was my friend's only day to reschedule seeing Stereophonic, the Tony-award-winning show at the Golden Theatre about the rollercoaster ride of recording an album. We loved the show, yet felt they could have trimmed the 3+ hour show a lot. After the show, I headed to Zou Zou's at Manhattan West — across from Moynihan Train Station — to meet some friends for dinner before attending the one-woman performance of Pretty Good, Not Bad at The Tank that evening. Thank goodness the second show, starring Ellen Toland and directed by Rachel McBath, was just about an [...]

By |2024-09-08T09:47:07-04:00September 8th, 2024|NYC Best Bites, NYC Restaurant Reviews, Theatre|0 Comments
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Barbuto, West Village, NYC + Breaking the Story + Twyla Tharp

After we went to different matinees, we met for dinner at Johnathan Waxman's Barbuto on the corner of Horatio and West Street in the West Village, just a 2-minute walk from Little Island. There, we saw a full-length premiere from Twyla Tharp featuring live music by T Bone Burnett and David Mansfield. I had seen Breaking the Story, a play that didn't get good reviews yet had a magnificent performance by Maggie Siff. They also saw the powerful, must-see Mother Play by Paula Vogel, starring Jessica Lange, Celia Keenan-Bolger, and Jim Parsons, which I had already seen. Dinner started with their Hannah pizza with burrata, fontina and Parmesan on tomato ragu [...]

By |2024-07-29T16:57:18-04:00July 20th, 2024|Big Apple Life, NYC Restaurant Reviews, Theatre|0 Comments
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Breakfast at The Marshal, Hell’s Kitchen, NYC + Illinoise

Charlie Marshal's eponymous restaurant, a unique gem in Hell's Kitchen, is one of my go-to pre-theatre places. This time, we returned for brunch before heading to the Tony-nominated Illinoise, the narrative dance musical at the St. James Theatre that's a coming-of-age story.  We sampled a few items for the first time: the spring asparagus pizza with aged and fresh mozzarella and pancetta ($28.50) and his wood-fired French toast ($19.50)stuffed with blueberry compote, topped with honey-infused whipped cream and served with Deep Mountain maple syrup. I recommend a trip to Charlie's before the theatre and the unusual Illinoise. The Marshal Hell’s Kitchen 628 10th Avenue (at 44th) New York, NY 10036 (212) 582-6300 the-marshal.com/

By |2024-06-14T09:22:17-04:00June 19th, 2024|NYC Restaurant Reviews, Theatre|0 Comments
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