Thank you, everyone, for your help! I wanted to update you on my NYC trip. I found it extremely difficult to adhere to the reservation that we'd planned, but we loved almost all of our food choices and will be returning in November to catch the restaurants we missed this time.

Westville -- didn't live up to my memories of the place. Still a killer burger, but the market plate was a disappointment and they no longer have the butterscotch pudding on the menu.

Russ & Daughters -- how did i never know about this place? they slice lox directly off the fish and onto your bagel. ridiculously good.

Co. (Company) -- one of these new style pizza spots is hot right now (along with Keste and Motorino). On the fancy side for pizza, but very good. I'm glad we checked it out.

Maialino -- AWESOME italian restaurant. we went really late after a show, which made it difficult to go all out. but this was really an awesome place with great food and great energy.

Dominique Ansel bakery -- fancy little bakery right by where we were staying in Soho. they make these addictive things called DKAs, which are basically small croissants covered in caramel and cinnamon sugar.

Collins St. Bakery -- best biscuit I've ever had in my life. I had read that their biscuit sandwich was the item to get, but I screwed up and went for a more lunchy item -- the crab cake sandwich -- which was alright, but half as good as the biscuit and jam I ordered on the side.

Momofoku Fried Chix Resy -- I freakin loved this meal. It was right up my alley, because I love fried chicken and anything mu shu. the pancakes were amazing and the southern style fried chicken was great. Wish we had eight in our party instead of six, because we didnt come close to finishing.

Momofoku Milk Bar -- didn't live up to expectations. the cereal milk ice cream was kinda strange for me, but the cookies were solid.

Cookshop -- surprisingly great brunch spot. Was right across the street from the Highline, which we enjoyed exploring after the meal.

Jungsik -- WOW. a true dining experience. Every course and every bite was a real surprise. Our "five course" menu was more like ten courses because of all the freebies during the meal. The bill was more of a ten course bill, however.

Hundred Acres -- another good brunch spot by the same owners as Cookshop. nice brunch menu, good food, would go back.

Revised Itinerary

WED NIGHT - Westville

THURS BREAKFAST - Russ & Daughters
THURS LATE LUNCH - Eataly (+ Shake Shack?)
THURS LATE DINNER - Maialino (9:30 rez after Fuerza Bruta)

FRI BRUNCH - Locanda Verde (or Clinton St., depending on the mood)
FRI DINNER - Momofoku Noodle Bar (6pm rez for Fried Chicken Dinner)

SAT BRUNCH - Prune (before TBD musical matinee)
SAT DINNER - Still deciding between WD50 (7pm) or Ciano (8pm)? A friend of mine also urged me to consider Cafe Boulus, which was not previously a contender.

SUN BRUNCH - Balthzar Bakery (before matinee of War Horse)

Quick Update:
EMP is closed for a private event and Babby is completely booked for my evening.

However, I was able to get reservations at both WD-50 and Ciano for Saturday evening.

Which is the one to keep?

Thanks for the responses!

Good call on Ciano. I moved my reservation from Gotham to Ciano, although I would still prefer EMP/Babbo/Maialino/WD-50.

Unfortunately, I waited too long to post to Chow to learn the OpenTable tricks and I'm now just three weeks away from my preferred reservation date. Do any of these have waiting lists?

Point taken on Luke's being a better lunch option than dinner. I'm trying to stay close to Union Square, since I'm seeing a show there at 8. I looked at Tocqueville/15 East, but both seem a bit more pricey than I was hoping for. Friend of a Farmer is about the right distance and price, but seems like more of a brunch spot than a decent dinner option. Cha-an looks interesting, though I don't understand their menu.

Hi everyone!

My wife and I have planned a visit to NYC in mid-May. It is our first time visiting since we lived there 7 years ago. We have thrown a couple of old favorites into our itinerary for old time's sake, but I'm on the fence about a number of our meals:

Wed Dinner -- Westville (our old standby)

Thurs Breakfast -- Russ & Daughters
Thurs Lunch -- Eataly (maybe dessert at Shake Shack after)
Thurs Dinner -- Luke's Lobster (before Fuerza Bruta)
-- Is the R&D/Eataly/Shake Shack plan a bit aggressive for a weekday morning??? --

Fri Brunch -- Clinton St. Baking Co.
Fri Dinner-- Momofoku Noodle Bar (fried chicken dinner with friends)
-- Is Clinton St. our action here or should we do something else? I've seen Locanda Verde mentioned on several posts. --

Sat Brunch -- Prune (before TBD musical)
Sat Dinner -- HELP!
-- Saturday's dinner is our "go big" date night. I would love to do EMP, but would love some tips on how to score a reservation (none available on OpenTable, haven't tried calling yet). Babbo, Maialino, and WD-50 would also be strong contenders, but same reservation situation as EMP. I'm holding a reservation to Gotham right now, which I've enjoyed before, but would love to try something new and exciting.

Sun Brunch -- Balthazar Bakery (before War Horse)

I would love feedback on all of the trip plan, and especially on what I should do for Saturday night.

Thanks in advance!