We're planning to go to a concert at the Old Stone House (on 3rd St. between 4th & 5th Aves.) tomorrow (Sunday) and would like to eat dinner afterward. My friend has a bad leg, so we'd like a place very close by. Not expensive (not more than $25. p.p., not including drinks or tax) and can be American or ethnic, preferably not too spicy or exotic. We like Chinese, Indian, Middle Eastern, Mexican, etc.
Thanks a lot.

We went to Picolo, and we were disappointed. We shared vegetable lasagna and pumpkin (I think that's what they were supposed to be) gnocchi. We liked neither. Lasagna had no sauce and just chunks of butternut squash. Gnocchi tasted only of the pasta-- could not taste anything inside them. The salad was fine. I would not return.
While I'm not a vegetarian, I am not a meat (or chicken) lover. If I want Chinese food, would other people recommend Szechuan Gourmet or Cafe China? If I go down to 28 St., I'd probably choose one of the Indian places there.

We want to look at the Surrealist exhibit before the show, and the museum will be open to us just at 6, so we need to eat early- around 5.

We want to have an early, simple dinner prior to a performance at the Morgan Thurs. evening. Would like somethig close by-- Curry Hill is a little too far. Would like something inexpensive ($25. p.p., not including drinks or tax, or less), but good. Could be ethnic (Indian, Middle Eastern, Chinese, Italian, etc. Not Japanese or Korean) or American. Thanks for any suggestions.

Thanks for all the suggestions. I will keep them in mind for the future. Tonight we ended up at Da Andrea (on 13 St. betw. 5 & 6 Ave.), which we both liked. Good Italian food, moderate prices.

We're going to the Regal Union Square, Broadway & 13 St., later this afternoon. Looking for an inexpensive place close by for an early dinner afterward. We like ethnic food-- Chinese, Italian, Indian, Middle Eastern, Spanish, etc. and also good American. We'd like to spend just $25. (or less) p.p., before drinks and tax. Any suggestions? Thank you.

I was disappointed to learn Basilica has closed; I thought we'd go eat there after a matinee today (around 4:30). Any suggestions for another place nearby? Theater is on 47 St. near 8th Ave, and my friend cannot walk far at all, so it should be close. I think 9 Ave. would be fine. Can be Italian, Asian (but not Thai), Middle Eastern -- anything not very spicy. And not expensive: about $25. p.p. (not including alcohol). Any suggestions? Thanks.

Thanks for the suggestion-- I didn't know there was a Kosher board.

Both of those are out of our price range.

Some friends and I are looking for a place to have a reunion early on a Monday evening. One of us is strictly kosher. She suggested Cafe Classico (W. 57 St.) and Colbeh (Persian-- W. 39 St.), but I saw they did not get very good reviews. She also suggested Le Marais, but that is too pricey for us. We don't want to spend much more than about $25. pp. We would like mid-town west, not too far from Port Authority. We're open to American and all different types of cuisine. But it must be extremely kosher. (One friend suggested Kosher Deluxe, but it did not meet with our Orthodox friend's approval.) Thanks very much.

Thanks very much for the info.

We'd like a light, inexpensive meal before going to the Singing Circle this evening in Robert Wagner Park. Gigino's is definitely not what we're looking for. We'll be coming from Bowling Green, so anything near Battery Park would be good. A place with good sandwiches would be fine. Thanks for any suggestions.

Thanks, everyone, for your suggestions. I think we'll probably try Cafe Ronda or Seven's or Pasha. The last two sound comparable. Any observations on which has better food? Are the prices about the same?

Thanks for the suggestions. Which of these would you say has the best food and is a comfortable place to sit and chat?

I'm meeting a friend for a play at Lincoln Center on Saturday afternoon, and we want to eat afterward, around 4:30. I've looked at other recommendations, but Lincoln and Bar Boulud are too pricey for us. We only want to spend around $25. p.p. (before tax and tip, not including wine). Would Indie Cafe be a good choice? Any suggestions? We don't mind walking to Amsterdam or up to the 70's. Ethnic food or American are all fine. But I would like something resembling dinner, not just a sandwich.

We ended up at Grand Sichuan. We all were happy with what we had. Nothing spectacular, but perfectly good Chinese food.
Thanks to all who responded-- your replies were very helpful.

Thanks again for your suggestons. Ditch Plains got some discouraging reviews elsewhere, and I'm not really a big seafood lover. Snack Taverna looks very appealing. And while it's not cheap, it seems to have a decent selection of affordable options.

Thanks for these suggestions. Fatty 'Cue sounds very appealing to me, but unfortunately, it seems to be closed on Sundays between 3:30 and 5, which is probably just when we'd want to be there. The same is true for King, and the Thai place doesn't seem to be open at all on Sunday. (I consulted Yelp & menupages.) I realize 3 or 3:30 is an odd time to eat, but that's our schedule.

Looking up older posts, I found references to Bar Pitti and Grand Sechuan 7th. Any opinions on those? Any other possibilities?

We're going to a movie at the Film Forum (Houston St. betw. 6 Ave. & Varick) tomorrow (Sunday) and will want to eat a meal afterwards-- around 3 or 3:30. Since it will probably be raining hard, we want a place very close by. I like 'nino, but it's really too small and cramped for the 4 of us. American or ethnic food is fine (Chinese, Indian, Italian, Middle Eastern, Mexican, etc.), but we don't want an expensive restaurant. (Not much more than $25. p.p., before tax & tip.) Preferably a place that's not too loud so we can chat without shouting. One of us is a vegetarian, but he does eat fish and other seafood.
Any suggestions? Thank you.

Thank you all for your comments. We went to Cafe Ronda (my husband is very fond of tapas), and it worked out quite well. I liked my empanadas and our salad (plenty for 3) very much. The others liked their tapas (mussels & squid). The desserts we had were just O.K. It was not crowded since we arrived shortly after 4, and it wasn't loud at all. We had a nice table for 4 near the back and had no trouble chatting. They had an "early dinner" menu that was more limited that the usual dinner menu (though with the same prices as dinner), but that was not a problem for us. It was a bit pricier than our usual dinners, but not terribly expensive. We felt we would go back.

-----
Cafe Ronda
249 Columbus Ave, New York, NY 10023

Thank you all for your suggestions. I remember going to Nanoosh once years ago, and I wasn't crazy about it. And it's not the sort of place we'd want to linger. I didn't know about the Indie cafe or the others mentioned. Any hounds have opinions on any of these three: Indie Food and Wine, Bello Giardino or Cafe Ronda?
Thanks again.

We're going to a matinee this Saturday on W. 71 St. (betw. Broadway & Columbus), and want somewhere to eat afterward (probably around 4:30, an odd hour) that's nearby. We like good American and most ethnic: Chinese, Italian, Indian, Middle Eastern (though my daughter does not like Turkish), Mexican, etc. My husband rejects Thai, and I don't love Japanese. We don't want to spned too much-- probably not more than $25. p.p. (tax but not booze included).
And we would like to sit and chat a bit, so nothing like Shake Shack. Any suggestions?
Thanks a lot.

Bocca Lupo sounds very good to me too, and it got excellent reviews in various places on the web. I like 'ino, and it sounds similar, but with more choices. Do any hounds besides egit have an opinion of it?

Bar Tabac sounds very appealing, but I have one question-- based on their name. Do they allow smoking there? I hate cigarette smoke. Please let me know. Thanks.

Thanks so much for all your suggestions. I will definitely follolw up on them. I remember now eating at Tripoli several years ago and liking it. Shake Shack is a little too informal; I do want a restaurant. I checked and Brucie is open on Saturdays, though not between 3:30 and 5, which could be a problem. It sounds appealing, but do they have proper chairs with backs? I don't like sitting on a stool. We probably will take your advice and look for something around Atlantic or Court St. instead of the Heights. But the Heights is a prettier neighborhood.
Thanks again!

My husband claims Thai food does not agree with him, and I'm not crazy about Japanese, but otherwise, any of the ones you mentioned would be fine. Which place do you think offers the best food for the price? Also, I would prefer a place that's not far from the museum
I remember going to a Polish restaurant on Montague years ago; I think it was called Teresa's, and it was pretty good and very reasonable. Do you know if it's still there?
Please do let me know what you would recommend. Thanks.

We are going to the Transit Museum on Saturday, and would like to find a nice but not expensive (max. about $20. pp) place for a late lunch nearby. The museum is on Boerum Pl. & Schermehorn. So it's very near Court St. and not far from the southern part of Brooklyn Heights. We don't want to walk more than about 15 or 20 minutes. American or ethnic food (Indian, Chinese, Italian, Mexican, Middle Eastern, etc.) would be fine. Any suggestions? Thank you!

Thanks for all the suggestions. But University and 12 St. is a little further than we would like. I was looking for a place just a five or ten-minute walk away. There are two Italian restaurants very close by: Tre Giovani on LaGuardia and Porto-Bello on Thompson. Has anyone tried either of those? I was considering Otto, but it has been criticized for being very noisy. We would like to have a conversation without yelling at each other. .

-----
Otto
1 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10003

Tre Giovani
548 Laguardia Pl, New York, NY 10012

Porto Bello
208 Thompson St, New York, NY 10012

$25. before tax and tip.

We're going to a show at the Skirball Center (LaGuardia & Washington Sq. South) and want to have an early dinner beforehand. We don't want an expensive restaurant-- maybe $25. pp. Ethnic is good (Italian, Indian, Chinese, Mexican, or Mediterranean, but not Japanese) or good American food. We would like someplace close by. Any suggestions? Thanks.