Thanks for your quick response. I am totally city ignorant, so forgive my geographic naiveté.

No strict budget. Im thinking somewhere around $25-40 entrees. Is that reasonable? We'll probably do the 915 comedy show, which would put us in for an early dinner.... 7pm. Probably easier to get reservations then anyway right? Otherwise we can do a 730 show and 930pm dinner.

And we don't mind waiting for a table if the place is great :) THANKS!

Hi!
Getting away from the three kids for the night this weekend (last minute offer from grandparents!). We are probably going to stay at Dream Downtown in Greenwich Village area and go to the Comedy Cellar for some laughs. Wondering if anyone can suggest some good restaurants in between?

I like all types of food and especially seafood. Husband is major steak aficianado. We of course want somewhere romantic for a date night, with a great atmosphere. Looking for something fun, kind of fancy but please nothing too stuffy. Thank you!!

clarkgranny,

If you are looking for more logistical info the Europe Forum on Fodors.com has been immeasurably helpful in planning my trip.

http://www.fodors.com/community/europe/

Hello all,

I received such great help on this board for the Venice portion of our Italian vacation, so thought I'd ask about Lake Como as well....

We will be based in Bellagio for 3 nights and have a car. Wondering if anyone has recommendations for great dinner locales... I will try and enjoy every kind of food, but my husband is generally a meat eater. We are a young couple getting away from the kids, so are looking for romance or a fun time out.

Im wondering what time ferries run -- like would we be able to have dinner in another town on the lake (Varenna or Mennagio) and make it back to Bellagio in the evening? Or should we just stick in town?

Thanks in advance!

Thanks again, this really is so wonderfully helpful!

Two more questions if your patience will hold. Our last night in Venice is also my husband's birthday, so would be worthy of a splurge / special place.... would you recommend Al Covo?

Also, as Im searching the boards two names keep coming up - Alle Testiere and Antiche Carampane. Any insights on these two places and how they would fit into our requiremnts? The pictures of the places look nice, reviews seem to be good, but websites don't offer any info on prices, so I don't know if they're way out of our budget.

Thanks again for your help!!

-----
Antiche Carampane
Calle de la Carampane, 1911,San Polo, Venice, Veneto 30125, IT

Al Covo
Campiello della Pescaria,Castello 3968, Venice, Veneto 30122, IT

Alle Testiere
Calle del Mondo Novo,Sestiere Castello,5801, Venice, Veneto 30122, IT

oops, meant to mention one more thing....

We are staying in Castello. Will any of these places be very difficult to find? I've heard Venice is notoriously hard to navigate. Any suggestions

Wow! PBSF, this is more than I could have asked for ... thank you so much for your thoughtful and detailed response! Some of the places you mentioned certainly fit the bill (bancogiro looks right up our alley) and I will definetly spend some time researching the choices you suggested. Thank you though for taking the time to give me such a great answer, it is much appreciated from a busy mama trying to plan her escape!

One more question... what is a good reservation time? I know Italy tends to eat later than we do in the States, does 8pm seem reasonable?

Thank you all for your detailed responses!

To add a little more info... we will be in Venice from a Saturday-Tuesday. And Tuedsay night is my husband's birthday, so wanted to go somewhere extra nice then. In terms of romance we like somewhere where we can get a good meal, some friendly service that isn't so stuffy that we feel out of place, enjoy a somewhat quiet place (somwhere that wouldn't have much of a kid-crowd would be great)... a cozy atmosphere, I don't know, what is romance anyway?! And I didn't realize it was quite so expensive -- a lot of the restaurant websites don't list prices. Our budget is somewhat flexible, although I like PFSB's suggestion of splurging some nights and going more reasonable others.

So, does everyone think that making reservations in advance is smart or even necessary? Or should I just go with a list and take it from there?

I will try to do some more research on these boards -- although my time to do that is somewhat limited with two toddlers around!! Thanks again!

Hello all,

My husband and I are going to Venice in a few weeks for a much needed break from the kids.
We are looking for some restaurant recommendations, and I've been searching the boards getting more and more confused!

We are in our mid 30s and like things moderately fancy, but not stuffy. I will eat & enjoy almost anything and especially love seafood. My husband is generally a meat-eater. Since we're away from the kids we are looking for delicious food and romantic places (although somewhere fun & lively one night would be nice too). A view is not important as I think it will be cool outside in October, and we paid extra for a balcony in our hotel which we expect to use at cocktail hour! We want to stay somewhere in the $100 - $150 for dinner for the two of us (of course we wouldn't argue with a cheaper place as long as its nice)... we would order multiple courses, but only one of us will be drinking.

Any ideas appreciated!

Hi there,

I am headed down to New Haven today for a late lunch (finally got a babysitter and haircut appt at the same time!!). Looking for a nice place for lunch where I won't feel weird going alone -- maybe somewhere with a nice bar? Ive been to Pacifico and loved it - but kind of wanted to try something else. Also, not looking for pizza as I will probably get some takeout Pepe's to take home for dinner.

Thanks!

-----
Pacifico Restaurant
220 College Street, New Haven, CT 06511

Hello all,

I need a recommendation for a romantic, upscale (but not too stuffy), delicious restaurant for a young couple who is leaving baby with Grandma overnight for the first time! I like pretty much any kind of cuisine - and enjoy eclectic combinations, but my husband is more straightforward and appreciates steak or beef in most forms.

We don't have hotel reservations yet, because I'm basically going to base where we stay on where we eat! So far, we have recommendations for Seasons 52 - but I can only get reservations for 9pm, which is a bit late. Also Narcoossee's because of the fireworks, but Im worried that although that may be romantic, the food won't be great at a Disney property.
We are still considering these two places, so reviews are appreciated.

Any recommendations for a great night out, exciting food, and romantic atmosphere would be appreciated! Thanks!

Thanks!
Im not getting too many responses!
We are looking to be in easy distance from the Stadium - wherever that is. Not neccesarily walking distance, but a short cab ride max.

Hey all!

I am organizing a bacholorette party for one of my closest friends in New York - and I need some assistance.
She requested going to a Saturday afternoon Yankees game.
And we were thinking, instead of going back into the city, maybe there are some good eats near the stadium where we could go afterwards for a nice dinner and drinks.

We are a group of 8-12 women between the ages of 20-30.
As a group we generally enjoy a more "trendy" type of restaurant with a cool atmosphere and a good food selection. We would want something fun, but not casual.
The catch is that we probably wouldn't want to change clothes after the game.
So we probably would be dressed relatively casually.

The bachlorette hates seafood.

Thanks everyone!!

Hi all!
Thanks for all your great suggestions!
We ended up at the Blue Room and had a really great dinner.

The dining room was fun, modern and busy. But they gave us a nice cozy table against the wall - which allowed us some privacy.
The service was fantastic -- we didnt feel rushed at all. We started with some fun cocktails off of the custom cocktail menu - and had recommended wine pairings with our dinners.

I had the vegetarian antipasto - which was a delicious mix of roasted vegetables, hummus and crispy flatbread. It was also my first taste of fiddleheads.
I followed with tuna with roasted fennel over toasted orzo in a tomato purree. The fish was cooked absolutely perfectly, and the fennel was a great taste accompanied by the tomato. My only complaint would be that the tomato puree tasted a bit too "campbells tomato soup-ish".

My husband had the ricotta gnocchi appetizer accompanied by wilted greens and spring peas. The gnocchi were unbelievably light and airy.
He followed with a skirt steak accompanied by gorgonzola potatoes. He proclaimed it excellent!

We were too stuffed for dessert. So we caught a cab back to our hotel (the hotel marlowe). Here we had a night cap and "blood orange Creme Brulee" at Bombara the hotel bar. It was alright. But the overnight was fantastic, and dinner was perfect thanks to all your recommendations.
Thanks!

Do you think I need to make reservations if we plan to sit at the bar?
Or can you even make reservations for such a seat --

thanks for being patient with all my questions.
(Also you mentioned that the Blue Room has great cocktails - any specific recommendations?)

We also love eating at the bar...
Are there nice tables in the bar area ?

Thanks again!

Ok, after looking up the places on the web, Im leaning towards either Portugese or Blue Room - for good-looking food and romantic yet casual atmosphere. I suspect my husband (who is an avid fan of simpler foods and strong cocktails) would prefer the Blue Room. Someone on another board also recommended the Temple Bar ... but I notice that it is not mentioned much on this site, so maybe its not very good...

Anyway at either one of these places (Blue Room or Casa Portugal) is there a particular area or table I should request for a romantic dinner?

Thanks,

Thanks for the quick responses!
Mc Slim -- do you have a favorite of all your recommendations?

Oops, I forgot to say....

We want to stay out of downtown Boston. So we are looking for a place in Cambridge/Somerville area.

Hi all -
This is my first post.
My husband and I will be in Cambridge tomorrow night to move my sister's stuff out of her apartment -- (a horrible chore). So we are treating ourselves to night in Boston area (staying at the Hotel Marlowe).

We are hoping you all can help us find a nice place for dinner. I like adventurous, different food, and my husband will probably want beef in some form.

We are mostly looking for a romantic but fun atmosphere (not super stuffy or crazily expensive -- thinking max entree price of $30) where we can relax and enjoy eachothers company after our horrible moving day.

Thanks in advance!!