Lunch with teens in East Village

[Cat Pop]

My 15 year-old sister and four of her friends are coming into NYC tomorrow. I work in the East Village (East 4th and Second) and am relatively new to the area. So, in search of:

Relatively cheap
Somewhere funky and fun
Italian or American
Between East Houston and East 14th street, from Broadway to 1st Avenue.

Any suggestions?

Thanks in advance!

[Cat Pop]

'inoteca is probably one of my favorite restaurants in New York City. I try to make it there at least once a month. And I do agree that it's not all that kid friendly.

Just to let you know, we ended up at Lil' Frankies, which was a HUGE hit. I'd actually never been there, and the food was all around excellent. They enjoyed the atmosphere and everything. Thanks for all the suggetions!

[mrnyc]

oh thanks for the report back. we've got more teens coming next summer so its great to hear the feedback.

[rose water]

Your lunch has passed, but my vote would've been to extend your margins a few blocks southeast and go to 'inoteca. That the truffled egg toast is fantastic goes without saying, but they have other great things, including a lovely polenta (with escarole and pancetta, if i remember correctly) a great beet salad.

[mrnyc]

oh come on now. INOTECA? thats pretty unteen friendly food. i would have turned up my nose at the truffed egg at 15, even tho now i think it's one of the best inventions ever. the pizza idea was the way to go.

i wonder how it went? we had my 15yo niece in town recently and did the trapeeze school with her, she loved it. she loved sushi, dim sum and LOMBARDIS too.

[rose water]

i didn't mean that the teens should have the truffled egg! but i stand by my claim that teenagers would like the place. it's energetic without being too sceney, it's a very open space that would be great for people-watching, and it's got loads of delicious small plates.

as for pizza, funky and fun, pushing the OP's geographical constraints again, gruppo (ave b and 12th st, i think) is a great pizza place, with really chill, friendly staff, and great food. it's super thin, almost cracker-like crust. the truffle oil mushroom pizza is my favorite, but out of deference to mrnyc, i won't suggest that for the teens ;)

[ghbrooklyn]

I second lil' frankies for teens. Enough options to please everyone, hip-enough crowd, loud music from somebody's iPod - a TV ready EV experience all-around, and the polpettine pizza is pretty damn good.

[Pan]

Excellent salads, too.

[big o]

Max, by B and 4th, would work.

[eeee]

how about Lil' Frankies on 1st and 1st? Good pizza, salads and other dishes in a fun atmosphere.