another birthday dinner!!!

[detroit1010]

i am looking for a place to take my son for his birthday. we are interested in italian or american, but our party has some very picky eaters. my wife is a vegetarian, my son has very simple taste (think chicken parm, baked ziti, steak and french fries) yet i am adventurous and enjoy eating anything and trying new things.

there is no limit on price or location. please help me find somewhere that will make everyone happy. thanks!!

[psk123]

Scarpetta is a very good restaurant. The spaghetti is really simple and yet so good. If you are looking for Italian food, Maialino is pretty good too. I wasn't impressed by the dinner at Locanda Verde.

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Scarpetta
355 West 14th Street, New York, NY 10014

Locanda Verde
377 Greenwich St, New York, NY 10013

Maialino
2 Lexington Avenue, New York, NY 10010

[detroit1010]

Thank you all for your advice. I have narrowed the search down to 2:

Morimoto vs. David Burke Townhouse.

While I realize these are drastically different restaurants, if you had to choose 1 for a fun and delicious birthday celebration, which would you choose (with food being the MOST important factor)?

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Morimoto
88 10th Avenue, New York, NY 10011

[gutsofsteel]

Definitely Morimoto.

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Morimoto
88 10th Avenue, New York, NY 10011

[ellenost]

I agree with gutsofsteel.

[detroit1010]

thanks, you guys - we'll be eating at Morimoto later this week. i'll let you know how it goes.

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Morimoto
88 10th Avenue, New York, NY 10011

[gutsofsteel]

Do you want casual or a bit formal? Do you want an "occasion" type of place? How many people in your party and how old is your son turning?

Do you have a month lead time as of now if you want to reserve something that might need the lead time? Is this a weekend dinner?

[detroit1010]

thanks for the response. sorry i left out this information!

we can do casual or formal - no jackets/ties but also nothing too casual (although jeans and a nice shirt would be fine). there are six of us going out to dinner some time in between christmas and new years - what specific day does not matter. most important is good food - an 'occasion' type of place would be a bonus. thanks!!!

[gutsofsteel]

Not a lot of lead time to reserve at some places...but you might want to try Craft, Locanda Verde, Scarpetta, Hearth...to start.

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Scarpetta
355 West 14th Street, New York, NY 10014

Locanda Verde
377 Greenwich St, New York, NY 10013

[loratliff]

I think Hearth is great rec in this case.

[detroit1010]

thanks for the advice. we've already been to locanda verde and scarpetta and enjoyed them both quite a bit.

i looked into craft and while i see it gets quite good reviews, the menu looks very basic. i understand my party requires a certain level of simplicity, but is craft really that good?

also, i've been thinking about going in a completely different direction and just looking for a fun place and hoping everyone finds something there. i've looked into morimoto, david burke townhouse. thoughts?

[kathryn]

Craft is excellent. Don't miss out!

[ellenost]

Morimoto is very good. I saw the Iron Chef himself the last time I had dinner there (he was going around talking to guests--didn't stop by the sushi bar where I was sitting).

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Morimoto
88 10th Avenue, New York, NY 10011