Feeding my family in NY - from 30 to 90

[uniqueusername]

In March, my family are coming over to NYC to visit me, and to celebrate my Grandmother's 90th birthday. I asked a whle ago for advice on where to celebrate her actual birthday and have decided on lunch at Del Posto - I think she will like the food, the lovely room, and the piano playing. But now I need to start thinking of where else to take them to eat (partly because I don't really want to take them anywhere I havent tried so I need to get eating!). They are here for a week, so I need to have a wide range of foods, but they are on a budget, so I'll be trying to keep most meals reasonably priced (around $30-40 for dinner, $15-20 for lunch, not including drinks/tax/tips) although a couple of dinners above that price point are probably fine.

My grandmother will eat pretty much anything (including sushi, ramen, mexican, latin, and so on), but can't cope very well in noisy places (which is a problem in manhattan!). She can walk fine, but not too many stairs. She can't really queue, so I will only take them to places where we can reserve or where there won't be a queue

My mother is a picky eater, she'll eat most cuisines but tends to stick to fairly simple choices (eg pad thai in a thai restaurant), and my dad is a big eater who likes hearty food.

My brother is a real foodie, who works in the wine business so is used to fabulous chefs and amazing ingredients. He likes most types of food, particularly spanish though. He doesn't like americanised sushi though.

So, I'm looking for suggestions! It's my grandmother's first trip to New York (and almost certainly her only one), so I want to show her a full spectrum of what the city has to offer, but the noise factor is going to be a problem. They are staying on 57th street between 6th and 7th, but will probably mostly get cabs.

So far, from places I have been I'm thinking these would work:
Brunch: Cookshop, Telepan, Craftbar
Breakfasts: Sarabeths (on a weekday), Brooklyn Diner, maybe a weekday Pastis
Lunches: Russ & Daughers (takeout at my apartment), Snacking in Chelsea Market, maybe a Wichcraft,
Dinners: Blue Smoke (on the noisy side but I think if we go earlyish it's doable), Second Avenue Deli, Tsampa, Riverpark

Would welcome other suggestions!

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Del Posto
85 10th Avenue, New York, NY 10011

Telepan
72 W. 69th Street, New York, NY 10023

Blue Smoke
116 East 27th Street, New York, NY 10016

Brooklyn Diner
212 W 57th St, New York, NY 10019

Tsampa
212 E 9th St, New York, NY 10003

Riverpark
450 E 29th St, New York, NY 10016

Second Avenue Deli
1442 1st Ave, New York, NY 10021

[rrems]

Riverpark should be perfect. Quiet, nice view, a menu that should please everyone. Marseille is French-Moroccan, with a varied menu that should satisfy everyone, and bustling but too loud. Millesime is a nice seafood brasserie, which can get some noise from the music in the bar, but you could request one of the side rooms which should be quieter. Bistro de la Gare and Snack Taverna are other nice options. Since you are budget-conscious, I would strongly recommend you join Village Vines, which has a lot of very good restaurants offering 30% off. Kittichai is on it (wonderful modern Thai), and 2 places which I have not yet tried, Le Pescadeux (not sure about the noise level there), which has gotten some good press, and Accademia di Vino on the UWS, which friends of mine have raved about. Compass is also on it, but I have not been there recently. The atmosphere is very nice, and it is certainly quiet. Some recent reviews on other sites have been positive. With the 30% off, I am planning to give it another try soon.

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Snack Taverna
63 Bedford St, New York, NY 10014

Kittichai
60 Thompson St, New York, NY 10012

Le Pescadeux
90 Thompson Street, New York, NY 10012

Trattoria di Vino
2427 Broadway, New York, NY 10024

Bistro de la Gare
626 Hudson St, New York, NY 10014

Millesime
92 Madison Ave, New York, NY 10016

[uniqueusername]

thank you - i will indeed check out village vines. discounts are great!

And thanks for the suggestions, I will take a look.

[kathryn]

Clinton St Baking Co. for dinner is typically pretty quiet. American / Southern will be good for the picky eater and good enough to satisfy the foodies.

I'd also consider Po on an off night (Sun-Weds).

You could also try Redhead if you go early (that's the only time they take reservations).

Perhaps the downstairs table at Prune if the menu is good enough for the picky eater.

If you can splurge one night, early, on an off night at Hearth might work as well. Or Blue Ribbon Brasserie, they have a downstairs table and you can only reserve if you're 5+ people.

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Blue Ribbon Brasserie
97 Sullivan St, New York, NY 10012

[uniqueusername]

thank you! i haven't been to any of these except clinton street (at breakfast), so will look at the menus and check some of them out over the next few weeks! Have been dying to try prune and hearth in any case!