NY, NY part trois

So, it's Saturday and matinee day on Broadway. Remember that matinee days with a Broadway schedule are Wed. and Fridays. Since my husband and I have our ties to Broadway, we HAVE to see a Broadway show with the kids. In the past, I didn't mind paying for my own seat or even my husband and I going together, but times those prices by 4 and it's another story!

Off we to to TKTS, we went to the Times Square Booth. It was raining so my sister took the kids to..........ToysRUs! I think my kids thought they had died and gone to heaven. This store is huge!!! The only problem for parents is to forewarn your kids that this is only a place to put things down on their wishlist. With pencil and notepads in hand, off they went. Nevertheless, this was a good distraction for the kids since I had to wait in line in the rain. That is a recipe for disaster for kids to wait in the rain with a boatload of people. It didn't take too long since I went there before the booth opened (strong advice from me). I tried to get every show that was available for kids and couldn't get all the seats in the same spot. I couldn't let my child sit alone and I don't think they would want to sit next to strangers at their age. After batting zero, I met up with the kids. This is where I learned that you could go to the other TKTS booths the day before and purchase matinee tickets for the next day which I should have done. I never learned this while working on Broadway, but then again, I couldn't always see the other shows since I was working in one with the same show times as the other shows. Now, my kids really love "The Lion King", but these tickets were not available through TKTS.

As I started walking with the kids to grab a bit to eat at Junior's Deli, we walked by "The Lion King". My kids started singing the songs as we were walking and I felt that twang of 'Gee, when will I be back here next with the kids?' I walked into the box office and asked how much the tickets were. They were a whopping $125/seat. I gasped and the cashier just looked at me. Do I spend $500 for next week's matinee? No, I can't. But, when are we back? Think, think, think. My sister states that we aren't paying for room and board and that I just do it. So, in true Nike form with a little NY attitude, I tell the cashier to get me the director's seats (center orchestra). The guy looks at me and just told him I used to work in theater. He smiles and gives me 8th row center. I"m happy and have to say happy that I took the bite!!! I know there are other venues where you can purchase tickets at a discount; however, these are the times, when I prefer to spend my time on just having fun than researching and dragging my kids all over the place for the tickets.

Kids are hungry and I'm craving a good deli sandwich. Typically, I go to Carnegie's, but it's such a touristy place now, that Junior's is perfect. We met up with some friends who were in South Pacific and 9-5 which meant they had to be at work by half hour. It was great to see them. Their kids menu is perfect. Both of my kids have allergies to nuts so it's no joke when I ask if there are any nuts or any possible cross-contamination of nuts with their food. They were very aware of nut allergies and stated that a lot of kids have that allergy nowadays. I had my epipens with me, but really don't want to go through that experience or a trip to the emergency room. The kid portions were large and delicious. My kids ate them up!!! Their deli sandwiches were perfect. What I love the most? Condiments on the side!!! I can't stand it when other delis layer their sauce to the point where you don't even taste the meat. The pastrami was delish! The Reuben to die for! So, so good. My oldest loves cheesecake and there ain't nuthin' like NY style Cheesecake. He was the happiest 7 year old. I couldn't believe that he ate all of his mac n' cheese and then the whole slice of cheesecake. Sundaes are wonderful as well. We were all very happy. So happy that we went back there on another day during our stay.

After our lunch, we headed down to Chinatown. I used to shop there a lot when I was living in Manhattan. Such great deals. However, I have heard that the knock-offs have been shut down. I love the subway and my kids love it too. I think it's so great to get them on public transportation!!! They need to know that it's easy, available, and better for our planet. I have to agree that there were a lot of places with these yellow signs that looked like knock-off places that were shut down by NYPD. However, there were plenty of people whispering to me while I was window shopping what knock-offs they had. In fact, some girls were looking at purses and then some gentleman said something to them quietly and the next thing you know they are following him to the back of the store. Don't you just love this?!! I love NYC Chinatown. I bought baskets of fruits (strawberries, blueberries, and watermelon) all for under $4.00. A place to stop off next time for us will be Joe's Shanghai Restaurant. It's a little place with the most amazing dumplings!!! I promise you. You don't want to skip this place.

We went back to my sister's to make dinner and had a lovely fruit salad for dessert! Time to rest for another busy day tomorrow.