Breaking down restaurants in Midtown West..help needed :)

NYC 4 days away!!! Only in the city for 4 days, mostly for plays and a museum-MOMA or MET. Did a week long trip last summer and enjoyed all the different areas of Manhattan. That being said we will concentrate on our hotel area-Warwick(6th%26amp; 54th) and Theater district. Read lots on menupages and TA , which helped to narrow down. Any comments on the following...Brooklyn Diner,Famous Ray%26#39;s Pizza, Iguana,Kitchen Provance, Maria Pia, Mariella Pizza, Moon Rock Diner, Nino Trattoria, Old Castle Pub, Park Cafe, Park Italian Gourmet,Ralph%26#39;s, 6th Ave. cafe,Starwich,10th Ave.Rest., The Red Flame, Vynl, Ellen%26#39;s Stardust Diner. Last visit we enjoyes Carmine%26#39;s, Joshua Tree, Pompano%26#39;s, Mercury Bar, Patsy%26#39;s and Carnegie Deli., to name a few. We%26#39;d like to try another good but not as ';famous'; deli,pizza and Italian place. Thanks in advance! Oh...mom, 20,17 and 16 y/o from New Orleans.

Breaking down restaurants in Midtown West..help needed :)

I don%26#39;t know all those restaurants, but I%26#39;ll give you my thoughts on those I do:

Brooklyn Diner -- very popular with tourists, it%26#39;s really a good diner, but beware -- the portions are enormous. You%26#39;ll want to share.

Famous Ray%26#39;s -- I%26#39;m not a fan. I find their pizza to be overly laden with gloppy cheese. I really like thin-crust pizza made with better quality cheese. My favorite is John%26#39;s, but I like Serafina and Don Giiovanni, both in the Theater District. For a quick slice, I like Bella Napoli, on W. 49th St. Their ';Mama%26#39;s Pizza'; -- a thin-sliced square pizza with better cheese than they use on their plain -- is delicious.

Maria Pia is a good Southern Italian in the neighborhood. It%26#39;s not the best in the city, but you%26#39;ll enjoy dinner there.

Ralph%26#39;s is basically a coffee shop. Good for an inexpensive break. I%26#39;ve always liked their Minestrone.

Ellen%26#39;s Stardust Diner -- It%26#39;s fun if you like the idea of your waiters serenading you. That%26#39;s the big attraction, not the food.

I%26#39;d suggest getting out of the Theater District and exploring the wonderful restaurants in our residential neighborhoods.

Breaking down restaurants in Midtown West..help needed :)

Really none of those you named are any good and Mariella pizza is actually horrible. You are not staying in the hotbed of gourmet dining. Advice go south for food.

Agree with the above two posts.

For pizza-John%26#39;s or Don Giovanni.

For Italian try ViceVersa or Roberto Passon instead of Maria Pia.

Starwich will be pricey for what you get, but should be good.

Well, Vynl is fun and not expensive, and the food is pretty good. Great bathrooms.

The Red Flame is a basic diner.

doledrums - Starwich is not very good? Sure, it%26#39;s expensive for sandwiches, but wow, what sandwiches they are!

nolabeachbum - I would, however, agree with doledrums and suggest you get out of your hotel neighborhood. What neighborhoods of Manhattan did you see last time?

Thanks to all for the great advice! We actually got to all the neighborhoods but could only eat so much. We will also be seeing the Met....wish it were THE Mets but so be it.

If you want really good New York pizza, you have to go to Lombardi%26#39;s on Spring Street. Similar style to Patsy%26#39;s but SO much better. It%26#39;s the best in Manhattan (there are some even better places in Brooklyn). They have table service and sell whole pies, not slices, cash only. It%26#39;s easy to get to by subway, but you can take a cab there, too. Trust me, it will be the highlight of your trip.