How lucky we are to be alive right now!

April 9, 2016 8:38 AM

I'm going to see Hamilton on Tuesday (OMG) and I have a few questions, both Hamilton-specific and Broadway-general.

(I'm an out-of-towner who's familiar with NYC but haven't seen a Broadway show since high school)

1. Where should we eat near the Richard Rogers theater? I can't have gluten/wheat. Would like somewhere we won't have to wait a long time (I am not throwing away my shot by being late!)

2. The new Hamilton book comes out this week. Where can I find out if there are any events going on for its release? (I looked at both the Time Out and Ny Times sites and couldn't find anything, so maybe nothing is happening)

3. The outdoor Ham4Hams started again last week! Is it worth going if I can't get there at like noon and wait all day, or should I just watch it on youtube? I'm not interested in the lottery, but it would be fun to see if it's not an all-day commitment.

4. There are some other shows I'm interested in seeing, so I was thinking about trying for a last-minute ticket for a Wednesday matinee. How is TKTS these days?

posted by lunasol to Travel & Transportation around New York, NY (12 answers total)

Best answer: Lin is doing a book signing at Drama Book shop on the 22nd.

Ham4Ham is before the matinee, not between shows.

TKTS sucks. Use the TodayTix app.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 9:09 AM on April 9, 2016

Just to clarify, there is only one Ham4Ham live show, before the Wednesday matinee.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 9:11 AM on April 9, 2016 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: Ah, thanks roomthreeseventeen (somehow I knew you would come through here) - I thought that Ham4Ham was between shows. Sooo ... does that mean one needs to get there at like 7am?
posted by lunasol at 9:18 AM on April 9, 2016

It was suggested to me to mention in your reservation that you have tickets, some places even have specific menus to get you out promptly (I scheduled us 2 hours to eat and we were in and out in an hour at was Il Punto so I can say they're great for timing not sure how well they do at gluten free).
posted by platypus of the universe at 9:27 AM on April 9, 2016

Regarding dinner -- I haven't done dinner before a show in a while, as most anything very close to the theaters will be expensive and/or tourist-trappy. You're generally not in danger of missing your show if you make a reservation and tell them what show you're going to, and alert the waiter at the start so they can warn you if you order something with a long prep time, but, if you're going to be in town for a few days, I think you're better off saving the fancy sit-down restaurant dinner for another night, and just doing something fast before Hamilton and then going out afterwards if you're still hungry.

I've gone to Untamed Sandwiches on 39th Street for a pre-show meal -- walking distance to the Broadway theaters, but far enough away that it's not crowded. They've got gluten-free mentions in the menu (no idea how safe they are as far as cross-contamination).

For fancy, there's PRINT restaurant, way the hell over on 11th Avenue between 47th & 48th. (My mother organized a birthday dinner party there partly because they could do a good gluten-free menu for the group rather than having my one gluten-free relative stuck with separate options than the rest of us.)
posted by oh yeah! at 9:47 AM on April 9, 2016 [3 favorites]

There's a bunch of places in the block of w 46th between 8th and 9th: Thai, sushi, chinese, Italian....IIRC Bareburger has gf buns.
posted by brujita at 10:32 AM on April 9, 2016

Just head over to 9th Ave for dinner. Tons of options and not touristy. For whatever reason 8th Ave is like a tourist firewall.
posted by Automocar at 10:35 AM on April 9, 2016 [3 favorites]

Don Antonio for Neapolitan pizza on 50th and 8th has an extensive gluten free menu. I haven't dabbled in it but their standard pies are quite excellent and I have heard positive reviews of the gluten free crust.
posted by Exceptional_Hubris at 10:50 AM on April 9, 2016

Best answer: I have a few friends that have worked at Etcetera Etcetera on 44th Street for years now. I've never eaten anything there I didn't totally love, and they do gluten-free and are very used to a theatre crowd.
posted by lauranesson at 1:15 PM on April 9, 2016 [1 favorite]

First, Hamilton is simply amazing. My kid wanted to go for his birthday and I was like oh, ok, hiphop history? But it was so so good. We - well the kid- used yelp to find a couple of great small restaurants within 20 mins or so walking distance of time square. The one place we went for breakfast without checking yelp in ts was ok, but not great. So I suggest that approach depending in how far you want to walk. enjoy the show - you are in for a great time!
posted by bluesky43 at 3:39 PM on April 9, 2016

Best answer: Sooo ... does that mean one needs to get there at like 7am?

For a Ham4Ham? I would not get there more than 45 minutes early.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 5:54 PM on April 9, 2016

Response by poster: Thanks all! We went to etc etc, which was excellent: they asked us right up front if we had show tickets, the food was delicious (gluten-free pasta!!), and they even charged my friend's phone for her.

Re: question 4 - today tix is indeed amazing and I think I'm going to go see Fun Home tomorrow! Though I don't know how anything can live up to Hamilton (which was actually better than I expected, and I don't even know how that's possible).
posted by lunasol at 9:38 PM on April 12, 2016