Early Bird Special

Guest Post By Yolanda Edwards, Travels with Clara

One of our favorite restaurants in NYC is Prune, but the problem is that it's everyone else's favorite too. Dinner and brunch are impossible--there's always a wait, and sometimes even a line down the block. The other night, though, we happened upon a clever idea completely by accident. It was 5pm, we were in the city with our 7-year- old, Clara, and all a little bit hungry. Normally, we'd get a snack, and head home to eat dinner at our usual 7PM time, but we figured this just might be the lucky hour to try Prune -- doesn't 5:30 always seemed to be the reservation option restaurants give you when you request "something for 7:30 or 8?" We were so right. There was only one other table seated and the staff was super friendly. We had the most delicious beef hearts, duck breast, and some kind of strawberry shortcake-ish dessert. Granted, it was not a cheap meal, but we did save on the babysitter, got Clara home by 7:30, and were able to experience one of the best restaurants in New York without any advance planning.