@beam, Re: ballet and dining. We go to ABT productions at The Met every spring/summer season. None of the ballets being performed this season have running times of 3 hours. Most are around 2-1/2 (including intermissions) and a couple even less.
Since we don’t like to have a full meal right before an evening performance, we always have a substantial lunch and then a light supper after the ballet is over. Our three favorite restaurants for that lunch are EMP, The Modern Dining Room, and Gabriel Kreuther. Which we choose depends on what day we are going to the ballet. EMP serves lunch only Fri., Sat., & Sun; The Modern M-Sat.; and Kreuther, M-F. For supper after the ballet, we usually go to Lincoln Ristorante which is right at Lincoln Center.