Comment of the Day

Regarding the bygone and much-love Mr. and Mrs. Foster's Restaurant on East 81st Street, a reader writes:

Mr. Foster died shortly "before" the restaurant opened. Mrs. Foster ran it by herself. Black tie was not required but jackets and ties were. Mrs. Foster usually wore a black or navy (floor lenght) dress, upswept hair and pearl ear-rings. Yes, you did place your order when you made a reservation- she prepared everything to order. There was another lady there (a black woman who did most of the serving among other things) while Mrs. Foster would sit with each of the customers. The food was sort of Southern American cooking elevated to the highest level.

I loved that place- it was so special and attracted the "grandest of clientele". But, that New York has vanished. Just vanished into thin air.

A Reminder of an Old Bleecker Street Institution

I noticed this photo on Ephemeral New York. Apparently, when Burritoville replaced the Lafayette French Pastry Shop many years ago, they didn't obliterate the original sign. Burritoville is gone now and the old sign is there for all to enjoy—at least until the new Z Pizza chain franchise that's due moves it.

For years, I thought Lafayette had closed for good. It actually just relocated to Greenwich Avenue, where it still is.

Amazement: The Lobster Is Back!

Don't understand how it happened, and don't really care, but the Brooklyn Heights Blog reports that the neon lobster sign has been restored to its rightful place above the newly reopened Armando's in Brooklyn Heights:

The Beatles never got back together. The Dodgers haven’t come back to Brooklyn (yet). But today a true miracle happened in Brooklyn Heights – the Armando’s Lobster sign returned to its home on Montague Street. Brooklyn Bugle/BHB publisher Homer Fink waged a campaign to save the sign, a fixture in the neighborhood for decades, back in 2008 when the original incarnation of the eatery closed its doors. Today, like manna from heaven, the sign rose like a phoenix from the ashes (or Mr. Byros’ storage facility) and once again graces Montague Street. So, the circle is now complete - the lobster is back and the restaurant is great!

Huzzah!

A Good Sign: Pine Sash & Door

In Bensonhurst, as seen from the subway platform.

Chumley's Applies for Liquor License?

Eater has uncovered the curious fact that Chumley's, the Village landmark now closed for two and a half years, has applied for a liquor license.

Encouraging news, I guess. And strange. You'd think they might want to get around to finishing the new building first. Or maybe they've given up on ever having a real roof again, and have opted for a beer garden thing, with people drinking in the open air. Very 19th century. Whatever.

UPDATE: Aha! Eater has a spot report that workers have resumed labor at the long-dormant Chumley's site. Still another year to go, apparently.

Recipes of the Lost City: Baked Bean Rarebit

This lost recipe is not from a specific bygone restaurant. It comes from the pages of a 1902 edition of The Brooklyn Eagle, which seemed (if the online archives are any measure) to have printed recipes for its readers from time to time. No source is ever mentioned for any of the recipes. Things like Lobster Newberg, "Real Spanish Buns," Hermits (a kind of cookie) and Candied Chestnuts. I'm reprinting this particular one because I have never heard of a Baked Bean Rarebit. It seems to be simply a Welsh Rarebit with baked beans added to the mix.

Baked Bean Rarebit

Press half a pint of cold baked beans through a sieve and mix with half a teaspoon of salt and quarter a teaspoon of paprica. Melt two tablespoonfuls of butter in a saucepan and when hot add the beans and when it is hot stir in gradually one-half cup of milk. When smooth add three heaping tablespoonfuls of soft cheese chopped fine, and a teaspoon of Worcestershire sauce. Stir until the cheese is melted, then pour over very think toasted slices of brown bread.

Previous Recipes of the Lost City

Saga of the Vermont Farmacy's Resurrection Continues

All has been quiet on the Vermont Farmacy (as the curious Carroll Gardens shop is now known) since last June's goat-roast, fundraiser blowout. Following that well-trafficked event, the door closed on the curious storefront and little has been heard from the group of urban agri-guerillas who are hoping to turn the long-closed space into a old-fashioned soda fountain and a center for locally grown this and that.

However, recently the scaffolding around the building came down. Good sign. And a flyer is taped to the door announcing another upcoming fundraiser. Another good sign. The new shindig will be on Saturday, Oct. 3. The "open house" will go down from 4 PM to 10 PM and feature fresh lobsters and oysters from Maine, egg creams, craft beers, local wine, live jazz and face painting (by local face painters, I assume). Sounds fun. The owner says he's on the hunt for a fountain counter and stools to begin the old pharmacy's transformation.


Even more exciting, the Farmacy is now open from time to time. There are no set hours. You take your chances. But if you get in, you have the chance to buy items from the time-capsule-shop's ancient stock of goods for 50 cents or a dollar. This may not sound exciting, but trust me: it's a trip. You'll find pristine examples of cough drops, suntan lotion, shampoo and other sundries that are no longer available at your local Rite Aid. There're Sucrets in tins not seen since the Reagan years; Pine Bros. Cough Drops, which haven't been available since the 1980s; and antique Trojan condoms! (I wouldn't put much store in those last products.) They're collectors items kids!


These Sucrets, in a tin box, expired in Nov. 1988.


Remember when small doses of Tylenol were not sold in paper pouches, but metal tins?


Pine Bros. Cough Drops are not made anymore. No expiration date on these, but they can't be good.


These Binaca Drops have evaporated only slightly. The 1970s style couple on the package look like they've never been so thankful for fresh breathe.

We bought three tubes of Chap Stick and found them to be as good as new. Chap Stick never dies.

Ultimate Burgers and Dogs Coming to Degraw

Chicory, the small eatery at 243 Degraw in Cobble Hill, closed in spring 2008 and space has stood empty ever since.

However, every now and then, people have been spotted inside doing things that look suspiciously like work. Now we see why. A menu in the window hails the coming of something called Ultimate Burgers and Dogs. It will serve, yes, a wide variety of burgers and hot dogs, including a "create your own" option in each category. (You choose your sauce, condiment and topping—though the lines between the three things seems a little fuzzy. Mustard is a sauce, but relish is a condiment?)

Among the dogs: New York Classic, Southern Slaw Dog, Chicago Dog, Korean BBQ Dog, Italian Sausage, etc. There's also a breakfast menu. Most intriguing from that menu: Bowl of Tots. That's a bowl of tater tots covered with whatever you want. There's nothing over $8.

Cobble Hill Tea Lounge to Close

In rather shocking news, word around South Brooklyn is that the always bustling Tea Lounge on Court Street in Cobble Hill is going to close. The stroller mom and laptop-user hangout only opened back in 2006 and has done a brisk traffic since then, though it tended to clear out in the evening hours (and who know how many coffees those keyboard malingerers actually bought). Also, one wonder how big an impact the newly opened, nearby Cafe Pedlar had on business.

When it will close its doors it uncertain. Some reports have said as early at Sept. 30, while a staff member started he was not certain when exactly it would shutter.

It's been a summer of news for the local Tea Lounge chain. The owner, Jonathan Spiel, closed the Park Slope Seventh Avenue location closed in July due to a hefty rent increase. Soon after, news spread that a Tea Lounge location at 41 Clark Street was being contemplated.

Perhaps there just isn't room in this borough for more than two Tea Lounges at a time.

This Week on Lost City

I Go to Sammy's Roumanian Steak House; I Also Go to Eisenberg's Sandwich Shop; A Surviving Chow Mein Sign; The End Comes For 74 Grand Street; Armando's Sets Its Reopening Date; I Ruminate on the Suckiness of Chase Bank.