The Best Digestif in New York

I was having lunch at the Second Avenue Deli on 33rd Street—matzo ball soup, side of fries, tea, pickle, cole slaw. Finished, I asked for the bill and then left to visit the restroom. When I returned, the bill was there. Also there was a little glass of chocolate-colored foam. "Is this an egg cream?" I asked. Yes, was the reply, "without the milk." (I had just eaten a meat meal.) I downed it in one go, like a whiskey shot. "I don't remember you doing that at the old place," I said. "We didn't," was the answer. "It's new to this place."

Best digestif in town.

FYI, the deli said their expected the new Second Avenue Deli, at First and 75th, to open in the fall, just after the High Holy Days.

Some Stuff That's Interesting

Bloomberg's genius lawn-furniture piazzas aren't relieving traffic congestion as it was thought they would. [NY Times]

Telephone Bar in East Village closes after 22 years, taking its familiar wall of red London phone booths with it. I will miss it. [EV Grieve]

New York once had a neighborhood called Linoleumville. Seriously. [EV Grieve]

A beautiful shot of Harlem's Lenox Lounge. [Greenwich Village Daily Photo]

Aphrodisia Herb Shoppe is closing on Bleecker Street after 41 years. [JVNY]

The story behind an abandoned building on E. 43rd. [Scouting New York]

And, So...

Totonno's. Still not open. Still.

Soon, we'll be upon the one-year anniversary of the March 2009 fire.

Another Lost Restaurant Search

Readers seem to be sending me on wild restaurant chases lately—and I am happy to go on them. Last week, a descendant of Joseph Guffanti asked me if I knew when Guffanti's Italian restaurant finally gave up the ghost. I did my best, and discovered a lot, but couldn't find out the exact year when the eatery died. This week, someone has asked me if I knew anything about a place called Steuben's in the 40s, a Teutonic drinking joint where he used to go in the 1960s.

It was actually called Steuben Tavern, and was located at W. 47th Street and Broadway, right in the thick of Times Square. And indeed, it was a German type place. It appears to have been the longest-lasting branch of what was once a chain of Steubens. In 1934, there was quite a lot of hullabaloo when a Steuben Tavern opened on the south side of 42nd between Broadway and Seventh. It was a wide broad, stone building, set on the site of the old Metropole Hotel. It was designed to look like an English tavern and had murals by Winold Reiss (see above), the well-known artist who also did murals for several of the Longchamps restaurants.

The 42nd Street tavern closed only five years later, in 1939, leaving branches on W. 47th and Lexington. The 47th Street location was tiny, with wood paneling and checked tablecloths, and served pot roast and schnitzel. It was going strong through the 1960s. Again, I don't know when it closed.

The front page of the menu is below.

Who Died at Marco Polo?

A reader ever watchful of Raccuglia & Sons Funeral Home displays forwarded me this picture. Does anyone know who died over at the Carroll Gardens eatery?

A Drink at Guffanti's

I've been in touch, over the past weeks with two descendants of Joseph Guffanti, the Italian restaurateur who ran a famous restaurant on Seventh Avenue and 29th from 1892 on. We're not sure when it closed, but it was probably sometime in the 1960s.

Neither relative had any of Guffanti's old recipes, alas, but one did send me a copy of the wine list. There's no date on it, but, judging from the prices, it hails from the 1950s or 1960s, when Guffanti's nephew Domenick Caserio and his sons were running the place. (Notice the "Casa Domenick on the cover page.") Looks like a pretty good wine list for a New York restaurant of that era, as well as a fine selection of cocktails and cordials.

Incident on the B61

I was riding a crowed B61 bus to Atlantic Avenue, smooshed up against a couple tweens who were talking excitedly about their crowded, unbelievable lives. One girl mentioned a friend of hers was teaching her guitar.

"He taught me 'Smoke on the Water.' It goes DA-da-da-da, Da Da Da Da-DAAA-Da."

I smiled to myself, recognizing the opening riff to Cream's "Sunshine of Your Love." I debated momentarily whether I should butt in with my middle-aged, pop-music knowledge and correct the girl, or remain silent and retain a shred of adult dignity. Before I could decide, however, the second girl piped up.

"That's 'Sunshine of Your Love," she said.

"No, it's 'Smoke on the Water,'" insisted the friend. She went into the Cream riff again.

I nearly fell over. I was stunned. And impressed. Not only that two 12-year-olds had heard of "Smoke on the Water" and "Sunshine of Your Love" but that one could tell their guitar solos apart—songs that were older than their two ages combined.

"No, it's 'Sunshine of Your Love,'" repeated the second girl, not with any hostility, but certain in her information. The first girl paused, thought, and said, "Wait, yeah. Da. Da. DA. Da-Da Da-DA...," hooking into the proper Deep Purple Riff.

I couldn't have been prouder than if they were my own kids.

Skyline Books Closes Today

Today's the last day to pay a visit on Skyline Books. The 20-year-old Flatiron District mainstay on W. 18th Street will close for good today. Wish I could go, but I've come down with a cold. I wish them well, and every book sold.

229 Dean Street in Happier Days

Came across a tax photo of old 229 Dean Street, former mystery house of Boerum Hill, now in the safe hands of a new owner. Rather looks like a lot's been lost. Cornice is gone. The cast-iron fence in front is different. Doors are different. And, of course, three holes were punched in the facade for air conditioners. Too bad that great lamppost is no longer there.

Gino Outlook "Looks Good"

Let's check in with the soap opera that it Gino's Restaurant.

Last we heard from the Lexington Avenue stalwart, it had gotten a stay of execution from Dec. 31 to Jan. 31. Good news. So I called today to see if tomorrow would be their last in business after 64 years. Were they open tomorrow? Yes. And after that? After that, indefinitely. So all that union mishegoss was worked out? "We're still talking, but it looks good."

Now, the guy on the phone could have been saying to make sure customers still come in, but still. Not bad news.