Sardi's Phone Booths Removed

Once Sardi's had a beautiful bank of wooden phone booths on the second floor. They worked and everything. Then, a year or so ago, the phones were yanked out and the booths stood empty, a victim of the bastards at Verizon, which had started fining restaurants and bars for retaining their phone booth phones. (The tragedy was repeated across town in the months to come.) But at least the booths still stood.

No longer. Sardi's phone booths are no more. The owners told me they were forced to remove them when the Fire Department complained they need more room to access the floor in case of a fire. (No doubt the department leveed a hefty fine on Sardi's and thus met some goddam Bloombergian quote.) Below, how the wall used to look.

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How to Eat Old School

The folks at Eater, who like to map everything edible in the City, ask my to pick out of selection of old guard dishes from New York City's most venerable restaurants. Mutton Chops at Keen's, Pastrami on Rye at Katz's, that sort of thing. Such a task is a pleasure for me, so I was happy to do it. Thanks to Zachary Feldman for putting the post together. Here's the intro. You'll have to jump to Eater to read the rest, because the layout is too complex for me to copy here.

What are the makings of an iconic dish? While the critics and blogs dole out "least favorite food trend" memes annually, these stalwarts—provided, with commentary, by the erudite Brooks of Sheffield of our Who Goes There? column and the erstwhile Lost City—have stood the test of time to help define and inspire the city's ever-changing culinary landscape. Noteworthy dishes that offer something beyond the pizza, cupcakes, burgers, and fried chicken that seem to have strong-armed the market, you won't find this food on a truck anytime soon.- Zachary Feldman

Lost City Asks "Who Goes to Sardi's?"

I personally think the way the theatre community ignores Sardi's—it's only culinary connection to Broadway's golden past—is unconscionable and criminal. Why hang out at the sub-par joints-of-the-moment when your cultural legacy awaits smack dab on W. 44th? Because you want better food? Actors don't care about good food. They just want something they can stuff in their mouth. And, moreover, there IS no good food in the Theatre District. No, showfolk just have to follow the bouncing spotlight to the place that will underline the idea that they're still hot, still sought-after, still on top of their game. And Sardi's isn't that anymore.

But it's a grand place, anyhow. Few restaurants can boast such a beautiful space, such a colorful atmosphere. While I was there, however, I learned of a sad development. The old wooden booths on the second floor—some of the best of their kind in the city—no longer have phones in them. They were taken out six months ago. The villainous phone company is to blame. They charge businesses extra for keeping phone booths in working order. Such a shame.

Who Goes There? Sardi's

Sardi's may well be the most undervalued restaurant in town. A time capsule from another era, as well-preserved and redolent of New York history as "21" or Peter Luger, it is nonetheless regularly dismissed as corny, uninspired, even embarrassing. By locals, I mean. Out-of-towners, of course, love it, and make a visit within its warm red walls a requirement of their regular Broadway sallies. In in the dog days of August, you'll see plenty of them most any evening between 6 and 8 PM, alerting waiters they have a show to go to (No! Really?), and craning their necks to identify at least one or two of the hundreds of largely unrecognizable caricatures of theatre greats that line the walls.

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Lost City's Guide to Times Square

Fairly often now, I get e-mails from out-of-town readers of Lost City who are planning on visiting NYC and want to know what classic Gotham spots they should visit. Aside from the Empire State and Grand Central and the other hugely obvious destinations, I mean. So, rather than continuing to answer these queries piecemeal (though I'll continue to do that if people ask), I've decided to tackle the matter neighborhood by neighborhood, starting with this item on Times Square. I figure, anything that helps these old businesses stay afloat is for the good, so might as well direct as much traffic thataway as possible.

I'm starting with Times Square for a few reasons. One, it's where every tourist ends up eventually, so a guide to it will be of the most use. Two, there's precious little of Old New York left there, and, as I'm freaking lazy, it will be an easy thing to write up.

Also, keep in mind: this is not meant to be an ideal of complete-ism. It's a smattering, a selection, a best-of. Also, I'm focusing on things that are still there; not "This is where this was," or "On this spot once stood." Living history, not dead history. Contrary to some ideas people have of this blog, Lost City is not about nostalgia (not entirely, anyway); it's about old, but living and breathing places that ought to be celebrated and preserved.

So, here we go.

BROADWAY THEATRES: Even if you don't like theatre, go to a Broadway show. This collection of 30-odd old theatres has no architectural equivalent in the United States. They are gorgeous buildings, inside and out. The New Amsterdam's interior has the most opulent glitz for your buck (Don't miss the former gentlemen's lounge downstairs, with its murals and circular bar). The Hirschfeld is exotic, the Booth intimate and the Shubert's a beaut. And if you're really looking for the oldest everything, go to the ornate Lyceum, built in 1903 and the oldest continually operating Broadway theatre.

AMC EMPIRE 25 CINEPLEX: This 42nd Street movie house used to be the Eltinge Theatre, named after Julian Eltinge, the greatest female impersonator of the early 20th Century. The old ceiling murals are still there.

THE NEW YORK TIMES BUILDING: This grand structure on 43rd Street is where the paper did business for most of the 20th century. A great building no matter who occupies it next.

THE PARAMOUNT BUILDING: An Art Deco gem on 7th Avenue and 43rd, and one of the oldest surviving buildings in an area now littered with colorless glass boxes. Frank Sinatra wowed them here. The mountain-like structure has a beautiful, illuminated, four-sided clock which chimes "Give My Regards to Broadway" every night at 7:45. Take a tour of the lovely lobby for an idea of the vibrant life that office building lobbies could once generate.

THE FORMER KNICKERBOCKER HOTEL: This 16-story Beaux-Arts building at the corner of Broadway and 42nd Street was the place to stay in the early 20th century. Caruso sang from the balcony to the crowds below. It's also the only building at the Crossroads of the World that still looks like the Times Square of old.

FRANKIE & JOHNNIE'S STEAKHOUSE: But hurry! This second-story former Speakeasy on W. 46th Street will shut down for good at the end of January. As far as I know, it's the second oldest restaurant in the area.

SARDI'S: This is the oldest. I know: it's cliche, it's musty, it's old hat. It's also history and splendid and romantic and you'll be treated well and get some decent food. You won't see any theatre stars; but plenty of past celebrities are in frames on the walls.

SMITH'S BAR AND GRILL: A bar, a grill and a sign to remind you of the Times Square of the 1950s. Nothing too special inside. And nothing too fancy. Which makes it great.

CAFE EDISON: An affordable and classic diner inside the Edison Hotel on 47th Street. A popular theatre hangout for stage pros who are more interested in eating than being seen. Try the matzo ball soup. The Rum House, a bar next door that is also part of the hotel, is worth a look too.

JIMMY'S CORNER: The best bar in Times Square, and the last saloon that speaks of the area's rich past. It's a shotgun space owned by Jimmy Glenn, a former boxing trainer, and full of easy-going charm, good music, cheap beer and waitresses in short skirts.

NOTE: I've limited this survey to the area above 42nd between Eighth and Sixth Avenues. Attractions to the south, west and east will be covered in future entries on Hell's Kitchen, Midtown and the Garment District.

Details: Sardi's

Sardi's Restaurant is so taken for granted these days that its praises are rarely sung by the New York press. But its interior is a gem of yesteryear grace to match anything at "21" or P.J. Clarke's. I asked the co-owner recently if he had ever approached the Landmarks Commission about landmarking the interior. It seemed like a natural candidate, and it packs as must historical import as Four Seasons and Gage & Tollner (two other landmarked interiors). He said he had. Their message was basically to come back when Sardi's turned 100 years old. That would be in 2021. Bureaucratic putzes.

The gentlemen in the picture below is Leonard Lyons, a once widely known columnist who held court at Sardi's every night as his designated table.