The Awning Police Claim Another Victim

Some people consider a brand, spanking new awning on an old business a 100%, super-duper improvement, hiding all sorts of backwardness and dirty, unsightly evils.

Then there's the other camp that thinks the gentrifying cloth awnings homogenize everything and rob each shop and store of the idiosyncratic character that it's built up over the years.

Submitted for your approval: Jam's Stationary, an age-old business in the heart of downtown Greenpoint. Above we see it, not too long ago, in all its old-school glory, sans awning. Now, see it below, as it stands today. Red traded for green. All those little side signs ("Paperbacks" "Hobbies") now hidden.

I'll say no more. What do you think? Duller? Snappier? An improvement? A desecration? Or just no big deal, not even worth thinking about? Weigh in.

"We Buy": The Diamond District at Night

Armando's Looking Ready—But Where's the Lobster Sign?

Armando's, the Brooklyn Heights longtimer, which closed last year, then decided to reopen again, is looking almost ready to reopen.

New, cream-colored awning. Sleek outfittings inside, including a large white marble bar up near the front. A polished new image. But no sign of the lost neon lobster sign!! Did the Landmarks Commission kill it? Hey, I'm happy Armando's is coming back, but if there is no vestige of the place's long history, it seems like a hollow victory.

Lost City: Louisville Edition: The Hot Brown

One of the best food names I have ever heard is Hot Brown. Two words, both seemingly adjectives. That's all. A Hot Brown is a regional specialty in Louisville. People in the know told me that I could not leave the city with experiencing a Hot Brown. And the best place to do that was the Brown Hotel.

The name is no coincidence. The Hot Brown was invented at the Brown Hotel, one of the few classic old hotels that survive in Louisville's downtown (others include the Seelbach and the Galt House). The hotel was designed by Preston J. Bradshaw and opened in 1923, at a cost of $4 million. The man behind is was James Graham Brown, a taciturn, stubborn local entrepreneur who hated organized labor and loved to see his name on things (Brown Theatre, Brown Garage). He served on the board of directors of Churchill Downs for 32 years. Later on, he helped found the Louisville Zoo. When he died in 1969, he was worth $100 million and was the wealthiest man in Kentucky. He had no heirs, and the money went to his foundation, which exists still.

For whatever bizarre reason, David Lloyd George, former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, was the first person to sign the guest register. Other guests over the years included Harry Truman, Elizabeth Taylor, Joan Crawford, Gene Autry, Eva Marie Saint, Queen Elizabeth II, Muhammad Ali (a hometown man) and even Queen Marie of Romania. It survived the Depression by asking its employees to work without pay from time to time, and the first floor was filled with water during the great flood of 1937. As you can imagine, Kentucky Derby week was always the most popular time at the Brown.

Every great hotel in Louisville seems to have closed sometime during the 1960s and 1970s, and so did the Brown. It shuttered up in 1971. Weirdly, the building was sold to the Louisville Public Schools and became the headquarters for the city school system. When officials decided to revitalize the downtown in the 1980s, the "Broadway Group" was formed, which acquired The Brown from Jefferson County Public Schools and began its renovation in 1983. In 1993 the hotel was purchased by the Camberley Hotel Company and renovation was completed, and sold to 1859 Historic Hotels LTD in the fall of 2006.

That's a long road back to recovery.

Anyway—the Hot Brown. It was invented in 1926 by the hotel chef Fred K. Schmidt. It's an open-face sandwich, and, to me, it looks like something Schmidt concocted out of leftovers from the previously night's dinner. It is a heart-attack special that consists of turkey, ham and bacon smothered with Mornay sauce, cheese and tomato. But there is a lot of variance in the recipe, depending where you go. (Hot Browns are served at many places in Louisville. Locals tell me the best version can be found at the Lynn's Paradise Cafe.)

I had a busy day mapped out for me in Louisville and I knew the only time I would be able to escape to the Brown Hotel and enjoy a Hot Brown was at breakfast. This may not have been the best idea, because a Hot Brown is a heavy blow to the stomach and constitution, and not necessarily to be sustained in the early hours of the AM. I felt dizzy and weak-kneed for a couple hours afterward, as if I had eaten a quart of ice cream very quickly, or perhaps several omelettes in a row. Make no mistake: a Hot Brown will test your stamina. It is not a dish for the faint-hearted.


This is the recipe for the Hot Brown as printed on the Brown Hotel website (however, I swear there was ham in mine):

T

he Legendary Hot Brown Recipe

Ingredients (Makes Two Hot Browns):
2 oz. Whole Butter
2 oz. All Purpose Flour
1 Qt. Heavy Cream
1/2 Cup Pecorino Romano Cheese, Plus 1 Tablespoon for Garnish
Salt & Pepper to Taste
14 oz. Sliced Roasted Turkey Breast
2 Slices of Texas Toast (Crust Trimmed)
4 slices of Crispy Bacon
2 Roma Tomatoes, Sliced in Half
Paprika, Parsley

In a two-quart saucepan, melt butter and slowly whisk in flour until combined and forms a thick paste (roux). Continue to cook roux for two minutes over medium-low heat, stirring frequently. Whisk whipping cream into the roux and cook over medium heat until the cream begins to simmer, about 2-3 minutes. Remove sauce from heat and slowly whisk in Pecorino Romano cheese until the Mornay sauce is smooth. Add salt and pepper to taste.

For each Hot Brown, place one slice of toast in an oven safe dish and cover with 7 ounces of turkey. Take the two halves of Roma tomato and set them alongside the base of turkey and toast. Next, pour one half of the Mornay sauce to completely cover the dish. Sprinkle with additional Pecorino Romano cheese. Place entire dish under a broiler until cheese begins to brown and bubble. Remove from broiler, cross two pieces of crispy bacon on top, sprinkle with paprika and parsley, and serve immediately.

Giambelli Is Done and Gone

Giambelli 50th Ristaronte, an old-school Italian mainstay in Midtown East, has closed its doors for good.

I passed by the unassuming red-brick building yesterday. I peered in the window, because I had long been considering the place as the subject of a "Who Goes There?" column. Instead, I found a sign saying: "To all our wonderful customers. Sorry we are closing our doors due to take over by the MTA. Thank you!"

I walked across the street to the Maloney & Porcelli steakhouse and the maitre d' confirmed that Giambelli's was gone for good, and had closed a month and a half ago. (I looked around the web, but haven't seen any news coverage of this). "It's a shame," he said. "We complimented each other for years. When people wanted Italian, I'd send them over there. When they wanted a steak, he'd send them here." He said the MTA seized the property through Eminent Domain for an upcoming construction project.

Giambelli was founded by Francesco ''Frank'' Giambelli, who died in 2006 at the age of 90. He was born in 1915 in Voghera, outside Milan, Italy. Frank came to the U.S. in 1954 to open Giambelli's Ristorante, originally located on Madison Avenue and 37th Street; it relocated to 50th and Madison Avenue in 1960. In 1995, during Pope John Paul II's trip to New York, Giambelli's served the Pope and fifty Cardinals at the Cardinal's residence. The cuisine was northern Italian. The interior had off-white walls, light brown banquettes, picturesque paintings, Classical bronze statues, and riotously colorful floral arrangements. One account said that a long-stemmed rose was given to each female guest.

New Sandwich Place Coming to Columbia Street

Local sources tell Lost City that a new sandwich place will soon be opening in the Columbia Street storefront formerly (and briefly) occupied by the Piccolo Cafe. Not much information on the nature of the joint, except that it will specialize in "international sandwiches" and carry varieties of bread-bracketed food from countries all over the world. Hey, it they have at least two sandwiches on the menu, that will be a 100% increase over the Piccolo's offerings.

Norwegian Pride Flows Free

For whatever reason, a new Norwegian flag is flapping in the breeze outside a top-floor apartment on Carroll Street near Van Brunt. The area used to be a Norwegian stronghold. Can there still be some old Vikings around?

Lost City: Louisville Edition: What's Left of the Ohio Theatre

On Fourth Street, one of the historic main drags of downtown Louisville, Kentucky, there's an area called the Theatre District. It's a bit of a misnomer, since there is only one theatre in the area, the old Spanish Baroque Palace, which was built in 1928, and still functions. It could be argued, however, that there are one and a half theatres. For a part of the Ohio is still there. There's one hell of a giant facade and a sign, and a teeny tiny box office under it. The doors used to lead to an office where you could pay your Cricket wireless. (The storefront is presently vacant.) Don't look for anything beyond it; the rest of the theatre was razed years ago.

The Ohio was built in 1941. It closed as a movie theatre in 1965. Next door used to be the Kentucky Theatre (the name of which might explain the Ohio's seemingly misplaced moniker.) Louisville, unfortunately, had a way with tearing down old theatres. Fourth Street used to be a major promenade for Louisville families intent on a night out. There were dining and entertainment options aplenty. But, one by one, the theatres were torn down: the Rialto, the Majestic, Old Masonic, Rex, Star, Kentucky and Ohio. Only the Palace, restored in the 1990s, survived.

Brand New Bagels

Bagels on the Park, the Carroll Gardens mainstay which has been looking pretty scruffy of late, seems to be undergoing a renovation. The windows on the Smith Street storefront are papered over and a sign on the door says the place in closed for vacation. Lets hope they finally put up a new sign, so the joint doesn't advertise itself at the Park Lane Florist anymore (a former inhabitant).

The Mysterious Appeal of the Faux-Stone Frontage

Diners have, over the years, tried many looks in order to lure the passing customer. Art Deco, gleaming silver rail car, lunch cart style, Colonial, Mediterranean, Tudor, Road House, etc.

One style I have never understood is the faux fieldstone facade. You still see examples of it in various New York neighborhoods. The above diner is in Greenpoint. Below is the Capitol Diner in Inwood. I'm not sure what the intention of the design is. Are we supposed to think the diner is housed inside some sort of grand, stone castle or medieval structure? Is is supposed to lend the restaurant a patina of history? The two diners I mention here are both Greek. Maybe they like the idea of looking like an ancient ruin. For my part, I think the design is inherently drab. It usually causes the owner to order a brown awning in order to keep with the color scheme. It all looks pretty dusty and dingy after a few years.