DeRobertis

Today, Grieve notes a real estate listing that appears to be the death of the great DeRobertis Pasticceria on First Avenue in the East Village.

When I asked the co-owner a few months ago if they were closing, he said "absolutely not." But who knows? We thought Manganaro's would stay when they sold their building and that did not happen. In these uncertain situations, it's best to go and enjoy the place while you can. DeRobertis is a treasure and it will be a tragedy if and when they vanish.



From an interview I did with the owner, Annie, back in 2007:

“People come in and tell me I don’t know how to make cappuccino," Annie said, incredulous. (She's only been making the beverage for 50 years.) "They tell me, 'Starbucks makes it this way.' I tell them, 'I’m here before Starbucks.' They want flavors. I tell them, 'I got flavors. You want a flavor? I’ll put it in.' Put it in? They look at me," with a look of disbelief. "Do these people really think the coffee bean grows in flavors? Like it comes in hazelnut and mint? These are people with college educations. But they want Starbucks. So I tell them, very nicely I say," with a wave of her hand, "So go to Starbucks.”

The East Village has enough Starbucks. We need DeRobertis.

Master List: 2001 - 2013

At the end of each year, I usually do a round-up of that year's vanished places. But this year is special. This year means the end to the evil Bloomberg era, so I offer this "Master List" of Vanished New York from 2001 to 2013. It's been 12 merciless years of destruction and loss, from "significant" losses to countless "smaller" ones--neighborhood laundromats, shoe repair shops, drugstores--far more than I have compiled here.

If you look only at this list and add up all the years in business represented, we lost approximately 6,926 years of New York City history in only a dozen years. And we know the real number is much higher than that.

Clearly, we need strong protections for the city's small businesses. Many of the closures were due to the impact of gentrification, either through rising rents, demolition for luxury development, or a decrease in business due to their neighborhood's up-shifting of demographics and values. A few closed for unrelated reasons, like the owner's death or retirement, but I included them all. I'm sure I've missed many--in part because I didn't start the blog until 2007. Please add them in the comments, and include the date and reason for closure if you can. Also, if you see any mistakes, please offer corrections. Thank you.

This list is a living document. I plan to add to it over time. Here's a nice quote about it from Kristin Iverson at Brooklyn Magazine: "For those of us who have lived in New York for a long time, perusing the list was not unlike looking through a high school yearbook, only finding out that practically everyone had died."



2013 (836 years)
Stile's Market: 26 years
Pushed out by landlord, to be demolished for luxury development

5Pointz, formerly Phun Phactory: 20 years
White-washed by owner, to be demolished for luxury condo towers

Famous Roio’s/Ray’s Pizza: 40 years
Building sold

Ray Beauty Supply: 50 years
Property seized by landlord

Vercesi Hardware: 101 years
Building sold to be demolished for luxury condos

D’Auito’s Bakery: 89 years
Unknown

Odessa Restaurant: 48 years
Building sold, gastropub to move in, now for rent

Splash gay bar: 22 years
Lack of business

Paradise Café: 20 years
Rent hike

Big Nick’s Burger and Pizza Joint: 51 years
Rent increase from $42,000 to $60,000 a month

Max Fish: 24 years
Rent increase

Joe’s Dairy: 60 years
Cost of doing business

Bleecker Bob’s Records: 46 years
Rent hike

Blarney Cove: 50+ years
Evicted for new development

Sofia’s Italian restaurant: 35 years
Lost their lease

9th Street Bakery: 87 years
38% rent hike, replaced by juice-cleanse and smoothie shop

Capucine’s Italian restaurant: 33 years
Rent hike

Rawhide gay bar: 34 years
Rent hike, to be turned into a pizza chain from California



2012 (1302 years)
Rocco Ristorante: 90 years
Lost lease to trendy restaurateurs, gutted and upscaled

The Holiday Cocktail Lounge: 47 years
Sold and gutted for a gastropub

Kenny’s Castaway’s: 45 years
Rising cost of business

McCullough’s Kiddie Park, Coney Island: 50 years
Lost their lease

Manganaro's Grosseria: 119 years
Sold and gutted for a more upscale restaurant

A Clean Well-Lighted Place: 36 years
Now an upscale boutique

World of Video: 29 years
Lost its lease

Chelsea Gallery Diner: 30 years
Forced out of Chelsea

Bill's Gay 90s: 88 years
Lost its lease to a trendy restaurateur, gutted and upscaled

Atlas Barber School: 64 years
Lost lease due to hiked rent, now a UPS

Prime Burger: 47 years
Lost lease when building sold

Lascoff Pharmacy: 113 years
Closed and gutted

Colony Records: 60 years
Closed when the new landlord quintupled the rent to $5 million

Movie Star News: 73 years
Rent hiked, turned into a luxury bathroom fixture store

Lafayette French Bakery: 30+ years
Evicted

Partners & Crime Bookshop: 18 years
Closed due to lack of business

University Diner: 60 years
Evicted

El Faro: 85 years
Possibly evicted?

Village Chess Shop: 40 years
Closed due to lack of business

The Stage Deli: 75 years
Rent increase

Lenox Lounge: 63 years
Landlord doubled the rent, given to upscale restaurateur

H&H Bagels: 40 years
Last location evicted



2011 (575 years)
Gansevoort Pumping Station, Premier Veal plant: 105 years
Evicted and demolished for new Whitney Museum and High Line headquarters

Polonia: 22 years
Probable rent hike

Auggie’s Coffee shop: 45 years
Could not afford the rent

The Original Ray's Pizza: 52 years
Legal dispute with landlord

Mars Bar: 26 years
Demolished to build luxury condos, to become a bank

Brownfeld Auto: 120 years
Evicted when landlord decided to sell for luxury High Line development

Chelsea Hotel: 127 years
Sold and closed to guests

Life Café: 30 years
Dispute with landlord over repairs

Elaine’s: 48 years
Death of owner



2010 (886 years)
Skyline Books: 20 years
Probable rent hike, replaced with a body waxing salon

JJ’s Navy Yard bar: 103 years
Evicted, sold, and demolished, replaced by hipster coffee

Telephone Bar and Grill: 22 years
Sold and replaced with a frat bar

Gino: 65 years
Closed when landlord raised rent $8,000 per month, turned into a cupcake bakery chain

Empire Diner: 34 years
Lost their lease

Guss’ Pickles: 100 years
Left the Lower East Side due to rising neighborhood rents

Shore Hotel: 107 years
Coney Island hotel, demolished by Thor Equities to make room for new construction

Fedora: 58 years
Closed by owner in old age, taken over by a trendy restaurateur, gutted and upscaled

Carmine's at the Seaport: 107 years
Closed when landlord raised the rent to $13,000 a month

St. Vincent's Hospital: 161 years
Closed and demolished for a billion-dollar luxury condo project

New York Doll Hospital: 109 years
Death of owner, no successor



2009 (613 years)
Arnold Hatters: 50 years
Unable to make rent after original location taken by eminent domain to build New York Times tower, replaced by 7-Eleven

Joe Jr.'s diner: 35 years
Lost their lease, now upscale coffee

P&G Bar: 67 years
Lost lease, gutted and replaced by upscale cafe

Amato Opera House: 61 years
Closed by the owner in old age, building sold

Love Saves the Day: 43 years
Closed in part due to high rent

Tavern on the Green: 75 years
Bankruptcy

Café Des Artistes: 92 years
Bankruptcy

Manny’s Music: 74 years
Bought out by Sam Ash, also later shuttered

Provincetown Playhouse: 91 years
Demolished by NYU

Biography Bookshop: 25 years
Rent hike, owners relocated as BookBook



2008 (821 years)
Jefferson Market: 79 years
Money trouble, now sales office for billion-dollar luxury condo project at St. Vincent's

Fazil’s Times Square Studio: 73 years
Closed for building demolition

Astroland amusement park: 46 years
Sold to Thor Equities for redevelopment

Donnell Library: 53 years
Closed and demolished for a luxury hotel

The Minetta Tavern: 71 years
Landlord raised the rent, gave lease to upscale restaurateur

Bobby's Happy House: 61 years
Building sold for a big-box chain store

Chez Brigitte: 50 years
Rent doubled, replaced by frozen yogurt chain

Cafe Figaro: 39 years
Lost their lease, became fast-food burrito chain and bank

Yankee Stadium: 85 years
Demolished and replaced with an upscale ballpark

Shea Stadium: 44 years
Demolished and replaced with upscale, corporate-named Citi-Field

Florent: 24 years
Closed due to rent hike, from $6,000 to $50,000 per month

Vesuvio Bakery: 88 years
Sold

M&G Diner: 40 years
Sold and shuttered

Cheyenne Diner: 68 years
Lost its lease, moved away



2007 (783 years)
Limelight: 24 years
Shuttered by police, reopened, eventually closed and converted to luxury shopping mall

The Roxy: 29 years
Shut down for conversion to luxury condos

Dojo’s Restaurant, 33 years
Rent hike

Gertel's Bakery: 93 years old
Sold, demolished for condo development

The Playpen Theater: 100 years
Sold and demolished for luxury hotel tower and Shake Shack chain

Chumley's: 79 years old
Collapsed

Jade Mountain: 76 years old
Death of owner

Moondance Diner: 74 years
Closed for condo development, moved to Wyoming

Kurowycky Meats: 52 years old
Closed due to lack of business

Copeland's: 49 years old
Victim of gentrification

Donuts Coffee Shop: 32 years old
Evicted

Sucelt Coffee: 31 years old
Rent hike

Teresa's Polish restaurant: 22 years old
Rent hike

Rose’s Turn: 56 years
Family sold building for $3.5 million

Coliseum Books: 33 years
Rent too high



2006 (373 years)
Cedar Tavern: 140 years
Demolished for condos, replaced with a body waxing salon

Gotham Book Mart: 86 years
Evicted

McHale's Bar: 62 years
Demolished for luxury condo tower

The Second Avenue Deli: 52 years
Rent increase, replaced with a bank

CBGBs: 33 years
Rent dispute, replaced by John Varvatos upscale boutique


photo via Satan's Laundromat

2005 (278 years)
Variety Photoplays Theater: 108 years
Demolished by the Toll Brothers for a 21-story condo tower

Fulton Fish Market: 170 years
Moved to the Bronx due to “the creeping conversion of Manhattan into a monstrous mall” --NY Times



2004 (319 years)
A. Zito & Sons Bakery: 80 years
Rising cost of business

The Bottom Line: 30 years
NYU raised the rent

The original Kim’s Video: 17 years
?

Jon Vie Bakery: 42 years
“a victim of soaring rents in a neighborhood populated as much by bankers as by bohemians.” --NY Times

Domino Sugar Factory: 150 years
Declining business, to be converted to luxury condos


photo via: Intersection's Flickr

2002 (127 years)
Ratner’s: 97 years
Cost of doing business

Madison Avenue Bookshop: 30 years
Lack of business

2001 (13 years)
Wetlands: 13 years
Building sold for luxury condos

Sal Dell'Orto

Sal Dell'Orto, patriarch of the great, lost Manganaro's Grosseria of Hell's Kitchen, has passed away. He was 84. My warmest condolences go out to his family, especially to his daughters who made dining at Manganaro's such an unforgettable treat (no matter what some people have to say about that--and I don't want to hear it--I still miss the place terribly).

From his obituary, it's clear that Mr. Dell'Orto and Manganaro's Grosseria will always have a place in local New York City history:

"Sal was born in Manhattan and earned a scholarship to Fordham University. He graduated Cum Laude and went right to work at his family’s business; Manganaro Grosseria Italiana; purveyors of premium Italian specialty foods. His family started the famous eatery on New York’s Ninth Avenue in 1893 and Sal proudly carried the torch until 2010. Manganaro’s was truly a New York City landmark during his tenure, and Sal was the charismatic owner that all of his customers came to love.

He became personal friends with the likes of Jackie Gleason and Shecky Greene, had coffee every morning with Burt Lancaster during the filming of Tough Guys, and Frank Sinatra would request that his Prosciutto be personally sliced by Sal. The Ninth Avenue Food Festival was traditionally started with the sitting New York City mayor enjoying a meal at Manganaro’s followed by an opening ceremony on the sidewalk right out front. Sal has had lunch with Jacob Javits, Ed Koch, David Dinkins and Rudy Giuliani, just to name a few. Sal enjoyed many ‘firsts’ at Manganaro’s: first family to import Salami from Italy shortly after World War I, GQ magazine featured him in the late 1990’s wearing fine Italian suits, and he is credited with inventing the 'Six Foot Hero' sandwich in 1956. The six foot hero earned him a spot on the TV game show What’s My Line? where Sal successfully stumped the panelists. The Hormel Meats Company also used his grosseria as the set for many of their TV commercials over the years.

Needless to say, he enjoyed a lengthy career and was blessed with many wonderful and dear friends throughout the years."

Read more here

2012 Vanishings

Every year, at the end of the year, we take a look back at what's been lost over the past 12 months. Some of the losses were big ones, some smaller. In chronological order (more or less), the ones covered here:



The Holiday Cocktail Lounge
After an illustrious history that included literary legends like Allen Ginsberg and W.H. Auden, after a few recent years of struggle, the great Holiday succumbed. It's been gutted and will be turned into a fish n' chips gastropub kind of thing. The Holiday had been here since 1965.

La-Rosa Cigars
This half-century old shop shuttered and left Manhattan for the Bronx, which is not exactly vanishing, but still--it was booted from a prime spot to the periphery.

Atlas Meats
In its never-ending vanishing act, the Meatpacking District demolished this Depression-era building. A glass tower is coming.



Manganaro's
After 119 years in business, Manganaro's Grosseria closed their doors and sold their building. After a painful gutting, a restaurant called Tavola moved in. This one hurts like hell.

A Clean Well-Lighted Place
One of the last places on the Rodeo Drive section of Bleecker Street that was not a luxury shopping mall store, this little gallery quietly closed and its space became...a luxury shopping mall store. The gallery had been here since 1976.

World of Video
After 29 years in Greenwich Village, this popular and beloved video store lost its lease.

Chelsea Gallery Diner
The city is losing its diners. Another one fell when the Chelsea Gallery was forced to close after 30 years on 7th Avenue. A sad loss for many in the area.



Bill's Gay 90s
Another especially painful blow, the loss of Bill's Gay 90s was one that should never have been allowed. After 88 years in business, Bill's lost its lease, which was handed over to trendy restaurateur John DeLucie. The place was gutted and upscaled.

Atlas Barber School
With a hiked rent, thanks no doubt to the hideous tower going up at Astor Place, this long-lasting barber school shuttered. It had been in business in Manhattan, and mostly right here, since 1948.

Arleen Bowman Boutique
When A Clean, Well-Lighted Place closed on Bleecker, it left one old-school shop standing. But not for long. After 25 years here, Arleen Bowman was forced to close by rising rent.



Prime Burger
More agony with this one. The wondrous Prime Burger closed after 47 years in business--and its gorgeous decor went with it. The building was sold and the new owner would not give them a manageable deal. An awful loss.

Lascoff Pharmacy
Without much of a peep, the beautiful Lascoff closed on the Upper East Side. Established in 1899, its interior was stunningly cathedralesque. Now it's gutted and gone.

Colony Records
After 60 years of "serving Broadway," Colony Records was given an impossible offer, a quintupled rent of $5 million. It shuttered.

Movie Star News
Opened by the infamous Irving Klaw, sustained by images of the great Bettie Page, Movie Star News was part of Manhattan since 1939. But then the rent went up, and now its space will become a luxury bathroom fixture store.

Lafayette French Bakery
After more than 30 years in the Village, this little (sometimes controversial) bakery was evicted. A trendy restaurant has taken its place.

Mei Dick
Another barbershop fallen, Mei Dick vanished this year, disappointing many photographers who enjoyed its homophonic joke.

Partners & Crime
After 18 years on Greenwich Avenue, this bookshop closed down due to the city's growing lack of interest in books and its passion for pawing at greasy little screens.

University Diner
And another diner gone. I'll miss this one, too. It shuttered after 60 years in business.

El Faro
It was 85 years old, surviving on the glammed-up edge of the Meatpacking District, and then it was gone. This one also really sucks. I keep hoping it will reopen.

9th Avenue Between 17th and 18th
All of the small, beloved businesses in the large, nearly block-long building were evicted this year.

Lucky Cheng's
After nearly two decades of drag, Lucky Cheng's left its dilapidated building in the East Village for Times Square. Again, not exactly a vanishing, but a vanishing--the old Lucky Cheng's and the strange history of its building has come to an end.

Village Chess Shop
They'd been on Thompson Street since 1972. Then they were evicted.

The Stage Deli
Without warning, this 75-year-old landmark closed, leaving many tourists and New Yorkers bereft. 

Lenox Lounge
Today will be its last. I went up for a final drink before the place is taken over and faux-stalgia'd by the Nobu team. The landlord had doubled the rent on this classic space, this gem of Harlem, open since 1942.



So many numbers, so many years. Some of these businesses had been in New York City for over 110 years, others a mere 20, but it adds up. In fact, if you add up all the years in business, just for these businesses listed here (there were plenty more), the total comes to approximately 1,255 years.

In 2012, we lost 1,255 years of history. That's more than a millennium--just gone.


Past year-end reviews:
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011: Businesses, Structures, Food, People

Vanishing NY Dreams

Three dreams on the dream blog today: The Manganaro's ladies take over Fedora, Goggla dreams of Joseph Mitchell at the Seaport, and Grieve watches Ray's Candy vanish.

Manganaro's to Tavola

Back in February we saw the gorgeous, heartbreakingly authentic (and scary to some) Manganaro's shutter after 119 years in business on 9th Avenue. The family that owned the place had had enough and we worried that a Subway or 7-11 might take its place.

On a recent walk by, I spotted a new sign: TAVOLA.



The sign is in the vertical style of the old Manganaro's sign, with a buff of faux rust to make it look old, and I wondered if the Dell'Orto sisters had decided to start up a new business. So I asked the neighbors.

"It's a new guy," I was told. "They're making brick-oven pizza."



The front has been completely redone, though in keeping with the antique look of the place. A peek at the inside, however, shows a total gutting. Honestly, I can't bear to look at it, all clean and bright.




I loved the old place so much--the long, dark walkway through festoons of hanging salami, into the back dining room with its little mismatched tables and chairs from the 1960s, the plastic-on-felt tablecloths, the crummy wood paneling, the big Toledo scale, the faded photographs of family members and forgotten movie stars. It was perfect.

Well. At least it's not another fucking 7-11. And, who knows, maybe you'll see a Dell'Orto sister or two once in awhile.


RIP

Previously:
Manganaro's Grosseria
Manganaro's Vanished
Manganaro's Gutted
Red-Sauce Joints

Manganaro's Gutted

This one hurts.

A tipster sends in this shot and writes, "Well, the gutting of Manganaro’s has begun. I’m sure it will be yet another Thai restaurant."



What more, really, is there to say?

*Everyday Chatter

In the East Village, people leaving clothes on the sidewalk for the homeless are getting awfully fussy (and bossy) about the whole thing:


Met Foods has removed the Ratner's "R" from their floor--but we still have the mosaic wall. [EVG]

A lovely ode to the dearly departed Manganaro's, its ladies, and its neon. [NYN]

Landlord of Harlem's famed and fabulous Lenox Lounge hikes the rent--and the owner is out. [NYDN]

Author Christopher Bollen recalls life in a Williamsburg that has changed dramatically in just 10 years. [PRD]

Dean Haspiel puts the Montero Bar & Grill into a comic. [TC]

A "manifesto of gentrification" in photographs of Park Slope. [NYT]
Help preserve the mural at the former Victor's Cafe. [LW]

Last week, the Odessa cash mob drew a dozen neighborhood folks, including bloggers C.O. Moed, Goggla, Marty, Melanie, and One More Folded Sunset, many of whom covered the event in their blogs. What's next for the mobbing?

Manganaro's

VANISHED

It has happened. After 119 years in business, after being on the brink of closure in recent years, the great Manganaro Grosseria on 9th Avenue has shuttered.


all photos: my flickr, 2008

A reader alerted me this weekend, writing, "Walked by Manganaro's today and saw a sign that said they were serving their last Sunday lunch... The window display is bare and you can see the ancient glass and wood sliding doors. All of the photos are boxed up and on the floor. There are no more tables and chairs in the back. Out front, decades worth of paper signs, chairs, and baskets were in the trash. The place looks like a movie set now, empty and displaced from time. I fear the place will be gutted to make room for a Subway."

A call to the restaurant confirmed they are closed and their website has the following note: "As of February 27, 2012, Manganaro Foods will no longer be open in New York City. We will let you know when we re-open. Thank you for your many years of patronage. We look forward to serving you in the future."



One year ago, the family put their building up for sale, saying "We've had it." But they weren't quite ready to go. As co-owner Seline Dell'Orto told the Observer in March 2011, they were keeping the business open "Because it’s a hundred and twenty fucking years old and it’s beautiful."

And it was beautiful. From the hanging salamis to the big Toledo scale, to the wood paneling in the dining room with its old chairs and tables, to the photos hanging on the walls, it was beautiful.

The brusque greetings of the Dell-Orto sisters were beautiful. The way they refused to tolerate the bullshit of difficult tourists and such was beautiful (though some well-meaning folks got caught in the crossfire). Listening to them complain about Bloomberg and yuppies while you ate your tortellini was beautiful.



I absolutely loved Manganaro's and everything about it. When I was in the neighborhood recently, visiting the Elk Hotel, I thought maybe I should walk down for a meal. But it was late and I figured they'd be closed--and I thought I'd have another chance.

Now I'm kicking myself. Yet again.

The note on the website says they'll reopen and look forward to serving us in the future--so maybe there's hope. Maybe it's just a remodeling. Or maybe they're moving. Either way, it won't be the same and I'm just heartbroken over this one.



Further reading:
Manganaro Grosseria
Red Sauce Joints

Red-Sauce Joints

VANISHING

The recent announcements about the coming death by rent hike of Rocco's and Rocky's--along with the closure of Aunt Suzie's in Park Slope--has me wondering if we've been witnessing a mass extinction of the classic "red-sauce joint." Looking back, the answer is obvious.


Rocco ravioli

The Beatrice Inn closed in 2005 after about 80 years. The new owner promised "Monday Scrabble sessions and Italian-food specials will cater to the old regulars." That didn't happen. It became a celeb hotspot that enraged the neighbors and eventually shuttered.

The Minetta Tavern closed in 2008 after 71 years when the rent skyrocketed. Keith McNally took it over, changed the Italian menu to French, fancied it up, and stashed Joe Gould somewhere he may never be found.

Gino closed in June 2010 after 65 years. Once a favorite of Frank Sinatra, it's now a cupcake chain store from Beverly Hills.

Fedora closed in July 2010 after 58 years. The new owner had said it would remain almost exactly the same as it was, but that didn't happen. Like Minetta's, they also serve French-ish food.

Carmine's at the Seaport closed in July 2010 after 107 years. The rent was jacked up.

With Rocco and Rocky's both closing at the end of 2011, counting 90 and 30 years in business, respectively, that makes about 500 years of Italian-American cuisine and culture vanished in just the past 6 years. And I'm sure I've neglected to mention others.


Last meal at Minetta Tavern: Tortellaci Minetta

Interestingly, just as these classic places are vanishing, we're simultaneously seeing the rise of the hipster or foodie faux "red-sauce" joint, run by chefs who aim to "elevate" Italian-American cuisine from its apparently lowly position.

To wit: meatballs. They're everywhere, from the ever expanding Meatball Shops to the Meatball Factories. But they're not mom-and-pop meatballs. They're made by young, hip guys who attended culinary institutes and came up through French bistros and Hamptons clubs. They're made by guys from Top Chef, who top them with BBQ sauce or truffle cream.

The Torrisi team, though mostly Italian-American, caters to the foodie crowd as they perform "gourmet riffs on classic red-sauce fare" and create "upmarket versions of humble Italian-American deli favorites." They will soon plant their flag in Rocco.

Adam Platt called Danny Meyer's Maialino both "authentic" and a "painstakingly rendered facsimile" of a Roman trattoria.

Maybe that sums up the kind of place that is replacing the red-sauce joint--authentic facsimiles. Which is to say: ersatz.


Manganaro's

It wouldn't be so bad, having these upscale places around, if they weren't helping to send mom and pop--or should we say Nonna and Nonno?--into retirement.

For awhile now, there's been something about "red-sauce" that inspires scorn from the foodie elite. A Wikipedist says the term is pejorative, and that the mom-and-pop image of these restaurants is a cliche. Italian-American food has been maligned in this city since at least the 1980s, according to Anthony Bourdain, who writes, "We were almost made to feel bad about any secret appetites we might retain for spaghetti and meatballs" once the gourmets took over.

Call the culprit classism, class climbing, or murderous Oedipal rage, either way, real Italian-American food, made simply and inexpensively, is vanishing from the city.


Last meal at Gino, ravioli and meatballs

For true authenticity, not the painstakingly rendered kind, we still have John's of 12th Street and Manganaro's, which are my two favorites of what remains. We also have Monte's and Villa Mosconi. We have the dwindling fragments of Little Italy. Outside Manhattan, you might have better luck.

If you have a craving for meatballs, or for anything Italian-American, find your way to these places. They survived the 20th century--help them survive the new New York.

*Everyday Chatter

Why I love, love, love the ladies at Manganaro's. They're not closing--because the shop is "a hundred and twenty fucking years old and it's beautiful." [NYO]

Best indie bookshops of NYC. [Gothamist]

More shiny glass and greenery from NYU. [Curbed]

Carmine's selling itself off. [Grub]

Luxury on Mulberry--wait til these people move in on the Feast. [EVG]

Enjoy a couple shots of the Feast in the 1970s. [Flickr]

The last woody. [FNY]

A lost Madonna in Park Slope. [OMFS]

New Nom Wah

After reading about the renovation of the 90-year-old Nom Wah Tea Parlor on Chinatown's Doyers Street, I went in for a meal with great trepidation. How many times have we seen the character of a beloved, decades-old restaurant destroyed by new owners in their zeal for wealth, acclaim, and the chance to civilize a piece of the city's untamed soul?

I am very happy to say this is not the case at the newly reopened Nom Wah.

Wilson Tang, nephew of long-time owner Wally Tang, has achieved what few, if any, young New York restaurateurs scarcely dare to envision--the faithful updating of a landmark that not only preserves the soul of the place, but provides a fresh atmosphere in which that soul can expand.



What was recently a haphazard space, where bags of rice slumped on the floor and flies buzzed in the air, now makes sense. The tables, chairs, and booths seem to be the same as before--still patched and listing--but they are orderly.

The china dishes aren't the old dishes, but they look like they could be--and not like new dishes trying to look old. The tables are covered with plastic red and white checkerboard cloths that you'll remember always having been there, even though they weren't. The same plants stand in their pots, only now they've been watered and stand taller.



The tea tins that for eons stood stacked on shelves are still there, but now they've been dusted and shined. The walls have been painted and decorated with framed newspaper and magazine clippings, along with photos, from the restaurant's history. There are no hipster faux-Asian posters on the walls.

It's all a warm, and better lighted, embrace of everything that came before. Even their Facebook page celebrates the place and its history.



The waitresses are Chinese and speak little English. Many of them are well past 25 years old. None of them are blonde girls from Wisconsin in ironic leg warmers, and none are mustachioed Williamsburg guys in ironic Charlie Chan t-shirts.

As for the food, I don't really care about food, but I can tell you that I ate it, enjoyed it, and didn't feel ripped off by the price. The menu exhibits no pretensions about being "artisanal" and makes no boasts about creating "exciting riffs" on the classics. These are the actual classics. A spring roll is just a spring roll--it's not Pistachio-Infused, "Hand-Rolled," nor Stuffed with Fresh Maine Lobster and Duck Confit, and it certainly isn't Drizzled with anything citrusy, truffly, or olive oily.



Nom Wah's authentically welcoming (and affordable) atmosphere attracts a diverse clientele. I saw many tables full of young and old Chinese people, a large African-American family, a couple of white Midwesty tourists in their 70s, some Upper West Side-looking ladies (the older, Jewisher kind), and maybe half a dozen bespectacled Brooklyn sorts.

Nobody was screaming into a cell phone. No music was being piped in. The newly installed TV was thankfully turned off.

It feels like some wonderful, alternate, former New York in this place.



Once inside, you won't want to leave--and nobody will push you out. Wilson Tang and his employees encourage you to linger, take your time. There is no hurry here. Tang is eager to ensure your happiness and visits every table. If you tell him you love what he did with the place, he will proudly beam.

The new Nom Wah is what you hope for every old New York restaurant. It shows what could have, and should have, been done for the Fedora and Minetta Tavern, for the Beatrice Inn, and too many others. It's what I pray could happen for Manganaro's. It's in league with Eisenberg's, where the new owner's touch was light and cautious, filled with love for history and respect for continuity--along with good business sense.

For everyone who insists that places like Nom Wah need to "change with the times" in order to survive, here is your answer for how it can be done. This is what can happen when the new generation values the old, rather than being hellbent on destroying it.

Go to Nom Wah whenever you need to have your faith in this city's future restored. (And pray it stays this way for a long time.)

*Everyday Chatter

In tragic news this weekend, one of my favorite places, the great Manganaro's is selling their building and may soon after shutter. "We've had it," they say, after a century in business. [WSJ]


More sad news: The Chinatown Fair Arcade has shuttered for good. Gone from Manhattan, it may reopen in Williamsburg. [BB]

"You just can't reconcile 'If you can make it here you can make it anywhere' with Little Wisconsin... We eat people from Wisconsin for lunch and use their bones as toothpicks." [Crain's]

Birdel's Records in Bed-Stuy to shutter. [CR]

Orologio says goodbye to Avenue A. [EVG]

Willets Point businesspeople to Bloomberg: "If you want what I got, act like a man and come face me. Don’t use eminent domain and steal from me." [NYT]

Artist Jason Hackenwerth's fantastically obscene balloon sculptures have invaded the windows of Bergdorf's. See more on my flickr:

*Everyday Chatter

NYC really is turning into one big dorm/frat/sorority house--because today's newcomers admit they are terrified of the new and the different, and being alone makes them very anxious. Says one broker, they're no different than the immigrants who came through Ellis Island. You know, just more of those poor, huddled masses. [NYDN]

What happens when you just want to complain but you're not sure why? [Blah]

This interview, in which the self-proclaimed "high-class bitches" of Scores weigh in on politics, makes me really miss the old-school gals of Billy's Topless and the Baby Doll Lounge. [BB]

Revisit the 1980s EV on flickr. [EVG]

The Loews Village 7 has started showing classic films on Sundays. This weekend it's Casablanca. Next up--Hitchcock and more. Check out the schedule here:


If you don't have the coglionis to enjoy Manganaro's in person, or if you just want to whet your appetite before your next trip, check out the Bourdain video (begins at 4:50). [youtube]

8/27: Hear New York Stories from a Brooklyn mortician, a flophouse photographer, and the big gay ice-cream man. [Gelf]

Yes, the Howl! Festival is happening this year--kicking off with some performance art on 9/3. [EVH]

Visit New York's long-gone underground clubs. [BB]

The Bowery Boombox is alive and well. [Boogie]

*Everyday Chatter

Ricky's expands their domain. Where Chelsea Custom Kitchens was, so Ricky's Beauty Shop and Revolver Salon shall be--on the corner of 17th and 8th. PLUS: A Ricky's Halloween costume shop is popping up at 147 8th Ave--that's the address of the defunct Marc Ecko Cut & Sew:


Haven't had your fill of the EV Noise Wars? Grieve and Jill have reports on last night's community meeting.

With all the complaining about prickly Manganaro's--a place I love--it's nice to see someone coming to their defense. Midtown Lunch gives guidelines for the uninitiated ("suck it up and follow their insane rules"), but if you know from Italian women, you should have no problem here. [ML]

Mars Bar: "still the type of dive where you can buy a dime bag of weed, get yelled at by an elderly alcoholic and make out with a teen runaway—all before 8 p.m." [NYP]

Take a tour of the city's fringe spots worth saving. [NYP]

Discovering doughnut ice-cream sandwiches at the ever-delightful Peter Pan Donut Shop in Greenpoint. [NYS]

On Bleecker, the former home of Magic Shoes is now history--and here comes another condo. [BB]

Rusty nails and white spiders--the vintage booze of Mad Men. [NYT]

This Virgin's got wood...


...big, fat, long plywood, of course, as the Union Square megastore gets prepped for Nordstrom Rack:

*Everyday Chatter

Anthony Bourdain blogs about the disappearing city and it's good to see someone else singing the praises of "the spaghetts with red sauce and meatballs in the back dining area at Manganaro's," an under-appreciated treat. [AB]

And on beloved Sophie's, Bourdain says, “I don’t want no wide screens, high-fiving white guys, no fauxhawks or gel heads or hot chicks with douchebags." Now let's hope the TV show doesn't start attracting them. [Grub St.]

First look inside the new McNallified Minetta's. Looks like the walls survived, but I'll save my verdict until I get inside. [Eater]

Peeler Man passes down his craft (and his carrots) to his daughter. [Gothamist]

First the Holland, then the Holiday, now we hear Lucy's may be the next "dive in danger." Hopefully, as two commenters suggest, she's just visiting Poland. [Grub]

More bad news for bitter owners. [Gothamist]

The "rockstar" Ludlow to get a Western Union on its ground floor. Not so sexy. [BB]

Love is different in the boroughs than in Manhattan. [CR]

Poseidon Bakery

Ninth Avenue is fading fast, so I'm highlighting some of the businesses along that vanishing thoroughfare before they go. I recently covered the soon-to-perish block between 17th and 18th, along with Manganaro's (not vanishing) and the Cheyenne Diner (moving to Red Hook).



Still alive and kicking between 44th and 45th, don't miss the Poseidon Bakery. As far as I know, it is not vanishing. Yet.



The Poseidon has been in town since 1923 and is the last bakery in the city where they still make their own phyllo dough by hand. Opened by Demetrios Anagnostou, a baker from the island of Corfu, the Poseidon is run by family, including Lili Fable, third-generation baker and one of the founders (in 1973) of the Ninth Avenue International Food Festival, which is coming up in May.



The inside of the Poseidon, with its blue and white paint job, feels not unlike walking onto a fishing vessel. There's something very "seaside" about it. It also looks like it hasn't changed in several decades. Let's hope it keeps its New York Character in this sea of radical change.

Manganaro's Grosseria

With so many vanishings in the city, it's comforting to know that some things never change. One of those changeless places is Manganaro's Grosseria on 9th Ave near 37th St. Opened in 1893 as Petrucci's, it became Manganaro's in the 1920s, and stepping into the shop today is like walking into your grandfather's New York.



The shop is dimly lit and sparsely stocked. Pepperoni and salami hang from above, beneath a ceiling of pressed tin and before a backdrop of empty green shelves. Keep walking, under the skylight, past the big Toledo scale, and you'll come to a small cafe furnished with chrome tables under cloths with chairs that must hail from the Nixon administration.



The walls of the trattoria are paneled, the lights are florescent, and the back-room ambiance makes you feel like you've stumbled in on a secret meeting-place. A flight of red-railed stairs goes up to a second-floor dining room, which is closed and dark, and strangely beckoning.



Proprietor and cook, Seline Dell'Orto (James Manganaro's grand-niece), leaves her kaffe klatsch to step behind the counter and say, "Come over here and tell me what you want." It's like being fed by your Italian aunt--warm, welcoming, and a little brusque. She heaps a plate with macaroni and when you say, "That's plenty," she ignores your request, heaping on another spoonful or two, for which you will be grateful. The food is good.

I asked her about the sign chalked out front: "M. Foods is not connected to Hero Boy; but that's old news!" She spoke bitterly of the rift between Manganaro's and the Hero Boy cafe next door as if the wound were fresh, the rift recently torn, as if Hero Boy were an upstart in the neighborhood. But it turns out that Hero Boy opened half a century ago and this feud has been going on for decades. That's authentically Italian, too--it's not an Italian family unless somebody's not speaking to somebody.

I asked how the grosseria was doing, with all the changes in the neighborhood, and she said they're not going anywhere, despite the disturbing influx of foreign investors and rising Con-Ed prices. "This summer," she said, "we're doing it European style." What does that mean? "No lights!"



I had just missed meeting her father, but Sal still works in the shop. On Manganaro's website it says, "Watch Sal at his espresso machine and imagine what he thinks of the Johny come latelies who think they understand coffee." This quote sums up the Manganaro's experience and reminds me of the conversation I had with Annie of DeRobertis' Pasticceria, who said, “People come in and tell me I don’t know how to make cappuccino. They tell me, 'Starbucks makes it this way.' I tell them, 'I’m here before Starbucks.'"

Manganaro's was here before Starbucks, too. So go in and tell them what you want--but don't tell them how to make it or serve it. Just eat it.

• See more pics of Manganaro's on my flickr