The Astor Riviera Cafe closed in 1994, a shuttering that the Times cited as evidence of the de-funkification of Astor Place. The reporter got the scoop about the coming tenant: “Starbucks, the Seattle coffee chain.”

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Another demolition for once-interesting 8th Ave? This shot comes in from tipster Reed, at the corner of 46th and 8th, an area that’s been almost totally clear-cut. The “ghosts of 8th Ave” are wailing:

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Do not think that all of New York City is paved with gold. There are plenty of ordinary people whose income is modest and many minimum wage earners. Seeing this shelf of Spam in Manhattan reminds me of a private joke between a friend and I whose punchline we never tired of using whenever we could.
When I was much younger, another friend and I were fascinated with fireworks, particularly bottle rockets. Although we did occasionally buy firecrackers, we never were interested in the heavy noise found with M-80s or Cherry Bombs. As foolish as we were, we had a sense of their much more dangerous nature. Also, we did not enjoy extraordinary explosive noise. We were interested in rocketry.
At the time, at New Year’s Eve or Chinese New Year, fireworks were easily purchased in the city. Vendors were all over the streets in neighborhoods like the East Village and Chinatown, selling their wares out of garbage cans, auto trunks, bags etc. The city was much less aggressive about enforcement.
One night searching for some rockets, all three of us came across a street vendor barking a list of his wares, of course featuring his big stuff. When I asked if he had bottle rockets, he seemed rather taken aback and with enormous pride and smug confidence, responded “hey, we got the little stuff too.” Apparently we were to know he was a full service retailer. So, that’s the punchline. It loses much in translation because one of the keys here is the delivery - a combination of the very smug, macho posturing with a Brooklyn/Queens accent.
Thereafter, anytime a conversation provided opportunity to reaffirm the merits of the diminutive and share some insider humor, we added “we got the little stuff too” along with our best interpretation of that fireworks vendor.
This shelf of Spam at a local supermarket tells us that people buy and use the product - this is not an Andy Warhol art piece. We still have large numbers of homeless. Fast food restaurants and deep discount retailers dot the city. These are not just the haunts of price conscious millionaires, flaunting frugality and good shopping skills, but the places where many of lessor means shop. New York City requires the same services as anywhere else and someone has to work those jobs - clerks, gas station attendants, waiters etc. These positions do not pay the wages of investment bankers or attorneys. Twenty three percent of New Yorkers live below the poverty line.
So to those that think the city is only comprised of exclusive high-end retailers, fashion boutiques, costly apartments, expensive restaurants and gourmet foods, I would like to remind you - we got the little stuff too Read the rest of this entry »

Second week of May–that’s D-day for the residents whose windows are inches from the Cooper Square Hotel terrace club. [Grub]

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Before this site was actually launched in March, 2006, I had already decided to feature Vesuvio Bakery as my very first posting - see here. There were a number of reasons - this place was so absolutely iconic - it had history, charm and was family owned by a member of the Italian community surrounding it. And a good product. In short, I could think of nothing that could better represent an aspect of the city that New Yorker’s love. It’s image graced many brochures along with my business card for this website.
Today it becomes the first establishment I feature twice - an obituary of sorts - Vesuvio closed in February, 2009.
Vesuvio Bakery opened was opened in 1920 by Nunzio and Jennie Dapolito. Their son Anthony was born the same year on nearby Houston Street. He was the oldest of five boys and began delivering bread from a horse-drawn bread wagon (in 1937, the family acquired a truck). Anthony ran the bakery until 2002 when he sold it to Lisa and Christine Gigante (his sisters-in-law), who reopened it as a bakery/cafe, adding a few tables and small menu. Their bread continued to be baked in their coal oven.
Anthony became a well known political activist, carrying the unofficial title “mayor of Greenwich Village.” His bakery became an informal meeting place for community members. He served on the community board and fought for numerous causes, including work with Jane Jacobs against the highly controversial NYC urban planner Robert Moses.
Anthony died at age 82 in 2003.
And I must admit one of the many secret reasons that I (and many others) love this place - that color …

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Last week, a post on the insider Chelsea Hotel blog, Living with Legends, sent me in search of the virtual Chelsea Hotel. On a sidestreet of the metaverse Second Life, the virtual Chelsea Hotel stands, looking a lot like the real-life hotel. It’s all there: the neon sign, the bricks, the filigreed wrought-iron balconies–over which hang signs saying “Bring Back the Bards.”

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When you go to the Brooklyn Botanic Garden on one of the first sunny, warm Saturdays in spring, you are being infinitely stupid. You know this. But sometimes, such stupidity can’t be avoided. So you go. Like everybody else in town–all 8 million of them–you want to see the cherry blossoms.

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Many years ago while waiting in line at Corinne Offset at 737 Broadway to pick up a small printing job, my eye caught a sign which expressed a concept unique to me at the time. It said: Pick two out of three: Fast Good Cheap.
As I pondered the possible combinations of two, I saw the cleverness of this trinity of attributes. Make something Fast and Good, but then it will not be cheap.
Fast and cheap, but it will not be good. Good and cheap but it will take a long time. In design and engineering, the concept of a triangle built on these three constraints is known as the Project Triangle (the Project Management Triangle uses Scope, Time and Cost.) In these triangles, the constraints are interrelated and it is not possible to optimize all three.
With businesses, I do believe it is possible to find all three at a high level and when you do, these are the places that are exalted. B&H Photo is an example where you can get Good, Fast and Cheap - that’s why so many love shopping there.
In the world of restaurants, the Zagat Survey of restaurants grades restaurants with four criteria (which are not linked in the same was as a project triangle): Food, Decor, Service, Cost.
However, I believe you could grade businesses and restaurants using a Project Triangle, where the service (apart from speed) is ignored as well as decor. Many rate restaurants this way, especially where utility is valued over a true dining experience.
L’Annam at 121 University place has been in business for 7 years. The owner manager, Michael Zhao, is from China, the host John is from Malaysia and the cook, Vietnamese. It gets some very mixed reviews. Many of the complaints are due to lack of authenticity. Your eating experience there will be much more enjoyable if you do not expect something like authentic Pho - for that, perhaps head elsewhere.
Most agree that this place is Fast and Cheap. How Good the food is, is where the disagreements lie. For a place in this price range, I find the atmosphere very roomy and pleasant. We are always treated cordially by host John with a perpetual smile and who I have now nicknamed the Happy Man. If you visit, let me know if how it stacks up in the Project Triangle …

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Anyone whos rented a pair of ugly leather shoes lately has probably noticed that theres something of a New York bowling renaissance afoot.

Plug in your microwave oven and stand back, its asparagus season.