The fries are skinny; my steakburger, "made with cuts of rib eye and New York strip," was fattened with melted American cheese, lettuce, pickle, tomato, and onion, plus ketchup and mustard (combo, $5.99). Good, even if the patties all must be cooked medium well.
Next time, must remember to try the Coca-Cola Freestyle machine.
Steak 'n Shake Signature
1695 Broadway (53rd-54th Sts.), Manhattan
212-247-6584
www.SteakNShake.com
No fish tale here except, perhaps, about the one that got away. Brought to you by the letter "R".
"Gilled breakfast"
Midtown Manhattan
Notwithstanding my two-egg breakfast (rye toast on the side, $3.95), this new kosher eatery has made over the menu of its predecessor, the old Diamond Dairy. You'll find crepes but no kreplach, sushi rolls but no gefilte fish. Much as I love potato pancakes and stuffed peppers, there's one particular menu item that's particularly missed: I've put in my two cents for the return of the blintzes.
Dairy Cafe & Catering
4 West 47th St. (Fifth-Sixth Aves., mezzanine of the National Jewelers Exchange), Manhattan
212-221-3265
Breakfast and lunch, weekdays only
A pizzeria, which decamped to new digs a block south, was the immediate past occupant of these premises. Like many tourist-oriented New York pizzerias, its menu also embraces wings, burgers, wraps, and the like.
These recently uncovered painted wood panels, however, seem to be holdovers from some older business. Look close and you might make out fish fillets, fried chicken, pancakes, and a ladder-back armchair.
Former luncheonette
856 Eighth Ave. (51st-52nd Sts.), Manhattan
Books do furnish a room, even this room without walls on the quiet(er) north edge of the park. Cell-phoning and loud music-playing are proscribed, but eating and drinking are within bounds. And if you like reading about eating and drinking while lunching, here's just the place. Getting your head around the Oxford Companion to American Food and Drink, however — it's the book on the end, the one propping up the other books — will require multiple lunch dates.
Bryant Park Reading Room
Near the south side of 42nd St. between Fifth and Sixth Aves., New York
Daily, 11:00-7:00, except during bad weather and special events
Seen through, and reflected in, a window near Times Square
This gilded French farmer-figure is sowing a polychrome field, but her seeds are allegorical rather than literal. In fact, they're fleurs-de-lis (click for a larger view). Since they're stylized lilies rather than actual flowers, they won't find their way into the kitchen, but on the plus side, the planting season lasts all year.
"Seeds of Good Citizenship"
Lee Lawrie, 1937
La Maison Francaise, Rockefeller Center (near Fifth Ave. and 49th St.)
A waning British Empire, by the time Carl Paul Jennewein's cast-bronze panel was installed in 1933. The gilded allegorical figures in the first column represent salt, coal, and tobacco; in the second, wheat, fish, and an unidentified sailor in a so'wester; in the third, wool, cotton, and sugar. Not to overthink the allegory, but it's heartening that the fisherman's nets seem to be dolphin-friendly.
"Industries of the British Empire"
Carl Paul Jennewein, 1932-3
The British Empire Building, Rockefeller Center, 620 Fifth Ave. (49th-50th Sts.)
This chewing-gum package with a Beeman's palette was proffered by Steve Powers, an erstwhile graffiti artist whose previous works include ESPO Bakery.
"Fresh! ESPO flavor"
Steve Powers (ESPO), date unknown
West 40th St. near the southeast corner with Ninth Ave.
Though many diners are better known for their coffee, it's not unusual to find one that offers a full bar. Much rarer is the diner that names itself after a distilled spirit (perhaps New York's nickname weighed in the decision). But although this diner's alcohol menu includes brandies made from grapes, apricots, and blackberries, that old-timey applejack is not to be found.
Applejack Diner
1725 Broadway (at 55th St.)
212-586-6075
www.ApplejackDiner.com
Today home to a Rosie O'Grady's, the low-rise building at Seventh and 52nd also sports a dozen not-so-Irish ornaments.
This was the deity's "golden boy" period.
The squid was very chewy.
...but even when tempted by a fridge full of bags, baubles, and Blahniks, reach for the Ronnybrook.
Apparently this ad is meant to advertise Glamour magazine, though without the use of cupcakes.
"Live for Fashion, Live for Glamour"
Posted on a telephone kiosk, Times Square
Wendy's was born in the late 1960s, a generation after this painted sign summoned customers next door. That neighboring business reportedly gave up the ghost in 1951, and its sign has been fading ever since — to the relief of the square-burger folks, you'd imagine. Today, when confronted with Wendy's bright staccato signage, it's less likely you'll take notice of "Eickelberg funeral directors."
Here's a similar spectral ad, downtown.
Surviving signage for Eickelberg funeral directors
Next door to Wendy's
938 Eighth Ave. (55th-56th Sts.)
212-977-4785
www.Wendys.com
A recent issue of Edward Behr's fine magazine The Art of Eating included an article on street food in Naples. In casual situations, the article observed, it was and is common for Neapolitans to eat pasta with their hands. (The spaghetti-eaters appear only in the magazine's print edition, alas.) The figure in this three-dimensional ad for Campbell's noodle soup takes that practice still further: Not only has he forsaken utensils, but he's operating hands-free as well.
Campbell's noodle soup ad
West 53rd St. at Seventh Ave.
This purveyor of the exquisite, traditional Japanese pastries called wagashi is wonderful, even when you're just looking.
Also street quiche.
It's a giant jumble of New York menus.
Thank you!
