Seafood from where? At first this seemed to be a figure-ground issue: Dalga might be tracing the outline of an island, or of a body of water. There was no one to ask; the restaurant is shuttered, and the phone is disconnected. Though the front entryway I spotted some amphorae-like crockery (overturned, next to a paint tray and roller) that suggested the eastern Mediterranean. Crete? No, that island is too skinny. The Black Sea? No, too curvy (and in another sense, nowadays too little known).
More perturbing was the lack of context, as if I'd found a stray piece from a picture puzzle that never made it back into the box. Eventually I recognized that like many playthings that suffer wear and tear, this particular puzzle piece had a delicate bit broken off, at upper left, where it borders Bulgaria and Greece. By now, you must have fitted the piece into the puzzle; treat yourself to a plate of kalamar tava.
Dalga (closed)
401 East 62nd St. (First-York Aves.)
