Eating In Translation

Fuji Bakery & Cafe

The sloppy brown steam table looks like a miss; I can't speak for anything that might emerge, to order, from the kitchen.

Wendy's dear departed neighbor

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

Far Hills Seafood

For a purveyor of seafood, there's something high and dry about "Far Hills" that I don't get, any more than I did on my last such sighting. I understand, though, the disincentive to use "Port Newark Seafood," after the van's home base.

Far Hills Seafood
Delivery van seen on Broadway, near 110th St.

Shaanxi soup stall

(This venue is closed.) I took my medicine, I think.

"Lunch fountain"

In the middle of the last century, a lunch counter or soda fountain was common in pharmacies and convenience stores, even in those as small as shown here.

"7Up...lounge"

Previously I hypothesized about sign maker's shorthand for "luncheonette." Here's an example — I'd passed it often, but it didn't register till now — to suggest that in a soft-drink setting, "lounge" may have been less unusual than I thought.

"7Up...lounge"
Eighth Ave. near 16th St.

Tony's Italian Bakery & Deli

The cheese had nearly liquefied.

"Learn food writing online"

Sign of the times:
This take-one bin from the Gotham Writers' Workshop had been emptied of course catalogs, though I did discover a partially eaten deposit from a passer-by.

"Learn food writing online"
Take-one bin on Broadway near 112th St.

Biggie's Clam Bar

(This venue is closed.) The raw and the cooked, boardwalk style.

Carlo's City Hall Bake Shop

There's no mistaking the featured attraction.