Thursday, February 26, 2004

 

Best Take-out - Second Avenue

LOOKING AHEAD by Wally Dobelis

In response to a young friend of shaky manners asking about my credentials in evaluating neighborhood bars, I have been part of that scene, past tense, for two decades. It was a true learning experience that taught me appreciation for Gilbert and Sullivan operas, old songs and personal dignity of the individual. In fact bad manners in a bar, Irish or Italian, could lead to instant response, such as a punch in the mouth, in my ante-Diluvian days. My crowd met in Max’s Kansas City on PAS when it was still Boris’ and Charlie Ackermans’ Southern Restaurant, and ate lunches at the Old Forge, the Ackermans’ next venue, in the spot that is now Mumbles. At the venerable Old Town Bar we knew not only Henry Loden, the card-playing owner with the thick glasses, but also his stern father, Klaus (he died in 1953; thanks for the reminder, Gerard). There was Connelly’s on Third and 23rd, a City College bar, and three Italian spots, two of them remembered as Lou’s or Louie’s, replaced 30 years ago by the block-long 201 East 17th Street apartment building. We sang college songs in Scheffel Hall’s basement, then Joe King’s Rathskeller, way before it became Friday’s. John Gerdes’ downstairs refuge from the summer heat was torn down in 1960 to make room for the Guardian Life (now Zurich) annex between 17th and 18th Streets. As to another, unspoken question, in the 11 years of this unpaid community service column’s existence I have never received a free meal, a theatre ticket, or any other perk If any reader questions the local relevance of some of my columns, providing interesting and well-researched material 52 weeks a year while holding down a bread-and-butter job is tricky. Any reader can out-write me on a home topic, but none have tried to be informative and fascinating for 500 plus contiguous weeks. But I digress, let’s get back to takeout food.

Second Avenue is a bit of a wasteland for us takeout gourmets, the landscape littered with the carcasses of former emporiums, such as Plate 347 and Academy Cafe. It is the landscape of parks, doctors’ buildings and public service facilities that frustrate the hungry stroller, although exciting restaurants can be found as you approach 12th Street. Then, there are also the estimable ethnics, Veselka and Second Ave Deli, a bit further South.

SECOND AVENUE, 11th to 23rd Streets

India Village, 182 Second Ave, at 11th Street, (212) 673-0673. Lunch buffet, korai (nice show, sizzling platter, suitable for eating in) lamb, vegetable saag (spinach) and dal (lentil), tandori and tikka (marinated) specialties, curry dishes. Free delivery.

Siam Lemon Leaf 189 Second Ave (2121) 420-8280. Thai cuisine, tom ka gai is chicken cooked in coconut milk galanga, yum, a salad dish is used as appetizer or in main course. Noodles, curries, crispy duck. Free delivery.

Off the Avenue, Angelica Kitchen at 300 East 12th offers organic vegetarian cooking. Once the flagship of macrobiotic diet, it now serves Dragon bowls (rice, beans, tofu, steamed vegetables), basic bowls of the same, interesting soups, salads, oriental entrees, tofu and tempeh (soybean) sandwiches. Take-out to 10:30 PM.

John’s, at 302 East 12th Street (212) 475-9531. Est. 1908, this Italian restaurant is a fixture. No credit cards. Pick up your order.

Sushi Sashimi Mie, at 196 Second Ave, between 12th and 13th Streets (212) 674-7050. Vegetalian rolls, shrimp tempura, fish and chicken teriyaki, nabemono one-pot dishes. Delivered.

Jade Mountain, at 197 Second Ave, (212) 533-3770, has been there since 1931, serving a Cantonese menu, with Lobster Yok Soong topping the list at $17.95. Free delivery.

Little Poland Restaurant, 200 Second Ave, (12)777-9728. Babka French toast for breakfast, cabbage and borscht soups, kielbassy, blintzes, pierogy and sauerkraut dishes, in addition to standard fare. No delivery available, pick up your order.

Crossing 14th Street and past Stuyvesant Park, we eventually reach. Pongsri Thai Restaurant, 311 Second Ave, (212) 477-2727, at 18th Street. It offers a long list soups, Thai salads, noodles, fried rice, stir fried and sautéed entrees, duck at $12.95.. Free delivery.

The venerable Capucines Restaurant, at 327 Second Avenue (212) 460-8890 has a full Italian menu, pasta starts at $11.95. Delivery within two blocks.

McCarthy’s Bar and Grill, 345 Second Ave at 20th Street (212) 598-9918 serves a pub fare. No menu, pick up your order.

Yo Sushi, 351 Second Ave, (212) 254-3200, also offers party platters ($45.95 for three). Free delivery.

Past three blocks of no-man’s land, Bao Noodles, 391 Second Ave, (212) 725-7770, Vietnamese specialties, Saigon fried rice, jicama rolls, Hue spicy clam salad. Free delivery.

After McSwiggan’s old-time Irish bar, at 23rd Street we come to Cosmos Diner at 395 Second Ave (212) 679-1290, toll-free (877) 5COSMOS, www.cosmosdiner.com. A neighborhood institution, it has a 12-page takeout menu offering Greek and Italian specialties and then some, with ten daily specials for each day of the week. Free delivery.

Watch for First Ave and the cross-streets, to come.





Thursday, February 19, 2004

 

Take-out food - Third Avenue's East Side

LOOKING AHEAD by Wally Dobelis

Take-out is the busy parents' friend, and the shut-in's best friend.Clip and save these lists.

Interesting takeout food may be a great delight and even adventure, but food safety should be one of our major concerns. Take-out food, if prepared well in advance of service, should be kept safe. Look at the server’s premises from that point of view. Food services with large volume of traffic and quick turnover may be your best bet, to assure freshness and prevention of contamination. All those modest Chinese open kitchen takeout services give you an opportunity to observe the preparation process – use it.

To avoid contamination, protect your takeouts, as well as your “doggie bags.” Don’t hesitate, refrigerate. Two hours out in the open should be the maximum open air exposure for meat, fish, pasta…One food bacterium, doubling in 20 minutes, will grow to 64 in two hours, to two million in seven. Botulism is not the only danger, there are other exposures, of which we may not be aware. It takes ½ hour to two weeks to get sick from contaminated food. A short-term “flu” might actually have been a food problem.

If the take-out quantities are substantial, divide saved food into servings before refrigerating. Reheat saved food thoroughly before use. Microwaving is great, but utilize the packing carton only if so instructed. The plastic may be designed for cold storage, and could emit chemicals if heated. Temperatures over 140 degrees are needed to kill food bacteria – but use the shortest microwave time, to avoid the dangers of fire.

THIRD AVENUE , East Side

Walking uptown from 14th Street, Joe Jr. Restaurant at 167 Third (212) 473-5150 is a traditional Greek –style coffee shop with four pages of omelets, cold salads, broiled and freed meats and fish. Look for their spinach pie. Free delivery.

Okura Japanese Restaurant at 173 Third Ave (212) 533-2303 features all you can eat sushi at $20.95, delivery by moped.

J.East, a modest Chinese takeout, at 175 Third Ave (212) 529-8818 has three-course combination dinners for $6.25. Delivered.

Paquito’s Mexican Food, same address (212) 477-5797 offers large burritos, both vegetarian and meat, ensaladas and all other South of the Border goods, delivered.

Mumbles, by now an institution at 179 Third and 17th (212) 477-6066, delivers not only their chicken Parmigiana, home-style meatloaf, salmon and crab cakes, but also salads, burgers and small pizzas.

At 20th, Tang Sichuan Taste, 243 Third Ave (212) 477-0460 has a large range of Chinese dishes, roast duck at $15.50. Free delivery, open late.

Adriana Pizzeria at 253 Third Ave (212) 677-6070, a favorite from 9/11 days of feeding the Ground Zero workers, has also pastas, calzones, heros (that’s the spelling) and salads, delivered free.

To correct an omission of last week, Lamarca Café and Take Out at 161 East 22 Street, NW corner Third Ave, (212) 673-7920, has soups by the pint, salads and pastas, and cheese, and vino. Close 6:30 PM.

Rolf’s Restaurant (aka German-American), a venerable old New York venue at 281 Third Ave and 22nd (212) 477-4750, has a takeout menu of chacroute Alsacienne, Jaeger Schnitzel, Hungarian goulash and similar delicacies. Not delivered. Expect to part with a double sawbuck per (that’s an old New York term for a twenty).

Lyric Diner, 283 Third Ave (212) 213-2222, long known for its 24-hour service, has an eight-page diner menu, with Greek and Italian emphasis. Free delivery.

Taco & Tortilla King, 285 Third Ave (212) 679-8882, Tex-Mexican specialties, combination plates, coupons. Free delivery.

Molly’s Pub – Restaurant Shebeen (don’t blame me, I only copy ), at 287 Third Ave (212) 889-3361. Long known as Molly Malone’s, a survivor of an era Irish Pubs, it offers shepherd’s pie, 16 oz sirloin and other pub favorites. Pick up yer own and have a brew while waitin’.

Parenthetically, the current crop of pubs in the high teens and twenties along the Ave are mostly BMG (figure that out), drinking and pool-playing establishments. Tavaru, Barfly, Proof (once the site of the nabe’s only Indian restaurant, sorely missed), Paddy Maguire’s, Black Bear’s Lodge (also associated with Bull’s Head, and Kings Head on 14th Street), and Copper Door Tavern are the names, and certain of them supply menus and take-out dinners from some major restaurants (there’s a delivery service).

Pick A Bagel on Third, 297 Third Ave near 23rd Street (212) 686-1414, has big fluffy bagels, each a meal and a half, plus smoked fish, pastrami, Israeli salads and espresso. Free delivery, 14 you-know-whats to the dozen.

To break the suspense: BMG standas for boy-meet-girl.






Thursday, February 05, 2004

 

If you want to know who we are, check the numbers

LOOKING AHEAD by Wally Dobelis

In answer to a question about why this column pays so much attention to Democratic politics, let’s do a little review of local election history. The fact is that the T&V area votes overwhelmingly for activist Democratic candidates.
Our much gerrymandered 14th Congressional District (previously the 17th , subsequently the 18th in 1978-83, then the 15th in 1983-93) is historically the East Side’s “Silk Stocking” District, now changed to include Astoria and LIC. Governor Pataki had slated it for extinction when the 2000 Census results took away two Congressional seats from NYS, but a compromise was reached. As the 17th, in 1959-65 it was represented by the late John Vliet Lindsay, (R, 1921-2000), subsequently NYC’s Mayor 1966-73, who was defeated in the Republican primary in 1969 but won as a Liberal, eventually changing his affiliation to Democrat and entering the Presidential Primary in 1971 Theodore Roosevelt Kupferman ( R, b. 1920, subsequently NYS Appellate Court Justice, 1971-96), represented the 17th , CD during 1966-69. In 1969-77 the Congress seat was held by reformer Edward I. Koch, (D, b. 1924), thereafter Mayor of NYC 1978-89.
In 1992 City Councilmember Carolyn Maloney took the House seat, defeating the late environmentalist Bill Green (R, 1929-2002) the 1978-92 incumbent. Reelected, most recently in 2002 with 75% of the vote, she defeated Anton Srdanovic (R ), a district leader, and Jeff Jacob Brauer (D), not reported. She is the ranking member of the Domestic and International Monetary Policy, Trade and Technology Subcommittee of the House Finance Committee.
Our 74th Assembly District (formerly 63rd) has chosen Steven Sanders (Dem/Work/Lib) since 1978, last with 19,347 votes, 75 %, against Christopher B. Spuches (R ), lawyer and nightclub doorman, 5,352 votes, 21%, and Penny Arcade, a performance artist, 1,047 votes and 4%. Sanders, a life-long community resident and graduate of CCNY, chairs the important Committee on Education.
As for NYS Senate, the 26th District in the northern part of our area was for decades represented by the liberal Roy M. Goodman (R, b.1929), in NYS Semate1968-2002. In a heavily contested special election in Feb 2002, the District chose newcomer Liz Krueger, D. She was reelected in Nov 2002 with 42,604 votes, 59%, against Andrew Eristoff (R ), former City Councilman with neighborhood ties, endorsed by Ed Koch, 29,587, or 41%. Eristoff, Giuliani’s Commissioner of Finance and the Chairman of NY Republican County Committee, in Sept. 2003 was appointed NYS Commissioner of Taxation and Finance. Krueger, a social services worker with an MA from U of Chicago, is the ranking Democrat on Standing Committee on Housing, Construction & Community Development.
The southern part, NYS 29th Senate District reelected Thomas K. Duane ( D), with 58,384 votes, or 80%, against Daniel Maio (R ), a writer with 13,563, 19%, and Nicholas Leobold (L), a mapmaker, 1,269, 2%. Duane, a graduate of Lehigh University, is the ranking minority member of Rules and of Crime Victims, Crime and Corrections committees.
Our City Council District, #2 (Water St to 35th St) is represented by Margarita Lopez, elected 1997 and most recently reelected in 2003, running against Dan Finley (LBT) and Jay S. Golub (Ind/Rep), with no contest from Democrats. Mildred R. Martinez, formerly on State Assembly staffs of Sheldon Silver and Steve Sanders, was removed from the ballot due to disqualified petition signatures, and Gerard J. Schriffen, of Manhattan Meighborhood Council, and Christopher B. Sykes dropped out. A 1979 arrival to NYC from Puerto Rico, Lopez has been Community Board #3 member, 1982-96, and has worked in homeless services. She chairs the NYCC Committee on Mental Health, Mental Retardation, Alcoholism, Drug Abuse and Disability Services, and has an eye on Manhattan’s Borough Presidency (her term limit is 2005). Only in America!
NYCC District #4 is represented by Eva S. Moskowitz, who lost her attempt to oust the then incumbent Andrew Eristoff in 1997 but won her contest with Reba White Williams (R ) in 1999 by nearly 70% of the vote. Graduate of Stuyvesant HS, with a History PhD from Johns Hopkins, she has taught, most recently at CUNY, before turning to politics. Although safe until 2007, she is the power-wielding Chair of the City Council Committee on Education, she too wants the Borough Presidency.
The trend in local elective offices has been unmistakably Democratic, backing strong activist candidates. We are practical people, results-oriented, largely liberal-minded, non-prejudiced and non-racist, having elected two openly gay politicians, Duane and Lopez. As seen here, the opportunist Liberal party, a balancing element when the Republicans were strong, has faded, the once booming Conservatives appear inactive, the unrealistic Greens program has no goals that a voter can expect to materialize, and the Socialist splinter and the special interest parties are non-players. Manhattan’s Republican organization has shrunk, and recently has presented us with marginal local candidates, with no money in the campaign. Their most recent strong candidates, Eristoff and Williams, had to rely on family funds. Although the last two Mayors have been Republican, the bulk of their support came from the boroughs. In Presidential and Senatorial elections T&V people shy away from the GOP.
Wally thanks Gotham Gazette and the candidates.




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