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.
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.
# posted by Wally Dobelis @ 7:01 PM 
