Showing posts with label NYC restaurants. Show all posts
Showing posts with label NYC restaurants. Show all posts

Monday, September 1, 2014

Patsy's Italian Restaurant NYC - more about characters than food

Patsy’s Italian Restaurant
236 W. 56th Street
New York City, NY
212-247-3491

By Jane Feehan

Located off Broadway at the center of the theater district, Patsy’s does a booming business with theater goers and tourists and a smattering of locals who venture in for the characters rather than the food. This was one of Frank Sinatra’s hangouts during the day where he held court upstairs. The same family has run Patsy’s for decades; their graciousness is one reason why so many return here—in spite of hum drum food.

On my first visit I supped on Shrimp Scampi looking for a garlic fix. I didn’t taste any garlic and the pasta was overcooked. A Caesar salad earned the same dismal assessment. The couple sitting next to me, frequent visitors to the place, said the food isn’t great but they come back to see who’s there.

Singer Michael Bublé and wife came in on one of my visits but did not stay to eat. He had to know that role model Sinatra frequented the restaurant. Characters still flock here but not so much the high-profile type. I couldn’t help but notice that some dining could have been “made guys” or wanted to be. Most of all they wanted to see or be seen, providing aware guests some entertainment with their bear hugs of old and new associates.

On another visit with a friend, we dined on seafood and pasta, and gnocchi and had to discretely  extricate shrimp shells from mouthfuls of pasta. Not a pleasant experience for those who tend to get embarrassed by such things.

Service is excellent and they expertly move customers in and out of the crowded spot. A small full-service bar offers a few seats but this is not the place for a leisurely drink before dinner. Move ‘em on, head ‘em out.  




Tags: New York City restaurants, restaurants near CBS David Letterman Theater, Italian restaurants in NYC, restaurants near Broadway, Pre-fix pre-theater menus in NYC

Tuesday, January 8, 2013

El Quijote at Hotel Chelsea, NYC - of Joplin, Hendrix, Dylan,Thomas Wolfe and ...


El Quijote Restaurant
226 W. 23rd St.
New York City, NY 
212-929-1855

By Jane Feehan

Part of Hotel Chelsea, El Quijote restaurant will be the closest most of us will get to the historic building for awhile. It’s been closed to all but a few long-time renters since late 2011 as it undergoes renovations by New York developer Joseph Chetrit.*

Stardust and nostalgia lure most to El Quijote, an old-time Spanish dining spot opened in 1930. It’s hard to imagine Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, Bob Dylan or Sid Vicious stopping in for a meal - much less party at this sedate place - but stories abound about the hotel’s famous guests at this eatery.

Timeless murals of bull fighting and other scenes from the book of adventures of the man from La Mancha (Don Quixote, by Miguel de Cervantes, 1605) line walls of El Quijote. The décor appropriately complements a menu of Spanish dishes such as paella, camerones plancha (grilled shrimp), Red Snapper Vizcaina, lobster or steaks.Tapas serve as starters or small meals at table or bar.

We dined on succulent lobster, and seafood paella, crispy salads, tasty soup and finished it off with flan. Good, not memorable, but we – as do many others - will stop back for more tales from the bartenders and hope to feel (maybe see?) the ethereal presence of rockers and writers long gone.  Let’s hope El Quijote remains once the hotel reopens with a mostly new face and interior.

Reservations suggested, "casual neat" dress code.
For transit directions, visit: http://hopstop.com

*Hotel Chelsea was built in 1884 as a cooperative apartment building. At the time, it was the tallest building in New York City. It was designated as a New York City landmark in 1966 and placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1977. Its architecture, Queen Ann style, is noted for interior and exterior wrought iron accents. Because Hotel Chelsea is a historic place, the developer will have to preserve some architectural aspects of the building. Among its list of notables guests are Bob Dylan, Arthur C. Clark, who wrote part of 2001: A Space Odyssey while there, playwright Henry Miller, poet/singer Leonard Cohen, writers Dylan Thomas and Thomas Wolfe. Sid Vicious murdered girlfriend Nancy Spungen at the hotel in 1978 room 100. 


Chelsea notables Henry Miller,
Dylan Thomas, Dylan Thomas




Tags: New York City Spanish restaurants, Hotel Chelsea, famous restaurants in NYC, famous places in New York City, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Arthur C. Clark, Sid Vicious, Nancy Spungen, film researcher