A Good Lunch

Dim sum at Nom Wah Tea Parlor (jamming with business, it was nice to see), and a beer at Winnie's on Bayard Street.  There were only a handful of customers at Winnie's, and we all watched the game shows on TV.  They were the source of much merriment.  One guy was sprawled out with his feet on a banquette, howling with laughter at Family Feud.  I hate game shows, but they didn't seem quite so bad in this setting. I'd never been to Winnie's before, but I liked it a lot.  The low ceiling, wood-paneled walls, & red booths were comforting, and the plants in the window made a good screen from the outside world.  Don't think I'd go for the karaoke sessions, but a great place to while away an hour or two in the afternoon.

Next time I go there, I'll stop by Paulie's on Baxter for a sandwich.  The staff here are Asian but I assume this was an Italian deli originally.  There are plenty of sandwich choices, but also breakfast dishes and hot plates.  Who wouldn't want to get food at a place with such an inviting sign?

The one anxious moment during today's Chinatown visit was passing my favorite luncheonette, Cup & Saucer, on Canal & Eldridge.  Back in May, Grub Street reported that the restaurant's building was for sale, and EV Grieve followed up on the news.  I don't know what's going on there right now.  The building looks pretty much the way it did a couple of months ago, with most of the upper windows boarded up & that real estate sign still posted.  Cup & Saucer is very much alive though, & if I weren't so stuffed with turnip cake & pork buns I would've gone in for eggs & hash.  Tomorrow.  Breakfast.  That place makes me happy & sad & happy again, all in the space of one glance.  I don't think there's a more perfect looking luncheonette in the whole city, and I hope (a little desperately) that it can hang in there as the forces of change roll relentlessly along.