![]() For the clam chowder they used the same four clams during the whole season, and the average number of flies per pie was seven. at a rough little place: “It was the toughest kind of restaurant ever seen. Thomas Edison recalled that when his machine shop was on Goerck Street in NYC in the 1880s he used to grab a bite at 2 or 3 a.m. People working at night surely outnumbered the pleasure seekers. He reported that patrons could be discovered consuming fish balls or pickled salmon at 3 or 4 a.m. But even Ellington observed that patrons of private dining rooms in these quasi-bordellos were also there to eat. One such book was George Ellington’s The Women of New York Or, the Under-world of the Great City. No doubt their readers felt a shiver of horrified excitement when they spotted signs along city streets advising “Ladies’ dining parlor, up stairs”’ or “Refreshments at all hours.” Was it or wasn’t it? ![]() The authors of the many Victorian “lights and shadows” books about urban immorality were quite fascinated by the dubious goings on in all-night supper clubs. They enjoyed oyster cellars, but one of their favorite places in the 1840s was Butter-cake Dick’s, where for a mere 6 cents they could get a generous plate of biscuits with butter and a cup of coffee. In pre-Civil War NYC all night eateries were haunts of “b’hoys,” a class of rogue males (sometimes accompanied by their g’hals) prominently made up of firemen and the more prosperous newsboys. Mostly there are three kinds of customers for all-night restaurants: those who travel at night, those who work at night, and those who play at night. ![]() Those that are open 24 hours a day stand out from the crowd by their tirelessness and involvement in sometimes unwanted adventures. One way of sorting eating places is by the hours they keep.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |