#restaurant guide

The Restaurants of New York by George S. Chappell. New York: Greenberg 1925, dust jacket illustrator unknown. Notice the ice tub in the lower left-hand corner, holding bottles that look very much like wine. This, of course, was during Prohibition.

George S. Chappell (1877-1946) was an architect, lecturer and editor who on the side also wrote humorous books under the nom-de-plume of Dr. Walter Traprock. This early guide is broken down by neighborhood and was the second book ever published solely devoted to describing the atmosphere and food at New York City restaurants. Not surprisingly, with the exception of the hotels that are still in existence that contain restaurants, not one of the establishments described in the book is in business today.

Did someone say Wings Wednesday?!

Go book and visit your nearest BrewDog and dive into a plate full of wings! BrewDog offers an ALL YOU CAN EAT wings every Wednesday for only €17.95.

Alongside their large menu it's the perfect place to explore flavours from Spicy Buffalo to Korean BBQ wings. You begin with 10 pieces then you eat to your heart's content!

This is a great place for staff parties, dates and casual dine-ins. They have the perfect chill vibe accompanied by upbeat music and friendly customer service.

RESTAURANT MARKETING

http://www.restavista.com/alabama

http://www.restavista.com/alaska

http://www.restavista.com/arizona

http://www.restavista.com/arkansas

http://www.restavista.com/california

http://www.restavista.com/colorado

http://www.restavista.com/connecticut

http://www.restavista.com/delaware

http://www.restavista.com/florida

http://www.restavista.com/georgia

http://www.restavista.com/hawaii

http://www.restavista.com/idaho

http://www.restavista.com/illinois

http://www.restavista.com/indiana

http://www.restavista.com/iowa

http://www.restavista.com/kansas

http://www.restavista.com/kentucky

http://www.restavista.com/louisiana

http://www.restavista.com/maine

http://www.restavista.com/maryland

http://www.restavista.com/massachusetts

http://www.restavista.com/michigan

http://www.restavista.com/minnesota

http://www.restavista.com/mississippi

http://www.restavista.com/missouri

http://www.restavista.com/montana

http://www.restavista.com/nebraska

http://www.restavista.com/nevada

http://www.restavista.com/new-hampshire

http://www.restavista.com/new-jersey

http://www.restavista.com/new-mexico

http://www.restavista.com/new-york

http://www.restavista.com/north-carolina

http://www.restavista.com/north-dakota

http://www.restavista.com/ohio

http://www.restavista.com/oklahoma

http://www.restavista.com/oregon

http://www.restavista.com/pennsylvania

http://www.restavista.com/rhode-island

http://www.restavista.com/south-carolina

http://www.restavista.com/south-dakota

http://www.restavista.com/tennessee

http://www.restavista.com/texas

http://www.restavista.com/utah

http://www.restavista.com/vermont

http://www.restavista.com/virginia

http://www.restavista.com/washington

http://www.restavista.com/west-virginia

http://www.restavista.com/wisconsin

Rian James, Dining in New York, 1929. Dust jacket artist unknown.

This is a New York booklet written for New Yorkers. James offered a unique slice of the New York dining scene just before the October 1929 stock market crash and the onset of the Great Depression. The good times were to end soon after.

While there were a ton of contemporary guidebooks published about New York City, very few delved into the restaurant scene. James’s punchy one-line descriptions tell you a lot more than many a detailed review. The writing has some jazz age jargon such as “Beeway” for Broadway and “black and tan” for an establishment that has race mingling between Blacks and Caucasians.

Some excerpts:

MAXL’S – 86th St. near 3rd Ave. Tyrolean Sausage and Sauer Kraut and Tyrolean high jinks after theatre.

THE BLUE RIBBON-145 W. 44th St. German. German cuisine, and plenty of German celebs.

HENRY’S – 69 W. 36th St. Swedish. Roll your own hors d’oeuvres, from a huge center table.

CEYLON INDIA – 148 W. 49th St. East Indian. Curried dishes that are hotter than a Sophie Tucker finale.

DINTY MOORE’S-46th St. west of Beeway. Irish Corned beef and marv lemon pies and giant baked potatoes. Favorite of Ziegfeld, Berlin, Will Rogers, et al.

HOTEL ALGONQUIN – 44th St. bet. 5th and 6th Aves. The snootier of the literati lunch here. The pastry is grand.

GYPSY TEA SHOP – 435 Fifth Ave. Your fortune, from tea leaves, gratis, and all you want to eat, for 75¢.

GREENWICH VILLAGE INN – 6 Sheridan Sq. What customers from Hoosick Falls would he disappointed at not finding.

THE EVERGLADES – Beeway at 48th St. An extravagant floor show with considerable costume economy, and ex-Vanities girls to sit it out with you.

THE MADHOUSE – 169 W. 133rd St. All the name implies. For colored whoopsters chiefly, but whites admitted. Come here after all the others have closed, and SEE things!

For more excerpts and more about the author, see Stuff Nobody Cares About.

Before Zagat's, there was Where to Dine in '39, A Guide, with 200 Recipes by Famous Chefs, by Diana Ashley, cover by Peter Arno, 1939. This book was published when an expensive meal in the city was considered to be “at least $2.00.” It is arranged alphabetically and includes a brief description of each establishment, followed by a recipe for one of the restaurant’s signature dishes. Eateries profiled include the Astor Roof, El Morocco, Bill’s Gay Nineties, the Hotel Algonquin, Luchow’s, the Cotton Club, and the Russian Tea Room.