HUNGRY GERALD

The venerable Algonquin Hotel on Manhattan’s West 44th Street has gone through many ownerships and “modernizations” through the years (HG doesn’t think they’ve been beneficial.) HG has warm memories of the hotel as it was decades ago. The owner, Ben Bodne and his wife, presided (in twin lounge chairs) over the shabby chic lobby lounge (Bodne kept it aged. When carpet or upholstery had to be restored, Bodne gave it a treatment to make it shabby). The Algonquin was a literary hotel, favored by novelists, poets and other writers. When seated in the lounge nursing a Martini, HG spotted any number of  literature’s ornaments. (Best place for cocktails was The Blue Bar, just off the lobby, and a favorite of celebs like the Duke of Windsor, John Lennon). There were two restaurants–the masculine Oak Bar– and an airy, favored by women, restaurant on the far end of the lobby. (Alas, forgot its name). The Oak Bar had some spectacular dishes: Sauteed sweetbreads on Virginia ham; the very best roast beef and a lush ice cream coconut ball for dessert. In the other restaurant, HG favored the super fresh seafood salad. After the theater, HG/BSK would have a snack of creamy chicken curry there, a creation of the flamboyant maitre d’. The hotel was most famed for its “Round Table” of the 20’s and 30’s where Dorothy Parker, George S. Kaufman, Alexander Woolcott and other literati exchanged witticisms. The present day hotel has a “Round Table Restaurant”. Don’t think it’s a hangout for wits.