HUNGRY GERALD

After a blazing shower on a chilly Prince Edward Island day, a clean, refreshed, hungry  HG was served a mammoth breakfast by thoughtful BSK. Starter was 14 pills (painkillers, meds, vitamins) washed down with a delicious, fruity BSK created smoothie. Then came a bowl of Greek Yogurt enhanced with Canadian maple syrup. Prune juice and two glasses of water. BSK assured HG that he would not be hungry until late afternoon. That’s because she served the old guy a big bowl of grits covered with softly scrambled eggs. Using pointers from daughter Lesley R, BSK now makes heavenly grits. HG drank two cups of coffee and contemplated how lucky he was to have BSK as a wife and Lesley R. as a daughter.            

HG mentioned in a previous post that 3rd  Avenue “bar & grills” served corned beef and cabbage and pot roast of  varying quality. Pot roast was the specialty of Connelly’s in E. 23rd Street. Served with a chunk of sourdough bread, it was a robust dark brown. Beverage was a “black & tan”—Guinness and IPA beer. The pot roast was voluptuous—tender beef in a sauce of garlic, onions and sprinklings of cumin and cinnamon. Waiter graciously added extra ladle of killer sauce. The best corned beef and cabbage has been served for almost 100 years at Gallagher’s steak house on W. 52nd Street in New York. HG has been eating it for some 50 years and it is perfection., Juicy, flavorful corned beef. Traditional mustard condiment was extra fiery. Cabbage that’s crisp–not mushy. Potatoes with a tasty minerall tang (Prince Edward Island import?) Guiness is the beverage companion. Hope to live long enough to eat this Irish parade dish at venerable Gallagher’s.

When HG was a young journalist in the 1950’s there was one Mexican restaurant in New York. HG thinks it was named “Xochitil”.  It was mediocre. HG ate there with LA reporter Max F.  He sneered and said there were hundreds  of very good Mexican restaurants in his home city. He was right and HG was overwhelmed by choices on HG’s first visit to LA..  In the 1990s Mexican migration brought scores of eateries to New York. However, it was only after a move to  Santa  Fe that there was a full immersion in Mexican cooking—Menudo, tostados, pico de gallo,, chilaquiles, tacos, etc.–became meal staples. Now, HG/BSK live in Central Falls, RI,. (bordering Providence). Life is comfortable in a spacious 3,200 square foot loft. Central Falls is famous for Central American restaurants. However, many Mexican-Americans in the city and excellent Tuxpan Taqueria is minutes from the loft.

In HG’s young (and financially limited) days as a New York journalist in the 1950’s, Greek restaurants served savory food at modest prices. These eateries nourished a youthful HG. The Pantheon on 8th Avenue was a favorite. Some of the treats: Moussaka, Avgolemono soup (or seafood sauce); Grilled eggplant with olive oil and lemon juice; Skordalia (sauce of potatoes and walnuts plus garlic); Gyro meats; Feta cheese; Shawarma; Cold vegetables covered in Tzatziki sauce; Grilled Halloumi cheese. All were eaten with many glasses of Retsina wine (an odd but agreeable taste). All began to change in the 1960’s with the opening of Seafood of the Agean on the upper east side. This was followed by more expensive Greek fish restaurants. Fish was very fresh and cooked with precise Greek expertise. Prices soared and have kept rising. These modest eateries, including the once ubiquitous Greek owned diners, have vanished. Time marches on.

Yes, HG has mixed feelings about Germans and Germany. The Holocaust is not forgotten. However no mixed feelings about German food–HG loves it! Sausages, pork, sauerkraut, red cabbage, cheese, pickles, dill, etc.—OH, my!! When HG was a young journalist in New York, Old Seidelberg was a favorite after work spot (144 E. 39). Great beer and ale served in chilled mugs by expert bartenders. The accompaniment was runny, fragrant Liederkranz or Muenster cheese on pumpernickel bread topped with chopped onion and a shower of spicy Paprika. (Nostalgic sigh). When HG wanted a gourmand supper, HG went to Artists & Writers  also known as Bleeck’s adjacent to the Herald Tribune on W. 44th.  HG supped on Koenigsberg Klops, a lush ragout of pork meatballs (or beef, veal or a mix) in a creamy dill sauce and served with home fries.  Seidelberg and A & W are long closed but Heidelberg (at 626 Third Avenue in the Yorkville neighborhood founded in 1939 and still operating—-serving HG’s favorite sauerbraten and Choucroute garnie.) Worth a trip to New York for a feast (and a trip to Schaller & Weber to bring back to Rhody head cheese, sausage and other charcuterie).

During the 1950’s, HG’s favorite steak house was Assembly in the East 40’s (HG switched to Christ Cella in the 1960’s). Assembly had an appropriately named owner—Ronny Drinkhouse. Portions were huge–a $12.95 sirloin steak fed two people as did the $3.95 shrimp cocktail and $1.50 French fries. So, it was very affordable and dinner for two (with dessert, beer and tip) was 26 or 27 bucks. Cheap date. All was cooked perfectly. Service was deft and professional. HG sighs a nostalgic sigh.

In the 50’s (and much of the 60’s) Third Avenue was darkened by the overhead EL train. There were many tenements housing Irish-Americans. Young HG was a  journalist in those days. Third Avenue was a food (and drink) paradise for perpetually hungry and whiskey drinking HG – a large snifter of rye with a beer chaser cost less than a dollar. There were many Irish bars (“BAR AND GRILLS”) named after their owners (Murphy’s, etc.) or Ireland counties (Sligo,etc.).  All  served corned beef and cabbage or pot roast. Quality varied. Also on the Avenue were chili “parlors”. A dollar bought a big bowl of red served au naturel (with soda crackers) or over rice or spaghetti—Texas style, no beans. Many Chinese restaurants. HG’s favorite dish was shrimp in lobster sauce accompanied by fried rice. There were mini diners that were good places for bacon and eggs with cups of strong coffee. Even if one didn’t have much money, you didn’t go hungry as the EL roared overhead.

BSK’s birthday is June 3–she’s svelte, lithe,chic. The years have been gentle to her. Birthday gift is a massage at a nearby Prince Edward Island spa. On their first date–many, many decades ago–HG and BSK dined at BoBo’s, a very good Chinese restaurant in Chinatown. BSK was entranced by the giant lobster roll (BoBo’s is long closed). Next dinner was at Ed Berberian’s Balkan-Armenian; HG was startled by BSK’s appetite and adventurous food tastes. Big test was dinner at Hong Fat—crabs in an egg and garlic sauce. BSK gobbled them up. HG  determined she would be his wife. Best decision HG ever made. BSK has kept HG alive with 24/7 loving care. She has become an outstanding home cook–lunch and supper are gourmand treats. Yes, HG is a lucky guy. He’s 96 with many old ailments. But, for the most part, he’s quite happy. And, he owes it all to a true Wonder Woman—BSK

MLK and HG were both born in 1929—MLK a few months older. They met in the 1950’s. The meeting was arranged by a lovely African-American journalist, HG’s girl friend/lover at the time. The point of the meeting was for HG to counsel MLK on how to approach affluent Jews in order to maximize contributions to MLK’s campaigns. HG suggested MLK make parallels between Black and Jewish experiences: slavery (Passover, the Jewish holiday, celebrates the release of Jews after centuries of Jewish enslavement by the Egyptians.). Lynchings—hundreds of Blacks were lynched in the United States and all attempts to pass anti-lynching laws were blocked. Leo Frank, a young Jewish executive, was lynched in Atlanta in 1915 on trumped up rape chages. His lynching lead to formation of  the ADL and more Jewish defense organizations.   MLK  said HG’s strategy was very useful.

When son Jeremy was a little fellow, he was a sound sleeper. His Dad, HG, would wake him for breakfast by standing before his bedroom door and, in a syrupy voice, say “Professional lover, professional lover.” Jeremy thrashed about angrily—and woke up. The name, which annoyed SJ so much, originated by teasing taunts he received due to a close relationship with a female classmate. HG thought about the phrase in connection with two successful lovers of women: actor Yul Brynner (1920-1985) and literary critic and essayist Anatole Broyard (1920-1990). HG interviewed Brynner for a Hearst feature service. Brynner was seated at his dressing  room table and made and received numerous phone calls. HG gleaned that Brynner had a happy sex life with his wife but was also conducting affairs with beautiful actresses.  Energetic man.  Broyard  was a daily (for 15 years) book reviewer for The New York Times and later columnist and editor–Times Sunday Book Review.  He was renowned as a startlingly effective seducer of attractive young women. Born in New Orleans of Black Creole parents, Broyard chose to pass as white. During the early days of their marriage, HG brought BSK to a Broyard hosted Greenwich Village party. HG steered BSK away from the mighty seducer.