Eating Out Movie Style
It goes without saying that this city is full of movie-related places, but two are especially worthy of a visit. One can even say that you haven’t really seen NY until you visited these two spots (I’m kidding – I didn’t get there myself before my fifth or seventh trip to the Big Apple). The first place is of course Katz’s Delicatessen, where Meg Ryan lived through the most famous film orgasm ever in „When Harry Met Sally”. They make it easy on you over here: the exact spot where the orgasm took place is marked by a red arrow. Upon entering, you get a ticket you need to hold on to (if you lose it, you pay $50). Whatever you’re having ends up as a mark on the ticket – once you leave the place, you show your ticket at the cash register and get a bill based on it. The lack of ticket may simply mean that you ate all you wanted and now you’re pretending to be „just visitiing”. Katz’s is forever filled with people, but usually it’s no trouble to find a seat. The signature creation of Katz’s, strongly recommended by me, is pastrami on rye. It’s worth every penny. Since recently, there’s also a Katz’s galery next to the deli Itself.
Katz’s Delicatessen, 205 E Houston street, Bowery station (J train) .
The second place is Tom’s Restaurant. It seems like just another diner, but that’s not entirely the case. The place served as a main setting for „Seinfeld’. Everyone in Poland thinks that „Sex & the City” describes New York life (and it does), but still thousands of New Yorkers identify with the comic mind of Jerry Seinfeld more than they do with Carrie Bradshaw’s outlook. The characters on the show usually met at Tom’s for lunch. I simply can’t explain how is it possible that I went there for the first time this January! The place is smaller than I thought, but much cozier one could expect. I was excited so much, it almost felt like I entered the „Seinfeld” set. I sat at the bar and soon I was asked where I was from (it wasn’t Jerry who did the asking, but the waiter taking my order). Of course, as is usually the case in NY, it turend out that one of the waitresses was also Polish. The pancakes I ate there tasted entirely different than pancakes anyplace else. I will definitely be coming back, for I hope (as everone here does) that one day I will have lunch with Jerry.
Tom’s Restaurant, 2880 Broadway, Cathedral PKWY station (1 train).