You're right. I should have realized.

I am, by no means, a wine expert or even drinker of same. The only thing I know about wine or whiskey or any of that stuff is that I occasionally cook with it. My alcoholic beverage of choice is beer. Vodka, to me, tastes like benzene, tequila like turpentine, and so on. Chacun à son goût.

So, it appears that the wine list - if not the whole menu itself - must date from later than 1923. Both the vintage year and Prohibition make for persuasive arguments.

Today, I had some time on my hands so I took a trip up to the Bronx to see what the site looks like. Workers were still removing inventory from the former fabric store (which closed about a month ago, I was told) and bringing it to the new location not far away. I could see the tin ceiling was still intact, but they would not let me into the store to look around. The two windows flanking the front entrance had been shattered; all I could think of was that the high heat and higher humidity made for too-oppressive working conditions, so a little impromptu ventilation was the answer. The interior windows on the left-hand wall were cemented over years ago. Where the abandoned gas station used to be (next to the old restaurant, on the left) is now a huge, modern dialysis center. Quite a change from the photos I posted earlier in this thread (in 2006).

Had a couple of slices of pizza at a neighboring pizzeria and rode the Metal Monster (aka the NYC subway) home.


Signor V.