Over Blintzes, Savoring and Saying Goodbye to Cafe Edison
“WHAT THEY TALKED ABOUT As Shakespeare wrote, there is special providence in the fall of a deli. Mr. Weiss and Mr. Happel took measure of the citys loss. Its an amazing place with an amazing interior, Mr. Happel said, and once again, its incredibly sad to watch these old establishments that are part of New York disappear and just become another slick establishment that has no history and who knows what kind of character.”
Lets do this quickly and without tears: After clogging arteries in the theater district for 34 years, Cafe Edison on West 47th Street will serve its last bowl of matzo ball soup on Sunday. Landlord, rent, upscale, etc. you know the story, no need to drag it out. Diners started a petition to save the institution, with its incongruously grand vaulted ceilings and decorated columns, noting its importance to the theater world, not to mention its use as the setting for Neil Simons 45 Seconds From Broadway, but to no avail. Time marches on, at a pace unslowed even by the Edisons kasha varnishkes, which could slow an army. On Tuesday night, regulars returned for a cheap meal and an elusive sense of home, and left a little heavier. Tears? No, those were just allergies, really. Sniffle.
IN THE SEATS Harvey Weiss, 60, and Marc Happel, 59, have been a couple for 34 years, and regulars at Cafe Edison for about 30. Mr. Weiss is an artist and decorative painter, with an eye for the Edisons irreplaceable textured walls and ceilings, accented in white and an otherworldly pinkish brown. Mr. Happel is the costume director at the New York City Ballet and has designed costumes for numerous theatrical events over the years. Which has meant a lot of pre-Broadway meals at Edison. If youre going to the theater at 8 oclock, you can walk in here at 7:30 and have a decent bowl of soup and a sandwich and be out of here and walk into that theater at five to eight and be filled and be quite content, Mr. Happel said. On Tuesday they were seeing Its Only a Play.
ON THE PLATES In 30 years, Mr. Weiss and Mr. Happel have barely explored the menu no chicken fingers or Basqueburger for them and they were not about to start now. We have our favorites and well stick with them, Mr. Happel said. We love the bowls of soup and I love the whitefish sandwich. On this evening, Mr. Weiss had a bowl of Polish sauerkraut soup ($5.35) a break from his usual, the pea soup and Mr. Happel went for the chicken noodle (also $5.35). They shared a plate of three cheese blintzes ($10.25).
WHY THEY CAME Since Edison announced its plans to close last month, the couple, who live in Washington Heights, have been coming as often as possible. Were working it as much as we can, Mr. Weiss said. In a city like New York, where anonymity is so epidemic, its nice to have a place where you recognize the faces, and theyve been here for all this time. It gives you a sense of home, of community, of place. And its disappearing in New York too fast.
In these last days, Mr. Happel introduced himself to the cashier, Betty Warshaw, who has been greeting them for the last 14 years. People like that, you dont know where theyre going to go, and youll never see them again, and its sad, he said. Weve said hello to each other for years, and so we officially introduced ourselves.
WHAT THEY TALKED ABOUT As Shakespeare wrote, there is special providence in the fall of a deli. Mr. Weiss and Mr. Happel took measure of the citys loss. Its an amazing place with an amazing interior, Mr. Happel said, and once again, its incredibly sad to watch these old establishments that are part of New York disappear and just become another slick establishment that has no history and who knows what kind of character.
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