So good, Paul! I was transported. When I lived in China, it became a maxim that unless the stools were a certain blue plastic, unless the indoor/outdoor areas were separated by strips of carwash plastic, or unless the woks were cleaned with heat alone, the guailufan just wasn’t going to be worth stopping for. It was just fried rice with everything but the cook’s shoes thrown in, but the place needed a proper backstreet seediness for the flavor to hit. The cook also needed the same oily glow to his eyes.
there are very few places like that left in the West, as you may already know, Paul. The Cracker Box in Carson City still exists with a similar show for people sitting at the counter. The place is always packed, which says a great deal about Carson Shitty (as my daughter calls it). I watches to such cooks working a tiny grill. No spectacular gymnastics as in your story, but it didn't surprise me at all when the health dept shut them down. Apparently, that happens often, so they do manage to clean up the place a tad before the next inspector comes in for breakfast.
Ersatz butter!! 🤩 What a fabulous way to wake up this morning...from one greasy spoon aficionado to another. I have cast iron innards & even I was perturbed by the bubbling grease & butter distribution techniques. I am a happy patron of the current Corfu (Star on 18, what a wonderful photo), which has cleaned up its act but still retains its sweet urban grit. Stellar piece, Paul!!
Let's hit it! I have enjoyed the "new" rendition for years (currently the only standing old structure on the block, I think 😔) & I would love to see your reaction, since you experienced it in an earlier incarnation. I'm pretty sure I went there with Tonya at some point. It's quite lovely, in its vintage diner way.
Loved this - great pace to it - felt a bit sad however that it didn’t turn out to be a great diner after all. It’s what we in UK call a ‘greasy spoon caff’, a dying breed.
Thanks, Christopher. Let me put it this way - I would go back. We need greasy spoons - we use the same term here. I also spent much of the 90s at a place that we all used to call a "vegan greasy spoon." Hard to imagine, but very much what it was. Thanks again.
You guys were way out there. But having a blast, too. Enjoyed you brought a cake to the Vega. Very funny piece that is picture perfect about us New Yorkers and our curiosity for every kind of human being, cafe, street, and life in general. I still scour the sights with a passion for detail. New Yorkers have guts, and some eat them too. Great writing. Thanks, Paul.
So good, Paul! I was transported. When I lived in China, it became a maxim that unless the stools were a certain blue plastic, unless the indoor/outdoor areas were separated by strips of carwash plastic, or unless the woks were cleaned with heat alone, the guailufan just wasn’t going to be worth stopping for. It was just fried rice with everything but the cook’s shoes thrown in, but the place needed a proper backstreet seediness for the flavor to hit. The cook also needed the same oily glow to his eyes.
Thanks, Charlie. I sense a grand philosophical manifesto, possibly titled "The Grunge Factor," in the works...
there are very few places like that left in the West, as you may already know, Paul. The Cracker Box in Carson City still exists with a similar show for people sitting at the counter. The place is always packed, which says a great deal about Carson Shitty (as my daughter calls it). I watches to such cooks working a tiny grill. No spectacular gymnastics as in your story, but it didn't surprise me at all when the health dept shut them down. Apparently, that happens often, so they do manage to clean up the place a tad before the next inspector comes in for breakfast.
I miss the NYC diners. They are all dying out.
"The Corfu Diner squats on the southeast corner of 10th Avenue and 18th Street."
You sucked me in with that first line! what a fabulous piece of writing, Paul.
Thanks, Tabby! That means a lot to me. My next act might be a stage play about "American Revolution 2.0"
Loved the piece. Blew right through it. Forgot I was reading. I would read that memoir.
If you loved this, definitely dig into Paul's other work and his books. All great.
Thanks so much. This means the world to me.
Ersatz butter!! 🤩 What a fabulous way to wake up this morning...from one greasy spoon aficionado to another. I have cast iron innards & even I was perturbed by the bubbling grease & butter distribution techniques. I am a happy patron of the current Corfu (Star on 18, what a wonderful photo), which has cleaned up its act but still retains its sweet urban grit. Stellar piece, Paul!!
Thanks, El. The diner is still there, it's just not the Corfu anymore. Perhaps we are due for an expedition?
Let's hit it! I have enjoyed the "new" rendition for years (currently the only standing old structure on the block, I think 😔) & I would love to see your reaction, since you experienced it in an earlier incarnation. I'm pretty sure I went there with Tonya at some point. It's quite lovely, in its vintage diner way.
We did! And Ellen's right--it's now a lovely little diner. Perfectly clean, with that little bit of grit around the edges.
"that little bit of grit around the edges" reminds me of something....
let's all go.
Loved this - great pace to it - felt a bit sad however that it didn’t turn out to be a great diner after all. It’s what we in UK call a ‘greasy spoon caff’, a dying breed.
Thanks, Christopher. Let me put it this way - I would go back. We need greasy spoons - we use the same term here. I also spent much of the 90s at a place that we all used to call a "vegan greasy spoon." Hard to imagine, but very much what it was. Thanks again.
You guys were way out there. But having a blast, too. Enjoyed you brought a cake to the Vega. Very funny piece that is picture perfect about us New Yorkers and our curiosity for every kind of human being, cafe, street, and life in general. I still scour the sights with a passion for detail. New Yorkers have guts, and some eat them too. Great writing. Thanks, Paul.
Thanks, Connie! You always get it. Love you from all of us.