Less a review than a graceful elegy.
7
It’s a great article which, however, omits any reference to one of the key reasons why people actually go to a restaurant, it’s food. No mention at all of who runs the kitchen and the history behind the people who, over the years, have cooked for the famous, regulars and others.
27
Lovely to read through this comments, especially those of Julie Besonen.
10
And you spelled my name right.
7
"Sebastiano had opened his first restaurant, Maioglio Brothers, on West 39th Street in 1906 when he was a 26-year-old immigrant from Fubine, in Northern Italy (where Ms. Maioglio still owns a small palazzo and vineyard). "
"In 1925, Mr. Maioglio paid around $250,000 for four contiguous brownstones on West 46th Street between Eighth and Ninth Avenues, built by the Astor family in the latter 1800s."
"“My father was highly intellectual, interested in the arts and music, but his family couldn’t afford to give him a university education,” she said."
Sorry NYT, this is a sweet story, but it doesn't add up. The numbers don't add up.
I was at Barbetta once in the 90's and it was very, very good.
2
I wish I'd had more room to go into Sebastiano Maioglio's personal history. His daughter said when he first came to New York he got a job at a restaurant and walked back and forth to work to save his nickels. In a few years he had enough to open Maioglio Brothers in 1906, a modest place on 39th Street, and it was such a roaring success he was able to buy the buildings on 46th Street in 1925.
13
When we lived in NYC in the 70's, my ex and I dined at Barbetta's twice and month and at the original Palm twice a month. Incomparable experiences and food every single time. Thank you for this article and I am planning to take my daughter and niece there in April. Recently, some 40-somethings in my suburban town asked for recommendations for restaurants in the theater district -- my immediate response was Barbetta's (and I told them to dress up rather than dress down).
14
Grew up in Brooklyn, graduated at 16 and went to work for McGraw Hill Publishing Co. Editors took me to dine at Barbetta's for lunch. This was in 1956 - remembered the restaurant as sparse but the rum cake unforgettable. Then told me it was a favorite for Hemingway... At the age of 79 I thank you for bringing back a memory of my youth.
23
Hemingway?! How wonderful to learn that. I wonder what he liked to order.
5
The Restaurant Row place I remember most was Orsini's! A sparkling Spring evening in May of 1983. Just a regular guy from Brooklyn and gal from Queens! They gave us a table upstairs, that felt like a private room because there were no other diners there! The food was superb, and the service made us feel like royalty! Afterwards, we went to Carnegie Hall for a performance of Dvorak's 7th and 9th, by The Cleveland, under the baton of Maazel! I only regret that it wasn't with the gal I truly loved! ( Neither, was I for her! ) But, we loved Orsini's!!!
10
Barbetta's is a spacious and spectacular restaurant. It was featured in many movies in the 40's (one with Jimmy Stewart) and is to Restaurant Row as the Metropolitan Museum is to Museum Mile - the Gold Standard. The menu is authentic, the atmosphere can never be duplicated. With "21" closed go to Barbetta. Like "21" it's the real thing - the real New York, but the food is better! (Alas, no burgers....thank goodness).
Laura and her husband are one of a kind - both unique and talented, elegant and down to earth, a real first couple of New York - this is her husband
http://www.nytimes.com/1999/10/12/nyregion/rockefeller-u-biologist-wins-...
Barbetta's is a NY treasure in every way - true New York, really good Italian food, a snapshot of an era that is the real New York but the food is deliciously fresh, authentic and a take-your-time kind of place, like the Carlyle Hotel.
And you can stroll to your theater and take your seat, knowing you are having the quintessential New York experience. It doesn't get better than that.
25
What you wrote is marvelous.
7
In the '60's my parents used to take us to dine at Barbetta before going to the theater. I had to laugh at the description of Laura Maioglio's "pant suit" encounter. In 1969 I was attending a performance, with my parents, at the Metropolitan Opera. At age 24 I was a bit of a rebel, and wore beautiful black and gold brocade "hip hugger" pants and a black lame halter top. I received, not only angry looks (mostly from other women), but some fairly rude remarks. How things have changed.
11
Your outfit sounds spectacular. I hope you clicked on the hilarious pants suit onslaught link in my story, listing the restaurants that accepted the changing fashions and the ones who refused. For some reason, turtlenecks were also taboo.
9
It's just sad that people can't dress up one night for a wonderful evening out. No, these children have to wear jeans, sneakers shirts hanging out and looking just plain sad. Time for them to grow up and get out of their frat boy mentality. Women too. Is it that difficult to get dressed? If you can dress like a civilised person eat at McDonalds.
26
RE: Dress codes. Have you been to a Broadway show as of late?
Most of the audiences look/dress as if they just "jumped" out of bed.
32
Barbetta, Joe Allen, Orso, my wife and I remember the days before it was designated Restaurant Row. When we had friends from out of town visiting, we'd take them usually after the theater to one of these haunts. And haunted our friends were. The neighborhood wasn't called Clinton as it is now, but Hell's Kitchen, and the mere mention of this caused a bit of trepidation on our friend's part. But once we arrived and were ensconced at one of these marvelous restaurants their fears faded. Till this day whenever we get together, which is becoming more rare, they still regale us with their memories of those adventures. Ah yes, we'll always have Barbetta.
DD
Manhattan
12
What a fun memory. You can still have Barbetta, and if you go back, don't tell Laura you remember it as Hell's Kitchen. Just a friendly warning.
5
And in Mad Men, after Don and Betty get divorced, where do they spot each other with their new dates? You got it.
21
If the food is half as good as the elegant brass cash register it must still shine
8
To paraphrase Groucho Marx, I would not patronize a venue that let the Clintons in the door.
3
So go have a taco salad at the place that serves the greatest taco salads in the world.
21
Lovely article.
8
Ate there a few times in the 80s. At the time it was perhaps the most romantic place in NYC. With so much else from that era gone or changed beyond recognition it is inice to see it surviving.
11
Lucky you, eating there in its heyday. It's still really good, though.
4
I still remember the poached bass with cucumber sauce and the chandelier. It was always my most memorable restaurant experience, We were in our 30's and were going to a show after dinner. Thank you for the article.
7
My pleasure to be able to do it. Thanks for your comment. I don't see poached bass with cucumber sauce on the current menu but the chandelier still sparkles as always.
6
What an enchanting love-letter to a (nearly) bygone era about a jewel of a restaurant right here in our midst -- with such wonderful photos too. Thank you.
18
And I thank you for your lovely words.
4
This is wonderful. Thank you. This article about beauty, elegance, and -- frankly -- love, is just the thing I need when I cannot bear to read more bad political news.
32
To lose myself in this otherworldly restaurant was a good break for me, too.
11
This brings back memories od dining as opposed to eating. I'm now in Californis and there is a total absence of places for fine dining as I remember from my days in NY. I miss the days of excellent food served in a quiet an refined manned. I don't need an introduction to my dinner that includes complete preparation notes. I expect to dine in a quiet atmosphere where the tables are far enough apart that your neighbor can't reach over time sample your dinner.
33
Sounds like you need a trip back to New York. Barbetta is right up your alley.
7
One warm early evening in the late 60s as night was falling in the garden next to the sparkling fountain, I had the charmed experience of being guided through a wonderful dinner (it included an introduction to bagna calda) by a very gracious and attentive staff. I have had the good fortune of dining at some of the finest restaurants here and abroad and continue to think of that evening with singular fondness. Barbetta, insouciant and irreplaceable.
15
Fun article. Not sure whether I've been there, probably not (though definitely I've been to Joe Allens down the block). But if I were to go to Barbetta, I think part of the fun would be dressing up- sort of 1960s or 1970's style. "Fine dining" is a relative term- it's as much the ambience as the food.
9
Try it and I think you will find, as I did the one time I went, wonderfully authentic Northern Italian food. The best vitello tonnato I have ever eaten.
Fingers crossed, the food is still excellent.
5
Oh, yes, you should dress up 1960s or '70s style! Fantastic idea.
4
From my many nights of reporting there, the food is still impressive, although I was mostly at the bar drinking martinis and quizzing Gus. I don't see vitello tonnato on the current menu -- hope they bring it back so I can try it.
4
A splendid profile of a deservedly-storied restaurant and its lovely owner, accompanied by equally splendid photos. Thank you from this native New Yorker.
18
So pleased by your words. And I love your Butterfield8 handle, which shows you are a true New Yorker.
5
When I was a senior at Marymount College in Tarrytown when my parents came to the city to see Man of the Mancha. My father asked me to pick a restaurant to have dinner before the play. My roommate was invited to join us and she suggested Barbetta's because her father was an executive at Madison Sq Garden and knew the better restaurants in NYC. I remember being concerned that the prices seemed so high, but my father never blinked and we talked about that wonderful dinner for years. Thank you for the memory and hopefully, I will get back there one day.
49
LA DOLCE VITA : I was a waiter there - great family, co-workers & food (which was served to the staff). Afterwards, I'd ride my motorcycle to Studio 54 and party all night! Still friends with "Johnny Blue-Eyes", who many years later on Valentine's Day, overflowing with diners, made a place for me & my wife in the upstairs room where a Wedding Reception was in progress. Mick Jagger had nothing on me!
24
Wow, sounds very cool. I wish I could say I'd been to Studio 54 back in the day. I was told by the current staff that they still eat very well at the restaurant and Laura Maioglio is good to them in all kinds of other ways. It must be a big part of why it's inspired such longtime employee loyalty.
6
Thank you for sharing. I lived in NY at that time. I can imagine how much you enjoyed your life!
2
On October 30, 1970, my future wife-to-be kissed me for the first time the night we left Barbetta. It will always hold a very special place in my heart. We returned there on October 30, 2010 for the 40th year anniversary of that night and were treated like royalty! Barbetta always was and always will be a very special place.
48
What a great story!
3
In what way is a restaurant menu from the 1970's a "rare book?"
3
A restaurant menu from the 1970s is a piece of ephemera, which means it is less likely to survive over time. But it is important to cultural and social history, and as such deserves to be preserved. The NY Public Library's collection of menus has great value to historians, sociologists, novelists, and others who want to accurately describe earlier times and/or compare them to other days.
26
The historic menu collection at the New York Public Library is pretty amazing and culturally enlightening. The menu they have from Barbetta is so beautifully illustrated it's a work of art. Not a book but good reading material nonetheless for people interested in culinary history. And it is indeed rare to find one from that era.
11
Not a "rare book", but rather an archive in the NYPL's Manuscripts, Archives and Rare Book Division.
5
what luxury! but what gets me is the children of immigrants and immigrants themselves working proudly and into old age when their bodies are tired but the desire to be of use ,to keep respect and caring as a true tradition.
48
The staff is almost all immigrants, dignified and professional, taking pride in their work. I appreciate what you wrote.
7
Funny as I recall restaurants I've loved I can't forget a long lived institution in Baltimore's Little Italy, Chiapparelli's. The memory is rather basic. In the 70s they served the finest cold cut sub I've ever eaten. The dressing, the bread and the finest of cold cuts provided a meal that to my mind was incomparable. You can have your $100 dinners. This was a masterpiece. Having not been there since the 70 s I hope the sub hasn't died.
10
This was a lovely article. It brought back fond memories of Laura, her husband and of course Barbetta. It truly is a jewel.
18
Oh, heartfelt thanks for this treasure of an article, deliciously describing a fairy tale place, lovingly protected by its owner. I feel I have been transported to a rare spot of taste and reverence in the maelstrom of 21st century life.. The photographs are magical. Let's celebrate the Laura Maioglios for preserving the little gems of the past to reassure us that beauty really exists and thrives.
66
What wonderful, thoughtful words - thank you.
21
A place like this would be so beautiful to visit. So many historical treasures like this get torn down, depriving the current generation of a means to go back in time and experience the past. It is hard to find places that adhere to this kind of standard. Restaurants are changing to a more casual atmosphere these days (not necessarily a bad thing.), this is making it hard for restaurants like Barbetta to exist because people want a place were they can get in and get out but a place like this feels like one you would want to linger in and dance the night away at, if they had a dance floor.. The story about McJagger was amusing partly because he was so famous at the time. It would be amazing to know all the things that this place has seen over the years and all of the famous people who have stepped foot into this restaurant. I am sure so many people have experienced some of there fondest memories here in this restaurant. Sometimes it's nice to go out all dressed up for an elegant evening and I feel like this would be the perfect place to go to for just that. Next time I am in New York I should visit this restaurant.
43
My night at Barbetta's in 1963 was another story altogether. I was a student at Barnard College, and for some reason I was part of a party consisting of a classmate, her parents and a German au-pair cousin of mine. How we ended up in this place I do not recall, but I remember distinctly being uncomfortable from the get-go. We were properly dressed but not at all financially up for this adventure, including the parents of my class mate who were struggling graphic designers in Washington, DC. As soon as we were seated and had looked at the menu we all knew that we were in the wrong place, but it was too late to leave. Everyone sheepishly ordered something "inexpensive," as if there were such a thing. My dish was plain pasta with cheese at $3. The bill for our group ended up being less than $50. Everybody felt terrible, and in my state of mortification I did not notice the decor at all. In fact I only remember sitting at a big round table with a white tablecloth, one of six self-conscious paupers, who could not wait to be released from this purgatory.
4
in response to njpmtsuspring2018: mcjagger was famous at the time? do you mean Mick Jagger? and sorry even though I am no spring chicken I find it hard to believe that he isn’t still quite famous.
3
Yes, you should! Especially since you know how to dress up.
14
As a NYC native, and with more years behind, than in front, I have such pleasant memories of many of the old time wonderful restaurants in the city. Barbetta - just the name - conjures up cosseted elegance and old world ambiance. A meal there was a practice session for a young person still dreaming of traveling to Europe. Afterward, it became a nostalgic souvenir. Okay, not trendy, not the latest food fads, but solid, beautiful, and so worthy of keeping, if only to show younger types what elegance and romance used to be. Thanks for the memories.
55
I love your comment.
9
Always my favorite place for a birthday celebration and to take discriminating out-of-towners, who love it. The garden is lovely.
22
This is why people used to come to New York...for the unique experiences created by individuals and families, from restaurants to hotels to unique emporiums. We need to protect them, and support the growth of new ones.
88
If the calculation is that dinner for two (with wine and shaved truffles) cost $46 in, say, 1975 then adjusted for inflation that's more than $200. Dinner for two at $150 today is a bargain in comparison, which seems counter to the point the writer is trying to make.
20
It all depends. You're right, it could be $200 or more. There's no minimum so it could be a lot less, too. One night I had dinner with a friend who only wanted a bowl of soup and sparkling water and the staff was still gracious to her. (I started going there anonymously before they learned I was reporting a story.) And the cost today for white truffles is incalculable since they were more than $3000/pound in 2017. Laura Maioglio chose not to import any, the price being too high.
4
A shame about the "relaxed" dress code. Perhaps, out of touch, but I would never dress as casually as pictured in the article when dining out. IMO, says much about respect for traditions and other people.
52
Sad but true, fine dining is a thing of the past with the "relics" fading away for the "Google-ite" generation that prefers loud music, designer decors with fake art, sauteed kale, pasta's that make no sense, cocktails that taste like milkshakes, second rate servers and standard 20% tippers. How boring not to appreciate "once upon a time."
45
a treasure go if you can gents, coat and tie please and dine after 8
12
So, maybe 3 descriptive words about the actual food? Cloudlike, gossamer.... nope, only two. I love a restaurant with impeccable service and decor that takes me to another world, but... what about the food?
9
It's excellent. My introduction to Northern Italian cuisine all those decades ago. Tortellini in brodo--aaahhh!!!!
21
This place is a fusty, gaudy, over-priced relic that needs to be retired. All the reviews on YELP and other sites are hugely negative-from the "bland" crappy food to the horrid service. I'm a native New Yorker who makes it a point NEVER to eat on Restaurant Row (occasionally Joe Allen's) and the fact is, anyone who goes to Barbetta's these days are dopey tourists who don't mind getting ripped off and actually think this place is "elegant". And that owner-she's 80 if she's a day, and her pretentious personality sounds like one to avoid. There are so many other truly elegant, classic New York restaurants with great food and ambiance, I'd say this joint is a must-miss.
5
So, in other words, although you've never set foot inside Barbetta yourself, you still feel the need to chime in and pass along some snark?
Well done.
53
Hard to tell, beyond glancing at Yelp, have you ever eaten there?
13
If you eschew restaurant row yet extol the virtues of Joe Allen's, methinks your palate could use an education.
I'm also a native New Yorker, but have never been to Barbetta. Based on this article alone I'm eager to give a try.
8
My husband and I were married in the garden and had a reception in an upstairs dinning room in 1994. The setting was magical and the food was perfectly prepared and presented. I felt like the luckiest woman in the world and not just because I was marrying my love at age 39 but because of the setting, the staff, and Laura.
78
This is one of New York's great restaurants. I was taken there for birthdays by my parents and once by the NYU Italian Department after I had given a lecture there. So many of New York's beautiful traditional places have disappeared; I hope this one remains as a beacon of elegance and a reminder of what the city used to be.
70
I hope you can get there again. So many of these elegant beacons have disappeared.
3
I had my first pasta with Truffles there in the late 70s. Never did get the passion for them, and I'm Italian.
6
A longtime favorite of my grandparents and parents, although I haven't been there for 30 years. My loss!
23
It's not too late!
12
Another interesting but sad tale. Of course times change, for good or bad, as do tastes in food and fashion. But it is sad that we are so slovenly in almost all things today - travel internationally, and you can usually spot the Americans by how poorly we dress. Some will, no doubt, say that places like Barbetta are stuffy and pretentious, yet you needn't get too far into the article to read the line about "distressed-wood tables, no mixologists or vertical gardens" to grasp that we are just as puffy and pretentious but in a different - and smugger - way today.
60
Growing up listening to WQXR when it was "the radio station of the New York Times" and had commercials, I would hear frequently about Barbetta, with its chandelier from "the palace of the first king of united Italy." So in my twenties, I splurged on a solo birthday dinner there. Even though in the early 1970s other restaurants were not welcoming to a single young woman, Barbetta was. I remember that I ate many, many courses, including beef cooked in Barolo wine, and ice cream with a chocolate shell over it. It was a magical setting, and as I recall, a splendid meal. One that I really should repeat.
114
lovely article, made me remember the 70s and 80s in NewYork and even a visit to Laura Maioglio's country place at Fubine in Piemonte. Barbetta was and is a unique treasure and I hope to go back soon. Barbetta is a must and Laura is admirable for her love and dedication to a tradition of quality
23
What a great memory - and you should find it relatively unchanged.
12