Adventure to the Upper East Side

Down in the seventies and about Lexington you start to see the the heart of the Upper East Side. That is, a clubby little village, with hokey little upscale Italian restaurants, and corny little ladies' shoe shops. There are also sophisticated, very 21st century boutiques, selling high-end beauty products or clothing lines (Hunter makes more than rain boots, I discovered while window shopping). There are large and opulent single-family brownstones off of the avenues, and well-funded foundations, like the sleek Asia Society on the corner of 70th and Park.  Women in their sixties wear pearls. Women in their forties carry dogs. Everyone looks very coiffed, even in tracksuits (they're cashmere).

Most of the locales have been there forever. The York Barber Shop bears that tell-tale New York historical marker, the windowpane lined with tastefully framed autographed black and white photos (in this case of a particularly high caliber, featuring Woody Allen and Dustin Hoffman). At the dignified Mariella pizza the walls are tiled, the pizza orderly, the old men go quietly about their business. Of course,  this is Lexington, not Madison.  So don't expect to escape the 24 hour convenience store which brashly boasts the possession of an ATM in bold, over-large letters. On the other hand, this is a neighborhood, not a mall.

Neil's Coffee Shop is the kind of establishment that makes one feel like the real world has just been left behind for another more interesting one. It begs entrance. Inside, efficient waitstaff, deep booths, vintage kitchen equipment still in use behind the counter, and stained glass (plexiglass?) windows perpetuate the illusion of another time. Rows of autographed black and white photographs peer down smilingly.   Okay, this time it's Jean Luc Picard and George Stephanopoulos up on the wall, not mythical, but still shrouded in household awareness.

The ketchup bottle is empty, and the bottle of Tabasco sauce is a funny brown color and of a curiously thin consistency...could excessive age cause that? The turkey is dry, and a bite of coleslaw provokes a sour grimace...was that skin on top?  But the avocado on the turkey club was fresh, and a hamburger tasted nice, like a nothing-special burger made in the frying pan at home: fresh and comforting and slightly overcooked.

The bill was pretty light, comparative to a brunch out at any coffee chain. And it was amusing to see grumpy looking elderly ladies in fur coats hoist themselves onto stools to order something at the counter and then complain about it.

All in all, a cozy, sunny spot to read the paper on a Sunday.

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