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Out to Lunch in NYC - Pete's Tavern
Rate it! Votes (0) | Comments (0) By Clint Brownfield Posted August 6th, 2007 FabulousFoods.com Recommends: Hungry? New York City: The Lowdown on Where the Real People Eat! (Hungry? City Guides) (Hungry? City Guides), by , (2007, Hungry City Guides)	Hungry? New York City: The Lowdown on Where the Real People Eat! (Hungry? City Guides) (Hungry? City Guides)

When I entered Pete's Tavern that day for the first time, I knew I was in the oldest establishment of its kind in New York City. Pete's has continuously served food and liquor since 1864...through prohibition...from the same bar...onto the same tables...into the same booths. I also knew before I got there that O. Henry wrote "Gift of the Magi" while sitting up near the front window. That was in 1904.

I'm 48. Earlier this fall I had to go back to school. My training as a graphic designer (circa 1975) had worn off...I needed an update. COMPUTERS! Or computer graphics, to be more exact. So, on Mondays and Tuesdays, for the past three months, I've been going back to my dear alma mater, Pratt Institute, for classes.

At around 2 o'clock in the afternoon on Monday, October 27, I was on the bus going to my class in the Puck Building down in SoHo when I felt that familiar tug...it was the Stomach Wolf whining for food. I never eat breakfast so at around 1 or 2 o'clock every afternoon the Stomach Wolf gets frisky. So, I got off the bus and sort of automatically walked to Pete's Tavern for some food. This was unusual because I'd never been to Pete's before, even though I had heard about it for years. I belong to the nearby National Arts Club, on Gramercy Park South, and normally eat there if I'm in the neighborhood.

Standing there, in broad daylight, in the middle of this great old room I thought to myself, "this is a man's place"...great old bar, marble tile floors, tin ceilings, and a nice, slight smell of years-old booze and smoke. A place so manly that RuPaul would probably break character, lower his voice and say: "Howdy, Pilgrim!"

I was greeted by a distinguished looking man and I simply told him I was hungry (I didn't mention the Stomach Wolf) and he seated me in a great old booth near the bar. It turned out that this was Buster Smith, the manager of Pete's. What happened that afternoon is why I write this column...NEW YORK MAGIC!

New York Magic!
I ordered a bacon cheeseburger, which comes with fries, slaw, lettuce and tomato ($8.95) and a Pete's ale ($4.50) which puts the lunch over the $10 limit...but, don't be crazy...go for it! Pete's ale is worth it. There are all kinds of specials and regular items on the menu...all under $10. The place mainly serves Italian-American dishes...unlike lots of other good pubs and taverns in town which lean toward Irish fare.

Buster and I became pals that day. He told me he came to the Gramercy Park neighborhood in the late 40's as a rookie cop...worked his way up to detective...and then took an early retirement. He's been at Pete's for the last 30 years. Buster is definitely a part of what makes New York great. I'd call him a legend...and so would a lot of other people.

The lunch went on for a couple of hours with Buster and me sitting and talking about life and solving the problems of the world. There are a couple of TV's hanging around the front room...to watch sports on mostly. That afternoon, at about 3:30, I looked up at the set in the corner (it was on CNBC) and noticed the stock market was down more than 350 points. I said: "Buster, it looks like the stock market's slipping a little up there on the TV set." Buster, who is one of the coolest guys I've ever met, actually looked startled for a second and excused himself to make a phone call. He came back a few minutes later, calm as ever, and offered me some coffee with a little amaretto in it. The market ultimately fell 550 points that day, but I didn't give a damn. I was at Pete's, with my new pal Buster Smith...sustained and fortified by a burger and ale and all was right in the world as far as I was concerned. And the Stomach Wolf had curled up for a nice little nap.

If you go to lunch Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday...when Buster's there...tell him Clint sent you. He'll treat you well. But, then, Buster always treats everybody well anyway. You can't find a more welcoming host.

After Lunch
Normally, after lunch at Pete's, I'd recommend that you take a hike all around Gramercy Park and have dessert and coffee somewhere else. But, please don't if you're there during this holiday season. Instead, walk a block or two west on 17th Street, stop and salute the building at the southeast corner of Park Avenue South. This was Tammany Hall, Boss Tweed's operation that helped keep Pete's open during prohibition (they had to drink some place!). You will then be entering Union Square. Buy some cookies from one of the great stalls in the Farmers' Market on the north side of the square. To your right you will find a huge Barnes & Nobles book store. Enter the store. Find and buy the collected works of O. Henry. Go home, eat the cookies (have a little brandy too) and read "Gift of the Magi".

After all its Christmas...and I'm still out to lunch in New York.

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