I had lunch this week at my favorite restaurant in New York City. Jeffery‘s Grocery has been open for as long as I can remember and has been my kitchen away from my kitchen for years. A staple.
Jeffrey‘s does everything right. They have very few items on the menu, but I guarantee that whatever you order, it will be amongst the best dishes you’ve ever eaten. As a business, I have the utmost respect for Jeffrey’s. Not only because they managed to survive a pandemic, but because of the consistency over the years in their brand that starts with the quality of food, to the way the bar is stocked, the background music, the lighting, and most importantly, the staff who always provide a certain level of service. They have delivered this year-after-year-after-year.
The thing I love most of all about Jeffery‘s is that it is the most New York place I know. This corner of New York is my barometer for the health of the city. If there is a street corner in New York that exemplifies our city, to me, this is it.
Across the street from Jeffrey‘s sits what is now one of the largest single-family townhouses in the West Village. Once home to Planned Parenthood, the building was sold when they needed money and bought by someone who converted the building into a single-family residence. From the corner table in Jeffrey’s, you can look into the second floor of the building and see the chandelier in the parlor floor. A tasteful reinterpretation of real estate elegantly executed.
Across the street sits the Northern Dispensary building. No ordinary building, it covers an entire city block that is irregularly shaped like a triangle. The mystery of the West Village. Founded in 1827, and owned by my late landlord, billionaire Bill Gottlieb, the building looks exactly the same as it did two centuries ago. A 19th-century ordinance required that the building could only be used for medical purposes. The deed also specified that there couldn’t be any obscene performances, no pornography, and no abortions on the premises. It was founded as a clinic for the poor with its most famous patient being Edgar Allan Poe who lived just a few doors down at 137 Waverly Place.
The New York Times wrote a great article on the history and the current use of the building explaining how it now hosts Gods Love We Deliver (I hope this is true). but on face value, it appears that the building sits abandoned and empty.
If you take a right out of Jeffrey’s you will pass The Stonewall Inn, the site of the Stonewall Riots of 1969, and the start of the gay liberation movement. If you go further, you pass a door you could easily miss that will lead you to the 55 Bar. A basement venue where I played many gigs while I was in college. On any given night, you might see some of the most incredible musicians performing. I spent every Wednesday I could spare watching Mike Stern. Michael Brecker played here, only to tour Europe the following week to sold-out stadiums.
If you turn left out of Jeffrey’s, you’ll pass the corner building on Waverly Place and one of my first apartments in the city. I took over the lease from a retired (and then suddenly deceased) prima-ballerina from the NY City Ballet who had lived in the apartment for 40 years. My rent for the one-bedroom – $1,157 per month.
Across the street lived Three Lives & Company Bookstore. My favorite bookstore in the world. A carefully curated selection of only the best literature. Closed because of the pandemic, they’re set to reopen this week. All the places on this street and the stories that live in them could fill an encyclopedia.
On this afternoon, everything looked better and felt perfect. What a beautiful time to be alive in New York City.
Side Bar:
Shout out to my sister Glynnis for not only reading and responding to this newsletter every week, (that’s what family is for) but for recommending “Summer of Soul” to me. Like me, you might have missed Questlove’s acceptance speech for directing this documentary at the Oscars this year because it was drowned out by The Slap. Over the course of six weeks during the summer of 1969, thousands of people attend the Harlem Cultural Festival to celebrate Black history, culture, music, and fashion. Questlove brought it back to life in this documentary and it’s a must-watch!
Let’s do this.
-Shaun