A query from Michael C

I received an email with an inquiry about someone' own family history:

"My name is Michael C---,and I have been doing family research and have come to learn my grand-uncle was somewhat of a fixture at your family's restaurant (Kings Hwy). His name was Louis (or Lloyd) but was known to everyone around as "The Goose". What I have heard from multiple sources is that he was always at your family's restaurant and people would come there to meet him, seeking favors and/or money. This side of my family has been a blackhole to me, and while I have made some strides, there is still so much about some of these people I don't know. With The Goose in particular, given his "occupation", I have to get creative in trying to gather information. I was wondering if there was any chance you may have heard any family stories or anything else about him. There was a Mel L. who was an associate of his that also hung around there. Anything you may be willing to share would be greatly helpful and immensely appreciated! Thank you for your time.Respectfully, Michael Cohen" 

Can anyone help Mr. Cohen out?  Anyone heard about "The Goose" - a regular at the King's Highway Dubrow's?

Photo postcard from 1985

I purchased this off of eBay. What a great photo and also lovely little slice of oral history. The text of the postcard reads: 

"Dear Ethyl and Bill, 

I hope, Ethyl, that you've fully recovered from your accident. Too bad we won't be meeting in the old Dubrow's anymore but a new, smaller version is supposedly coming at the same location. When I walk by, I often get a nostalgic thought about the good old days. 

 Best, Dave"

The Manhattan Dubrow's closed in 1985.  I am not aware of any plans to open a smaller version in the same location, but this definitely did not happen.  

Dubrow's in Miami Beach

Jeff sends a link for a 1952 home video of Miami Beach. It is uploaded to Youtube by a user who goes by the moniker ReelNostalgia.  The photo above is a screen shot from the video, which is why it's so blurry. 

Amazing to see how things change. When I was growing up and visiting Miami Beach and Lincoln Road, the area was deserted of nightlife and shops. Now it's hip and bustling - as it was back in 1952, when this video was shot. Things come full circle.

(Re-posting this entry with new links)

Last Elaine Norman photos

More photos from Elaine Norman

Here's the second of three posts with Elaine Norman's photos of the Manhattan Dubrow's location.  All photos were taken on the last day in 1985.

More photos from Elaine Norman

Back in February I posted how I randomly stumbled across this photo of the Manhattan Dubrow's in a Google search. It was credited to Elaine Norman.

This evening, Elaine Norman contacted me and sent me MORE amazing photos of the Manhattan Dubrow's. Here's three of them. More to come over the next few days. Here's what Elaine had to say:

 "I came across your blog after reading the New York Times page with Marcia Bricker Halperin’s wonderful photos of Dubrow’s. It brought back a lot of memories for me when I worked as a textile designer in the Garment Center. Occasionally, I would eat at Dubrow’s (when not bringing my lunch) and loved the appealing, old-world vibe of the place. I’m sending along some of my photographs that were taken shortly before the auction in 1985 (you currently have one of my photos on your blog). Sadly, even the once-vibrant and bustling Garment Center, like so much of New York City’s noteworthy neighborhoods, is becoming a thing of the past. It’s good that you have this homage to such a distinctive place in the history of this city."


 

Great article with more photos of Dubrow's

Marcia Bricker Halperin is very familiar to readers of this blog, as several of her photos have been featured here. Well, now you can see more!  Over at the blog Jeremiah's Vanishing New York she recalls what made Dubrow's so special, as well.  This seems particularly relevant for readers here, especially as it quotes directly from this blog:

"Dubrow's is often called the "last cafeteria." In one of the articles on the Dubrow's Blog it's described as a place to "kibitz and nosh and argue the fate of the world." What is the value of kibitzing, noshing, and arguing our fate? What allowed it to happen at a place like Dubrow's and where do you think it happens today?

There's a theory about communities called "Third Places." After your home and your workplace comes the need for some social institution. The Irish had bars, the Italians had social clubs, but Jews had cafeterias in New York. They came to eat, but just as importantly to talk. Of course cyberspace is like a "third place" now. The demise of cafeterias was tied to the rise in affluence. People opted for waiter service and felt it was beneath them to carry their own tray. Cafeteria chains prevailed much longer in the South and Midwest where it wasn't until the last decade that many have closed, but they lacked the opulence of the big city ones.

The closest you can come to the feel of an old cafeteria today is at Katz's Deli. The ticket machine, the long counter on one wall, the frenetic feel with people carrying trays laden with Jewish-style foods in search of an empty table. The sound is reminiscent of old cafeterias too--cutlery rattling and lots of conversation. But I don't think you would scour the tables for a familiar face or a comfortable table to share and strike up a conversation with a stranger. By contrast, the dozens of coffee joints around my neighborhood are tomb-like since almost everyone is on their laptop."

Also, I discovered someone (perhaps Marcia Bricker Halperin herself, seeing as how her photo shows up here, too) submitted Dubrow's Cafeteria to the blog "Place Matters" with a link to this blog.  I agree! Places do matter.  And if there's one thing I have learned from the years of maintaining this blog, it's that Dubrow's did matter.  And still does.

Request for Dubrow's tuna salad recipe

Reader Andrew Suser asks for it. Now, tuna salad seems easy enough to make so if the Dubrow's recipe was unique or special it's got to be in the seasonings or the add-ins. Anyone recall it want to help Andrew out?

A question from a reader

I received the following email and thought I'd post it here to see if anyone can answer his question:

I am Bill Siroty, grandson of Gussie (Schwartz) Siroty, and great-grandson of Riva and Menachim Schwartz, which I think makes Simcha my great-great-Uncle. Michael Schwartz is my father’s first cousin. 

 I don’t know if anyone can answer this question: I was at the Kings Highway Dubrows in Spring 1972 and asked the cashier if Paul was there. I didn’t really know Paul but my father would be upset that I was there and didn’t ask to see him. I gave the cashier my name and she asked if my father was Danny. She said she used to date him! I can’t remember her name now, my father remembered her but that’s all the information I have. My father was 55 in 1972, born in 1917 so I guess this woman was a little younger. 

 Even if you don’t know this women it is still fun nostalgia. 

 Thanks, Bill Siroty Manchester, NH

 Does anyone know about Paul who worked the cashier at King's Highway? Paul Tobin was a manager and owner, but of the Manhattan location, and probably didn't work the cash register much. So it probably wasn't him.

Long lost cousin

I received an email from a long lost cousin by marriage today:

Hi Eve,

I’m Michael Schwartz, and we are “kin” through the marriage of Max Tobin to Minnie Dubrow Tobin...You turn out to be my “father’s cousin’s sister-in-law’s granddaughter.” Whew….

And I enjoy your Dubrow blog (grew up till age 15 or 16 on East 16^th Street between Ave N and O – Dubrow’s was up the block at 16^th Street and Kings Highway – I would walk pass (sic) on the way to Junior High School twice a day and often stop in and talk to the various relatives and get fed too……

I’ve attached a photo of “Uncle”  Simcha Tabachnick  -- at my Bar Mitzvah – that’s me eating the drum stick… He was Max Tobin’s dad (Max of course was Minnie Dubrow Tobin’s husband). Simcha Tabachnick was also my grandmother Riva (Chast) Schwartz’s brother—he would avidly participate in Menachim Riva family circle meetings which were all the rage “back in the day."

Dubrow's on StoryCorps

So, I yesterday I received a call from Michael Garofalo, who was fact-checking  a story for StoryCorps.  It's a really sweet story that involves Dubrow's Cafeteria: Apparently Van and and Shirley Harris met at the Eastern Parkway location.  Check it out!

The story mentions several colorful characters they knew at Dubrow's - anyone else heard of Herbie the Nibbler, One-Ball Barney, Mendel Berman (he had a leaky ear), or Filthy Miltie?

A Garment Worker recalls

Mark Weiss writes to share this recollection of Dubrow's:

"I began my career in the garment center in 1980 when I started work at Heath Tex children's wear. On my very first day my new buddies took me to lunch round the corner at Dubrow's. I loved Dubrow's and the unique feel of the place. In this day of cold noisy chain restaurants that decorate to look like they understand the locale, Dubrow's needed no such decorations. It was New York."

Puts a personal touch on the image I have of the thousands of garment workers who enjoyed the Manhattan Dubrow's on their lunch break.

Matzo Ball is Over

This article, sent by Henry and Dorothy Jablonski, is dated by hand "8-3-85."  In tiny print under each of the photos it says "Bill Stahl Jr Daily News", which tells us what publication this article is from and who took the photos.  The top left corner is a picture of co-owner Paul Tobin, and the couple on the right is captioned "Edie and Sammy Bergholz came from Florida for final meal."

Some excerpts from the article:
"'It's the last of the old time cafeterias; they're all gone now,' said photographer Joe Perulli, 74, a photographer who was a fixture at Dubrow's for 25 years. 'I came in 10 to 12 times a day, whenever there's a lull. There's always someone nice to talk to,' Perulli said." 


"It was a sort of meeting place, social club, and retirement home for the cutters, pressers, seamstresses, and salesmen who populated the warehouses and office towers of the Garment District." 


"According to co-owner Irving Kaplan, Dubrow's customer total dropped from 5,000 to 3,500 customers a day. Kaplan's partner, Paul Tobin, Benjamin Dubrow's grandson, said the massive eatery with more than 8,000 square feet of floor space and 380 seats took up too much expensive Manhattan real estate. Tobin and Kaplan agreed to sell their lease so the owner of the property could sell to Philip Pilevsky of Philips International Holding Company...who planned a three-level shopping arcade."

Of note is that the article appears to contain two factual errors: It cites the opening of the first Dubrow's as being 1932, but I believe the first one opened in 1929.  And later it says that the Manhattan Dubrow's opened in 1953, but it in fact opened in 1952. I know this second one is an error because there are New York Times articles about a robbery at the Manhattan store in 1952.

Photo of Dubrow's

This photo was submitted by Leslie Wong. It's on his Flickr page and his blog, and he has graciously allowed me to re-post it here. What a great shot and a great find! Not only a great shot of fabulous mural at the Manhattan location, but of some customers eating there at the time.

More reader feedback (Glen)

Another reader, Glen, writes in enthusiastically to say how much he loved Dubrow's:

"Hi! I think it's great that you have your website about Dubrow's!

I used to eat there often in 1982. I'm lucky that I got to experience the place; I just made it, too. Little did I know that it would close three years later.

WHY did it close? The place was ALWAYS packed. At least it was in 1982. That's when I commuted into Manhattan every day to work.

The food at Dubrow's was GREAT! I never went to a place where they absolutely HEAPED the food on your plate, and it was DAMN GOOD FOOD, too, and the prices were reasonable. It was one of the best values in town.

I can't tell you how much Dubrow's and other places like the Horn & Hardart automats, and other cafeterias.

Manhattan has become an exclusive playground for the rich yuppies. You can't even LIVE in Manhattan anymore unless you're a millionaire. I have friends that both grew up on York Avenue, where they lived in tenements. They were VERY poor. NOW, those "TENEMENTS" would be unaffordable. They both live in Queens, which is where I live and where I grew up. They LOVED living on York Avenue, but, as they say, you can't go home again. It really is true.

It sickens me how New York City is losing its soul. You can't even get an egg cream in New York City anymore. I mean, what's more New York City than an EGG CREAM???????? What a damn shame.

There's nowhere in Manhattan left to eat. What's the choice? There's McDonald's, and there's fancy restaurants, and there's NOTHING IN BETWEEN now in Manhattan. I guess this is just another sign of the shrinking of the middle-class in America. Pretty soon, America will be just like all those other countries: The very rich and the very poor, and that's all! Nothing in between.

As huge chain restaurants and fast food restaurants take over both the city and our nation, as well, we are losing our national identity. New Yorkers, whether they be from Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens, or the Bronx (I never even THINK about Staten Island because I've only driven through there!!!!) are losing their identity. New York City, just like the rest of the nation, is becoming homogenized and watered down, whether it be accents, mom and pop stores, and other things. If you ask in Queens, where I live, if there's a luncheonette nearby, you'd be looked at like you just came from Mars. They don't KNOW what a luncheonette is, they don't KNOW what an egg cream is, it's unbelievable.

Dubrow's, The Garment District, egg creams, luncheonettes, cafeterias; it's all leaving or has already left the culture of this once-great city.

It's sad to see this happen to the city where I grew up."

What I told Glen in an email is my best understanding of why Dubrow's closed: The price of real estate in Manhattan skyrocketed and made it no longer possible to make enough money off of Dubrow's to keep it open. If people have been to that stretch of Seventh Avenue in midtown Manhattan, they wouldn't be surprised by the theory, and it seems to be generally supported by the articles I have found about the closing.

What is less clear to me is why the locations in Brooklyn or Miami closed, although I would hazard a guess to say it was also about money. It usually is, and especially when a place was so well loved you can't imagine any reason to close it.

Still here

Man, it's been a long time since I updated this blog. Sorry about that. It's been a pretty difficult couple months for me personally.

I've received a couple comments from readers I thought I'd share:

Rick Festa writes: "I am Leo Martin's grandson and my memories of Dubrow's are so vivid...The stuffed roasted chicken really stands out in my mind, and have never found a stuffing like that since. I spent many hours there with my Grandfather as a young boy, and i can still remember that special smell of the place. I still remember the faces of the cooks and the cashiers and that cool change returner attached to the side of the register..."

Deborah Berman writes to ask about the recipe for "the most memorable bran muffins in the world." As always, I do not have any recipes - I wish I did! So far I haven't found anyone else who does, either.

Dan Russell writes to ask about a Dubrow's in Bensonhurst and another "famous one on 86th street" - I am not sure both of these he is recalling are Dubrow's, but the latter is probably the one on Eastern Parkway. Anyone remember a Dubrow's in Bensonhurst?

Finally, I also found an excerpt in The World on a Plate by Joel Denker about Dubrow's:

"Cafes also became center of Jewish cooking and companionship. The Garden cafeteria, next door to the Jewish Forward, was a gathering place for reporters, actors, intellectuals, and ethnics who worked in the neighborhood. Like an eastern Europe cafe, it buzzed with conversation and animated debate. Places like the Garden encouraged a breed of ethnic socializers that Isaac Singer, who was one of them, dubbed cafeterianiks.

The Garden, which opened in 1931, was organized like a cafeteria. Customers decided on their order, and the counterman punched the appropriate code on their ticket. There were the classic dairy choices - blintzes, varnishkes, soups. The display case revealed a tantalizing plates of smoked whitefish, herring and apple and other salads, cheese, and coffee cakes. Many diners were content with a piece of cake and tea or a bowl of chopped vegetables and fruit mixed with sour cream.

As the Lower East Side rag trade withered away, Jewish cafeterias and luncheonettes sprang up in the midtown Garment Center. Dubrow's, one of the most famous cafeterias, served up pirogen, gefilte fish, and roast chicken to cutters, jobbers, and pressmen. Irving Moskowitz, a Dubrow's Cafeteria customer for over thirty years, remembered it as a warm gathering place: 'It was more than just a place to eat. It was a meeting place. A place. You didn't get to know them [other customers]. But they were people, and you sort of knew them.'"

Reader feedback (Danny, GK)

Lately, I've been hearing from a lot of people about the various Dubrow's foods they miss. It's all about the food, which makes sense, since first and foremost, Dubrow's was a restaurant. But if there's one thing we've learned in the past three and a half years I've been keeping this blog, it's that it's so much more.

Danny Karron writes:
"Our (my brother Abe and I) dad Edward Karron was (best?) friends with Irwin Dubrow. My brother and I were ruminating if we could id Irwin from a bunch of wedding pictures Abe had scanned. I found you from the Dubrows Cafeteria wiki entry which pointed to your web site. I'm getting hungry just thinking about the place. I think I still remember the stuffed cabbage or the Blintzes. I'm getting indigestion thinking of them at the same time."

GK commented on an old post:
"My favorite was the cheese blintzes with sour cream. I have never had better. My sister would always get the cottage cheese and sour cream with vegetables. I also loved making lemon soda with the seltzer water dispenser and free lemons from the fish counter."

Dubrow's Photo

This is another photo taken by the always amazing Marcia Bricker Halperin. It's on display in what looks like a fantastic exhibit at the Brooklyn Museum.

Update: In the past three or four days, I have spoken to Helene and Leonard Dubrow, children of George Dubrow and siblings of Irwin Dubrow. I have also heard from my cousin Geoffrey Green, on the "other" side of the family...all of whom wanted to let me know that this exhibit and in particular, this photo, was featured in the New York Times this week. I am delighted that it is getting such good coverage and attention - and I am thrilled that of all the photos Marcia took for the exhibit, the Dubrow's photo was selected for the article. What wonderful attention it has brought to the memory of our beloved Dubrow's.

More reader feedback (Sue)

Received another email a couple days ago:

"My father who is 84 was born and raised in Brooklyn. He often reminisces fondly about Dubrow's and the shrimp salad he ate there with his friends. Evidently your great grandfather's restaurant plays a large part in the happy memories of many people, something which I am sure you are proud. I was wondering if you had access to the recipe for shrimp salad served there. I would like to make it for Father's Day for my Dad. He thinks it had mayo, vinegar, cream in the dressing. Thanks so much!!"

Anyone recall the Dubrow's shrimp salad recipe?

I would love to track down or hear from some of the cooks at Dubrow's, and put together a collection of recipes for popular dishes. Over the years, there have been a number of requests for recipes.

More reader feedback (MacKenzie)

More feedback from a reader! I love hearing from people.

MacKenzie Allen writes:

"Hi, there...I found my way to your website while looking for old photos of Dubrow's. I was telling my wife and friends about it. I grew up in Brooklyn (1940s--50s) and lived at Avenue "O" and East 16th St...a few blocks up from Dubrow's. When we were kids at Cunningham Jr. H.S. we used to go there on lunch hour. A real treat was to "take out" an order of french fries in a brown paper bag. We'd put ketchup in the bag and shake it around to distribute it. Messy, but delicious. It was always a treat to go to Dubrow's...great memories of a far better time."