Gino of Capri Restaurant

Gino’s aka Gino of Capri Restaurant on the Upper East Side of Manhattan was founded in 1945 by Gino Circiello and had many famous patrons including Ed Sullivan and Frank Sinatra. Gino's specialized in moderately priced Italian food and was known for its tomato-red wallpaper printed with 314 leaping zebras. Gino passed away in 2001 at age 89 and his long-time waiter, Salvatore Doria, took ownership of the restaurant along with the chef, Michele Miele. Sadly, Gino’s was forced to close in 2010 when their rent was increased by $8,000 a month to over $30,000 a month and health-care costs of their employees also increased. A cupcake cafe (Sprinkles Cupcakes) took its place.

#storefront #italianfood #franksinatra #disappearingfaceofnewyork #italian #redsauce #redsaucepasta #pasta #italianrestaurant #italianrestaurants #italianrestaurant #pastalover #uppereastsidenyc #uppereastside

Empire Diner

Empire Diner is located inside a 1946 Fodero Dining Car on Tenth Avenue at w22nd Street in Chelsea. After surviving a few different ownerships as well as some extended closures over the years, the Empire Diner has been run by executive chef Jestin Feggan of Cafeteria and its managing partner Stacy Pisone since April 2017. We miss that this Art Deco diner no longer has the miniature stainless steel Empire State Building replica on its roof (which was removed in 2009) as seen in this photo which appears in our book "New York Nights". @empire_diner has been frequented by many artists and celebrities over the years including Bruce Springsteen who used to meet his then girlfriend Patti Scialfa on a bench next to the diner and proposed to her there. Empire Diner also has appeared in many movies including “Men in Black” & “Home Alone” and in numerous TV shows including Law And Order & Saturday Night Live.

#jamesandkarla #dinersdriveinsanddives #diner #diners #dinerfood #artdeco #artmoderne #stainlesssteel #diningcar #storefront #empirestatebuilding #empirestate #chelsea #chelseanyc #chelseanewyork #ig_nyc #newyorknewyork #newyork_instagram #newyorkcitylife #newyork_ig #ig_nycity #ig_newyork #ig_newyorkcity #insta_nyc #instagram_newyork

Caffe Capri

Caffe Capri in Williamsburg, Brooklyn which had the best iced coffee we have ever had. It was so strong and flavorful and there was nothing better on a hot August day to cool you off. Sadly this lovely family-owned coffee shop closed in 2015 after being in business since 1974. We included this photo in our book “Store Front: The Disappearing Face of New York” and also interviewed Joe (the co-owner with his sister-in-law Sarah) and asked him why their iced coffee was so delicious and he told us the secret was that he made ice cubes using espresso, not water…so that when the ice cubes melted, they would not water down the coffee. What a brilliant idea!

#disappearingfaceofnewyork #jamesandkarla #coffee #coffeetime #coffeelover #coffeelovers #coffeelife #italian #italianstyle #storefront #williamsburgbrooklyn #italianfood #italianamerican #italianamericans #espresso #espressobar #cappuccino #cappucino #cappuccino #cappucinno #capuccino_lovers #cappuccinos #williamsburg #capri

Circo’s Pastry Shop

Circo’s Pastry Shop in Bushwick, Brooklyn has been in business since 1945. This Italian bakery has been using the same original family recipes brought over from Sicily by the current owner, Nino Pierdipino. When we interviewed the owner for our book “Store Front: The Disappearing Face of New York” in 2004, he told us that not only is the storefront original but that they had to cover their vintage neon sign in mesh in the 1970s because its neon tubes were constantly being broken by kids in the neighborhood throwing rocks and bottles at it. Thankfully, in 2016 they removed the mesh covering the neon and restored the sign to its former glory. Their most popular item is their Cannoli a la Siciliana, which we can say firsthand is absolutely delicious!

#jamesandkarla #storefront #italianfood #momandpopshop #momandpopshops #italianpastry #italianpastries #italianamerican #italianamericans #cannoli #pastry #italianamericanfood #cannolisiciliani #pastrylove #pastrylife #pastryfood #pastrylover #pastrychef

Jim’s Steaks

We heard news that Jim’s Steaks on South Street in Philadelphia has had a huge fire which broke out early this morning and continued to burn into the afternoon as it spread through the HVAC system. We absolutely love Jim’s as it not only has a gorgeous Art Deco storefront but also has an amazingly delicious cheesesteak made with 100% Black Angus beef (swipe left for 2nd photo of our cheesesteak with Whiz …we did not get onions on ours as we shared it with our rescue dog Hudson). Jim’s Steaks was founded in 1939 in West Philadelphia but in the summer of 1976, the current South Street location opened and is now currently being run by the 2nd-generation owner, Ken Silver. We hope this iconic cheesesteak restaurant is able to reopen as firefighters are concerned about the structural stability of the building.

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To watch our livestream visit to Jim’s South Street this past spring where we watched their beef being sliced before grilling and ate our very first cheesesteak (we also visited lots of other great please shops & historic places) visit our JamesandKarla YouTube channel, see direct link below & in bio and IG story.

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https://youtu.be/FIXl0QUCf4E

Tracks Bar & Grill

Tracks Bar & Grill, the railroad-themed bar was founded over 20 years ago inside Penn Station by Bruce Caulfield and his partners. Although the bar was forced to relocate to West 31st Street in 2019 when Penn Station began its giant redesign/expansion, Bruce retained the railroad theme inside the new location which features old prints and murals related to the history of the LIRR and for train lovers, there is a very rare model of the 1964 World’s Fair subway on display.

#storefront #irishbar #railroad #railroadlife #irishbar #divebar #disappearingfaceofnewyork #jamesandkarla #railroadtracks #rail