Dining Alfresco:
How NYC Eateries Battled COVID
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a) Winter Village at Bryant Park The COVID-19 pandemic hit the United States hard. |
Since then, city restaurants have had to reinvent themselves. Back on March 16 2020 New York’s Governor Andrew Cuomo limited restaurants to takeout and delivery. After a three-month lockdown, restaurants reopened on June 22. NYC still did not permit indoor dining but allowed restaurants to place tables on the sidewalk outside their establishments even if they did not have an outdoor license. The city expanded this to include backyards and the street parking lane running parallel to every restaurant.
At first many restaurants, cafes and bars placed tables and chairs in the street lane. Then with the city’s consent outdoor dining huts, tents and well-designed structures appeared. Many resembled mini restaurants. On September 30 Governor Cuomo approved indoor dining at 25 percent. This ruling stayed in place until December 11 when the city banned indoor dining due to a rise in COVID-19 cases. This remained in place until February 12 when the city once again opened the eateries to 25 percent.
Outdoor dining during the wintry days may not resemble Italy's version of dining
"alfresco" where one can savor La Dolce Vita or “sweet life” while sipping a Campari and soda or enjoying a leisurely lunch or dinner on the celebrated Via Veneto in Rome or on a magnificent piazza in Florence or Venice. The New York City version was different but, possibly as much fun and definitely a most unique experience. Most places had installed overhead or standing heated lamps. Many places had glass/plastic partitions separating each table. Others built cabanas with drapes. Some erected private rooms with doors and windows with enough space for a party of two to eight.
Here is glimpse of what I saw while walking the streets of NYC:
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b) Cabanas at Daniel |
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c) Ariba Ariba |
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d) Don't Tell Mama NYC |
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e) Mama Mia Family |
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f) Korean Town Street Scene |
a) The main branch of the New York Public Library, Fifth Avenue and Forty Second Street is in the background. The igloos were part of Bryant Park's Annual Holiday Mart/Winter Village consisting of fifty small pop-up retail and food shops surrounding an ice skating rink
b) Daniel, is a two-star Michelin restaurant owned by International star chef Daniel Boulud. In 2019 Forbes Magazine ranked Daniel the top restaurant in the United States. On a thirty-five degree Monday night in January I counted about forty-five people dining outside. Daniel is at 60 East 65th Street just off of Park Avenue.
c) Ariba Ariba is one of Hell's Kitchen most popular restaurants. Located at 762 Ninth Avenue, at the NE corner of West 51 Street, its outdoor dining area is covered with a large wooden structure that extends over the pedestrian portion of the sidewalk.
d) Don't Tell Mama NYC, located on Restaurant Row at 343 West 46th Street, is a piano bar, cabaret and restaurant. The stoop between the piano bar/cabaret and restaurant serves as the main stage.
e) Mama Mia (SW 44 Ristorante ) at 621 Ninth Avenue is a family owned restaurant. It opened in 1971. It is the oldest restaurant on Ninth Avenue. Mama Mia got a much needed boost when it received funding from Barstool Sports founder David Portnoy in late December. His $18 million dollar Barstool Pandemic fund has helped about seventy-five restaurants across the U.S.
f) Korean Town's main strip is Thirty-Second Street between Broadway and Fifth Avenue. Eateries, on both sides of this bustling strip, have outdoor structures on the street.
*March 19 - NYC restaurant indoor dining capacity increased to fifty percent.
Photos: Rudi Papiri
