Whats the big deal about Aunt Suzies?

ringrunner

speak for yourself, I am not an old man

longtimesloper

LMAO!

carnivore

Get a room, you two!

eggcream

Zebra wrote: My opinion is that the crucial turning point came when Al di La opened not far from Cucina so that you had two excellent restaurants within a couple of blocks (and there used to be a third one called Vaux, not to mention Mike & Tony's across from Cucina). That's when 5th Ave. became a walking area at night.

And how many of those excellent restaurants you mentioned above are still there today?

longtimesloper

sorry, still being around doesn't prove that the food is good, and, a lot of times when old time businesses survive around here, a lot of it has to do with the fact that they own the building and aren't being pushed out due to rent increases. not saying that is the case here (though, i would bet they own the building), just commenting.

garfunky

Carnivore wrote: This is getting redundant, but it's not "hate" or "bashing" to say that the food isn't good. For some people, that obviously doesn't matter. That's fine. There's plenty of room on 5th for everyone. And I appreciate that if people enjoy Olive Garden level food, at least they're supporting a local place instead of a big corporate chain.

it IS bashing when one repeats that the food isnt good seemingly every few minutes. at that point the word vendetta comes into my mind and i question the motives of the poster(s).

peanuts

We were in Tempo the last night they were there and spoke to the owner about Aunt Suzie's and why they were succesful with mediocore food - very graciously he said they were reliable and inexpensive and that they have a place.
I know that 200 5th & Aunt Suzie's didn't completely start the turning point on 5th Avenue, but they were certainly pioneers and took a chance. As someone who lived between 4th & 3rd Avenues at the time, it was a relief not to always have to go to 7th Avenue to eat out.

garfunky

Zebra wrote: My opinion is that the crucial turning point came when Al di La opened not far from Cucina so that you had two excellent restaurants within a couple of blocks (and there used to be a third one called Vaux, not to mention Mike & Tony's across from Cucina). That's when 5th Ave. became a walking area at night.

i give all the credit to the bageltique. (seriously)
but
it is interesting all those other "great places" are gone
while suzies seems to be doing just fine.

veets

Garfunky.. I don't think you were joking, but perhaps you were.
Bagiltique was open very late, had a sort of cafe atomosphere and sold what looked like carefully prepared salad stuff to go with bagels.

I remember it fondly.

maximumjacks

can we also talk about the suckiness that is Tutta Pasta? Been around forever, but not good. I credit the sidewalk seating to their longevity.

Plus, last time I was there, I tried every red wine they had by the glass and they were all teh horrible.....and I was not even expecting something great - just drinkable

garfunky

veets wrote: Garfunky.. I don't think you were joking, but perhaps you were.
Bagiltique was open very late, had a sort of cafe atomosphere and sold what looked like carefully prepared salad stuff to go with bagels.

I remember it fondly.

the key was that they were open 24 hours. so at a time when 5th avenue was only starting to make headway, all of a sudden there was a POLICE presence constantly in the area of pres 5th and very noticeably at say 3 4 5 am when i got home from gigs. Not because they were on patrol, but because they were HUNGRY or needed coffee...loads of emt and fire as well..
in a few short months,
the drug dealing gang that used to hang out on the corner suddenly disappeared. so did alot of the other riff raff. Cucina/Presto fencing off that vacant lot (thats now a bank) was actually quite a big help as well , for the same reasons.

Some of the places that first opened up were simply ahead of their time.
It didnt matter how good the food was, i tend to think alot of their potential clientele just wouldnt GO to fifth ave back then

garfunky

Flexichick wrote:
Plus, last time I was there, I tried every red wine they had by the glass and they were all teh horrible.....and I was not even expecting something great - just drinkable

so how drunk were you after all that sampling ?

transitalternativeszen

Garfunky wrote: [quote=Flexichick]
Plus, last time I was there, I tried every red wine they had by the glass and they were all teh horrible.....and I was not even expecting something great - just drinkable

so how drunk were you after all that sampling ?

not at all, since I couldn't manage to drink any of them. Plus, my plate was swimming in oil

garfunky

Flexichick wrote: [quote=Garfunky][quote=Flexichick]
Plus, last time I was there, I tried every red wine they had by the glass and they were all teh horrible.....and I was not even expecting something great - just drinkable

so how drunk were you after all that sampling ?

not at all, since I couldn't manage to drink any of them. Plus, my plate was swimming in oil

lol, i see.

Last time i ate there was before the fire.
when we got home, my wife made me dinner .
Ive not gone back, so i cant speak for the quality or lack of it.

carnivore

Garfunky wrote: [quote=Carnivore]This is getting redundant, but it's not "hate" or "bashing" to say that the food isn't good. For some people, that obviously doesn't matter. That's fine. There's plenty of room on 5th for everyone. And I appreciate that if people enjoy Olive Garden level food, at least they're supporting a local place instead of a big corporate chain.

it IS bashing when one repeats that the food isnt good seemingly every few minutes. at that point the word vendetta comes into my mind and i question the motives of the poster(s).
Straw man. No one was doing that in this thread. Some people have clarified their points (myself included) after being attacked for not liking the place, but no one has posted multiple times just to reiterate their point, and certainly not "every few minutes."

garfunky

having to restate multiple times that you "dont like the food"
is being a harpy.

there is no need to say i dont like the food again and again.
we heard you the first time. there is nothing to clarify.
if you cant understand why i suspect the motives of someone who has wishes to spend their time aggresively ranting on about a restaurant then thats just too bad.

garfunky

intended to use "one" as opposed to "you" as i am speaking to the nebulous group you not specifically you personally.

i

but i cant seem to find anyone being attacked for not liking it.
just people being attacked by the same 2 or 3 people who need to "clarify there opinion"

we heard ya the first time. its ok if you dont like it.
its also ok if someone does like it. deal with it.

carnivore

Garfunky wrote: having to restate multiple times that you "dont like the food"
is being a harpy.

there is no need to say i dont like the food again and again.
we heard you the first time. there is nothing to clarify.
if you cant understand why i suspect the motives of someone who has wishes to spend their time aggresively ranting on about a restaurant then thats just too bad.

Whatever. :roll:

Enjoy yourself there.

garfunky

well since i perceive youre in need of clarification,
should i restate what i already said,
or would that be harping ???

zebra

Garfunky wrote:
i give all the credit to the bageltique. (seriously)
but
it is interesting all those other "great places" are gone
while suzies seems to be doing just fine.

I give all the credit to El Viejo Yayo, which has been there since 1963.

raw

Is Aunt Suzie's charging anyone $82 for what is claimed to be the most authentic Involtini di Pesce Spada on earth? No. So what's the problem?

If you want to dine like a king, eat in a castle. If you want REAL Italian food eat in Italy.

If you want OK Italian style food at an OK price, eat at Aunt Suzie's. There's nothing wrong with the place.

veets

Garfunky wrote: [quote=veets]Garfunky.. I don't think you were joking, but perhaps you were.
Bagiltique was open very late, had a sort of cafe atomosphere and sold what looked like carefully prepared salad stuff to go with bagels.

I remember it fondly.

the key was that they were open 24 hours. so at a time when 5th avenue was only starting to make headway, all of a sudden there was a POLICE presence constantly in the area of pres 5th and very noticeably at say 3 4 5 am when i got home from gigs. Not because they were on patrol, but because they were HUNGRY or needed coffee...loads of emt and fire as well..
in a few short months,
the drug dealing gang that used to hang out on the corner suddenly disappeared. so did alot of the other riff raff. Cucina/Presto fencing off that vacant lot (thats now a bank) was actually quite a big help as well , for the same reasons.

Some of the places that first opened up were simply ahead of their time.
It didnt matter how good the food was, i tend to think alot of their potential clientele just wouldnt GO to fifth ave back then

You said that so much better than I could have. I so caught the significance of when Bageltique opened but you perfectly expressed the significance of what a leap of faith that was.

zebra

Garfunky wrote:
it is interesting all those other "great places" are gone
while suzies seems to be doing just fine.

Well, Al di la is still around, over ten years later. And Cucina was in business for 14 years, and what they did involved a much greater degree of difficulty than what Suzie's does. If we don't make that kind of distinction we may as well talk about places like Aniello's Pizza, which lasted 40 years, or that yellow-fronted donut joint near Union, so old that nobody could remember it not existing.

zebra

veets wrote:
Bagiltique was open very late, had a sort of cafe atomosphere and sold what looked like carefully prepared salad stuff to go with bagels.

I remember it fondly.

Then you might be pleased to know that it's still open.

veets

Geez.. I guess I haven't gone in there in so long I assumed it had closed.

garfunky

lol Bageltique is still there. i spoke in the past tense because they are no longer 24 hours. sorry if that confused you. i think ownership changed somewhere along the way.
regardless i miss hanging out with danny at 4 am and having
alexis from next door try to grab my butt.

i also kinda miss Frankie Quarters,
despite the fact that the old coot rarely did anything but curse at me.

garfunky

raw wrote: Is Aunt Suzie's charging anyone $82 for what is claimed to be the most authentic Involtini di Pesce Spada on earth? No. So what's the problem?

If you want to dine like a king, eat in a castle. If you want REAL Italian food eat in Italy.

If you want OK Italian style food at an OK price, eat at Aunt Suzie's. There's nothing wrong with the place.

+1

veets

Garfunky.. Those are sweet memories.
The staff there years ago were so sweet. Sometimes we would get a craving for these ruglach that they had or these cranbery muffins and we would take a walk in the middle of the night.

carnivore

raw wrote: Is Aunt Suzie's charging anyone $82 for what is claimed to be the most authentic Involtini di Pesce Spada on earth? No. So what's the problem?

If you want to dine like a king, eat in a castle. If you want REAL Italian food eat in Italy.

If you want OK Italian style food at an OK price, eat at Aunt Suzie's. There's nothing wrong with the place.

This is another straw man argument. No one is expecting great Italian food from the place. I think it probably mostly comes down to how good a cook you are yourself. Personally, I can make better Italian food at home with little effort and for lower cost. Maybe that's not true for everyone.

The characterization of everyone who doesn't like the place as a snob is no more accurate than the characterization of everyone who does like it as a philistine.

garfunky

Carnivore wrote: [quote=raw]Is Aunt Suzie's charging anyone $82 for what is claimed to be the most authentic Involtini di Pesce Spada on earth? No. So what's the problem?

If you want to dine like a king, eat in a castle. If you want REAL Italian food eat in Italy.

If you want OK Italian style food at an OK price, eat at Aunt Suzie's. There's nothing wrong with the place.

This is another straw man argument. No one is expecting great Italian food from the place. I think it probably mostly comes down to how good a cook you are yourself. Personally, I can make better Italian food at home with little effort and for lower cost. Maybe that's not true for everyone.

The characterization of everyone who doesn't like the place as a snob is no more accurate than the characterization of everyone who does like it as a philistine.


No one attacked you or referred to you or anyone else as a snob in that post.