These are a Few of My FavoriteThings...

I read an article in the New York Times today about lunching at Bergdorf's.  This set off a whole chain of memories and recollections about two of my favorite things...eating and shopping (not neccesarily in that order!)

There was a time when women were stay-at-home housewives and mothers and shopping was an acceptable "activity".  All the major stores like Saks Fifth Avenue, Bonwit Teller, B. Altman, Bergdorf Goodman and later on, Bloomingdale's strived to attract these customers in various ways...and one such attraction was a reataurant on premises to keep the shopper in the store, uninterrupted! The department stores got the message and began to open restaurants where shoppers could grab a bite to eat and continue shopping.  Over the years these venues have become more up-scale and inclined to pander to the tastes of those who shop in their particular store.

As a little girl I often accompanied my Aunties to B. Altman's where we went for lunch at The Charleston Garden restaurant.                                                          

   Altman's was across the street from my Aunt Anna's office in the Empire State Building and a frequent lunch stop for her...thus, she knew the waitresses and hostesses and they always made a special effort to dote on us when we came in for lunch.  Set up like a Southern garden, this restaurant served dainty sandwiches, salads and lovely desserts. You could order from a menu or choose from the assortments on little carts wheeled around by the wait staff. On my 10th birthday my mother took 10 of my friends to The Charleston Garden for lunch and then to Radio City Music Hall to see a movie.  Aunt Anna's waitress friends bent over backwards to make the day special for me and I remember it fondly to this day.  Sadly, Altman's closed many years ago but there are still many stores that serve food, (with varying degrees of success!)

   For almost forty years my dad was associated with Saks Fifth Avenue.  As a child I remember going up to his office and then, proudly marching across the busy selling floor with my hand in his as we made our way to the elevators and out of the building to go across the street to Patricia Murphy's or Hamburger Heaven.  Only the employee lunch room occupied the prime space now housing the upscale restaurant on the 9th floor of Saks.  How surprised my dad would be to see the huge, pretty restaurant with the spectacular views of Rockefeller Center and St. Patrick's Cathedral where once tables and chairs were lined up for employees eating their brown-bag lunches.  Long lines of shoppers and tourists queue up early for the window seats and while the food is pretty good, I think that perhaps it is the view that brings me here time and again to order the Asian chicken salad and look out of the window at the city I love.

Perhaps the very best "shopping food" is at Barney's.  Years ago Barney's was where little boys and hard to fit men went for suits.  Today it has morphed into the uppest upscale shopping.  Movie stars shop along side of society matrons in this Madison Avenue store as they plow through thousand dollar cashmeres and designer dresses.  Exhausted after trying on Laboutin's and Jimmy Choo's, they make their way up to the 9th floor for lunch at Fred's.

The atmosphere is serene and elegant and the food is just delicious.  You can look around and sometimes catch a glimpse of someone you saw in a movie last night eating lunch a table away from you!  I have always found the service excellent and the food  and presentation outstanding at Fred's.

                                                             

Bloomingdales in New York City is a good place to stop for some yogurt at their 40 Carats
cafe, and then there is the David Burke restaurant...just o.k. with the noise factor sort of off-putting.  Their presentation is interesting and as far as convenience for me (across the street from the D & D building and around the corner from my hair salon) it cannot be beat.  Prices are high for "okay" food...but a great place to bump into friends who are shopping at Bloomies!

...and speaking of Bloomies...there is Le Train Bleu...a restaurant built on the roof and designed  to emulate the dining car on an exclusive French passenger train.  Authentic even to the baggage racks, it is a quiet, secretive sort of place.  My husband and I ate there once and found it outrageously expensive for "just okay" food"  but that being said...I cannot wait to take my grandchildren there because it is so unique, and unique is hard to find, even here in "Big Town"!                                                              

Entrance to Le Train Bleu

Le Train Bleu "Dining Car" restaurant atop Bloomingdales, NYC

                                                         

But my favorite shopping lunch spot of all has got to be Bergdorf's.  Maybe because I love their Gotham Salad and ice tea with orange juice, or maybe it is the whimsical decor, or observing the outfits on the fashionable women lunching there...or maybe it is because I always meet someone I know!  The food is good, service usually fast and gracious... although sometimes, at the height of the lunch rush, not so much.  Their little basket of different breads usually takes the edge off while waiting.  

                                                                 

I just love their Gotham Salad and try to copy it at home.  It is filling, delicious and chock full of different flavors.  It is a chopped salad that is light but totally satisfying!

                                                                 

 Shopping...Eating...what could be better?  Right?

                                                             

                                       Bergdorf's BG Restaurant Gotham Salad
(Recipe serves 4)            (from Town and Country magazine)

Salad
1 cup diced Gruyere cheese
1 cup    "    poached, skinless chicken breast
1 cup    "    cooked beets
1 cup    "    tomato
1 cup    "    hard boiled egg
1 cup    "    ham
1 cup chopped crisp bacon
8 cups shredded iceberg lettuce

Dressing
1 tsp. diced red onion
2 tsp. diced green bell pepper
about 3 cups grated Emmenthaler and Gruyere cheese
1/4 c. chilli sauce
2 tbsp. sweet pickle relish
1 tsp. tarragon vinegar
1/2 tsp. grated ginger
1/4 cup mayo
1/2 tsp chopped garlic
salt and pepper to taste

Puree dressing ingredients in a blender

Combine salad ingredients and toss with dressing

*(You can use store bought thousand island dressing if you dont want the fuss!!)

This is a lovely salad to serve for a luncheon...with rosemary rolls...a lovely Rose` wine or sangria...the ladies will love it...and guess what...so will the men!