We may be at the point in the unraveling of America when our favorite diners shut down. For me it was the Odessa on Avenue A, across from Tompkins Square Park, in the East Village. I used to meet my mother and grandfather there in the 80s. My uncle lived nearby in the hippie days, the late 60s and 70s. When I lived in NYC in the last decade, the teens, I'd take an out-of-town visiting friend maybe once a year. It wasn't the best of the Old World diners, but it was the last original one. Veselka now is the goto place for that kind of food. The links to the old generation are disappearing, no surprise because the generation itself is gone. Not surprising that a place like Odessa can't survive just on takeout, when there are so many other great choices in the Village. #This is why you take pictures of your food. A picture of a dinner at Odessa. I don't know what all of it is. The sausage is probably a kielbasa. And the dumplings are called pierogi, and come with fillings like sauerkraut, mushrooms, potatos and various meats. The pancake on top doesn't look familiar. I think that might be stuffed cabbage on the right at 2 o'clock. There's some kind of soup at the upper right. #
What made me think of disappearing diners is this post about The Blue Benn diner in Bennington, VT that's for sale for $595K. #