Serious Eats: New York
Barney Greengrass 100th Anniversary Prices: I Couldn't Help Myself
The short line outside Barney Greengrass this morning.
I wasn't going to eat anything. I swear. This morning I decided to check out the scene at Barney Greengrass, which is celebrating its 100th birthday today by rolling back its prices to 1908 levels. I went up there at 9:30 expecting a mob scene. Surprisingly there was just a very short line.
A bagel sandwich with sturgeon, Nova Scotia salmon, cream cheese, onion, and tomato; and pastrami on rye.
I looked at the day's menu. I saw my favorite Barney Greengrass sandwich, sturgeon, Nova Scotia salmon, cream cheese, a slice of onion, and with any luck a slice of non-salmonella-inducing tomato. For freaking $1.90. Normally, as in tomorrow, it would be $18.75. My plate of breakfast heaven, the sturgeon scrambled with eggs and onions, was just $1.75 instead of $17.00. A pastrami on rye, which is not something I usually order at Barney Greengrass, but was recently touted by a serious eater, was $0.75 (usually $9.50).
I couldn't resist. I ordered all three from my typically wisecracking waiter, along with a medium fresh orange juice (only $0.40 instead of $3.75). "Talk to me, babe," he said to me with a shrug. "And make it fast."
When said waiter delivered all three dishes, he plunked them down on the table and said, "Surf and turf, babe. Can't beat it at ten in the morning."
The sturgeon and eggs.
The sturgeon and eggs would have been worth waiting on line for, as would the two sandwiches. The fresh orange juice was the perfect chaser.
Gary Greengrass and the check.
I went up to the counter to pay my check, an otherworldly $5.90 with the tax. Gary Greengrass was stationed at his usual spot, at the register. He was talking to a couple of regulars. One said, "Congratulations, Gary. Here's to the next hundred years." Gary laughed and said softly, "This is the first time ever that I cringe when I see a really big check. But you know what, it's worth every penny to see the smile on everyone's face, whether they're a regular or a first-time customer."
Hurry up—you have until 5 p.m. today to get your Barney Greengrass smile.
Barney Greengrass
541 Amsterdam Avenue, New York NY 10024 (at 86th Street; map)
212-724-4707
barneygreengrass.com