Girls, Remember When It Was Possible To Dine Elegantly, But Inexpensively, In NYC????????????????????

 

                                                                                 

                                                                               

Oh, girls, for the elegance of bygone days!  Remember The Bird Cage at Lord And Taylor?  I almost got to dine there once, but unfortunately there was not a seat available.  It was a low-cost way for patrons to feel more sophisticated than they might actually be.

The same could be said of Schrafftt's.  Now, I am talking about the one in Manhattan.  Legend still maintains that the branch on the West Coast is where Lana Turner was discovered.  I never got to visit either Schrafftts, so I could not get discovered.  Besides, I did not have the chest to fill out the sweaters Lana wore.  Oh, well.

But Rumplemayeer's--oh, how I loved that place.  Each Easter, in those pre-DVD days, before I started annually watching "The Song Of Bernadette," I would go here, sometimes accompanied by a now deceased friend of mine.  Just look at that pink!  Is it any wonder I could not resist this place?  The decor was simply fabulous, darlings; I wanted to design my apartment like the interior of Rumplemayer's, and I still would.  How I miss visiting the place; just the sight of it was elegant.  And the ice cream desserts were scrumptious.  My favorite was the Peach Melba Sundae.  Going here, I felt as though I was Sally Ann Howes as Truly Scrumptious!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Alas, these days and modes of elegance are gone!  And it looks like forever, or at least the rest of our lifetimes--which might be the same thing.  Crassness has replaced classiness, and it is a shame.

Remember the ending of 1968's "Planet Of The Apes," when it was discovered the apes were earthlings who had mutated into apes????????????????

I fear this is how it actually started.

Don't let this happen.  Get a mink stole, your best hat, even with a veil, and walk into your diner dressed in 40's or 50's glamour.

Show them you will not stand for anything less!!!!!!!!!!!!!