By Mark Wiener and Linda Di Gusta

Starving artists? Well, hungry and thirsty on a Saturday afternoon downtown in any case, and seriously tempted by the sights and smells of the cafes of Little Italy. Just a block north on Mulberry, we know a place…

Only the Room is Small

Ruby’s may be housed in a classic NYC “hole-in-the-wall" at 219 Mulberry Street, but it’s hard to miss. Numerous aficionados spread to the sidewalk benches and, on our last visit, a passerby stopped to explain to her friend, “THAT is Ruby’s. It’s fantastic!” But it wasn’t the substantial and savory salads and sandwiches that first lured us inside, nor the coffees and blended drinks more compelling than anything served up by the $tar-crowned siren. Ruby’s may be tiny, but the taste in art is not, and currently the most visible wall is hung with an impressive large-scale triptych of canvases depicting a bovine figure, which the proprietor informed us is shaped “like Australia,” where Ruby’s founders have their roots.



‘Oh there's none so rare as can compare…”

…with the inimitable Maxfield Parrish, and on East 55th Street there resides, in the eponymous room at the St. Regis Hotel, his mural rendering “Old King Cole.” It was in the King Cole room that the Bloody Mary, here dubbed a “Red Snapper,” made it’s American debut. Perfect place to treat your eyes with a truly wonderful and subtly humorous painting, your taste buds with a cocktail and some exceptional bar munchies, and your psyche with the feeling that your are touching a bit of NYC history.

If you have worked up your appetite cruising the nearby MoMA, you may want to cross the street to Murals on 54. The historical Dean Cornwell works for which the restaurant is named were commissioned in the 1930’s by William Randolph Hearst for the Raleigh Room of his Warwick Hotel. At completion a dispute over compensation resulted in Cornwell adding images to the work that were at the time considered obscene. Even when a settlement was reached, only some were painted out. Searching for the rest may be the perfect diversion while enjoying the versatile and moderately-priced Continental menu and enticing selection of wines by the glass, in the fresh, modern setting.



Mata Hari Was Here

In keeping with a speakeasy theme, visitors to Employees Only on 510 Hudson Street enter the tiny parlor of a storefront psychic. Passing through the curtain, one finds the metaphor accentuated by the Jazz-Age and Art-Deco genres of the many framed pieces on view. This noir twist adds even more fun to the already adventuresome array of delectable dishes and mixological marvels on the menu, including enticingly shareable platters and cocktails romantically named Ruby Tuesday, Fraise Sauvage and yes, Mata Hari.

Uptown at the Carlyle Hotel, another bar features the work of Ludwig Bemelmans, impressionist painter and illustrator best know for his work in the series of “Madeline” books for children. In the aptly named Bemelmans’ Bar, that whimsical style is visible at eye level literally anywhere in the room, the murals on all the walls, panels on the columns, decorating the tiny lampshades at each table, even reflected in the mirror behind the bar. A gracious, hospitable and elegant place to end an evening, with fine live music. In addition to his art, Mr. Bemelmans had a noteworthy career in the restaurant business - which reminds us, we are getting hungry…

links
Employees Only
Rubys Cafe
Murals54
St. Regis
The Carlyle

 

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