Wednesday 15 August 2007

A taste of the past

My favourite NYC museum, The Lower East Side Tenement Museum, is expanding. Well, that's not really it, because the space already exists. Renovating? No. Degrading? Sort of.

According to this Grub Street post, the museum plans to expand to show more of the experience of tenement dwellers between 1863 and 1935. They will recreate a privy behind the building and restore (that's the word) the Bavarian saloon that was in the basement of 97 Orchard Street, in addition to the five apartments that are already open to the public. Apparently the Bavarian saloon of the 19th Century LES was a family affair, with wives and kids welcome. Food and drink will be in keeping with the time, as is the rest of the building. I wonder what will be on offer?

After sampling the saloon offerings it might be worth heading to Lorely, the German biergarten-style bar on Rivington near Bowery, to sample traditional German beer and food in a more contemporary setting. It serves the same purpose the saloon did in its time for current German ex-pats in NYC; it offers a taste of home. Kartoffelsuppe, Spaetzle and Weissbier abound. But it's not really a place for kids.

Kaesespaetzle mit Speck

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Ahh, I had that delicious dish once (pictured), but then seriously offended my German hostess by asking where she bought the pasta. Yikes - instead I got a description of the back-breaking hours she had spent hand-modelling each little doughy bit.