1 00:00:01,480 --> 00:00:10,360 Speaker 1: Welcome to Stuff You Should Know, a production of iHeartRadio. 2 00:00:11,160 --> 00:00:13,560 Speaker 2: Hey, and welcome to the podcast. I'm Josh, and there's 3 00:00:13,680 --> 00:00:16,080 Speaker 2: Chuck and Jerry's even here too, So this is a 4 00:00:16,120 --> 00:00:19,880 Speaker 2: real deal episode of Stuff you Should Know. Let's go. 5 00:00:20,360 --> 00:00:25,240 Speaker 1: That's right, another New York a dish. 6 00:00:25,440 --> 00:00:28,600 Speaker 2: Yeah, we're putting them out every week now, it's been 7 00:00:28,640 --> 00:00:31,640 Speaker 2: a while, No it hasn't. We just did Studio fifty 8 00:00:31,640 --> 00:00:35,520 Speaker 2: four a few weeks back. Oh yeah, that's pretty New York. 9 00:00:35,960 --> 00:00:37,880 Speaker 1: No, I mean it's super New York, by the way, 10 00:00:38,479 --> 00:00:40,800 Speaker 1: but I sent you pictures. But I went by Studio 11 00:00:40,840 --> 00:00:42,440 Speaker 1: fifty four, I know. 12 00:00:42,960 --> 00:00:43,519 Speaker 2: I saw that. 13 00:00:44,080 --> 00:00:47,360 Speaker 1: It was kind of cool. They still have the doors 14 00:00:47,840 --> 00:00:50,760 Speaker 1: that say Studio fifty four. They left a few iconic bits. 15 00:00:51,479 --> 00:00:53,600 Speaker 1: I was on that sidewalk in front of it, trying 16 00:00:53,640 --> 00:00:57,520 Speaker 1: to imagine people having sex on the sidewalk, and I 17 00:00:57,560 --> 00:00:58,560 Speaker 1: got really grossed out. 18 00:00:59,600 --> 00:01:00,760 Speaker 2: You could envision it. 19 00:01:00,880 --> 00:01:03,240 Speaker 1: Oh yeah, god, you should. I should have picked out 20 00:01:03,240 --> 00:01:07,600 Speaker 1: a hotter couple maybe in my mind, but didn't do it. 21 00:01:08,080 --> 00:01:11,040 Speaker 2: No, you got dan akright as a wild and crazy guy. 22 00:01:11,640 --> 00:01:13,360 Speaker 1: I saw that movie too when I was there, By 23 00:01:13,360 --> 00:01:18,600 Speaker 1: the way, what movie The Saturday Night Live movie about 24 00:01:18,640 --> 00:01:21,679 Speaker 1: the first episode of Saturday Night Live. 25 00:01:22,800 --> 00:01:26,119 Speaker 2: So you saw you're in your most recent New York trip. 26 00:01:26,200 --> 00:01:28,080 Speaker 2: You saw there's a movie out, is what you're saying 27 00:01:28,120 --> 00:01:29,000 Speaker 2: about Saturday Night Live. 28 00:01:29,280 --> 00:01:33,320 Speaker 1: Yeah, it's Jason Rightman's new movie. It's called Saturday Night Oh. 29 00:01:33,400 --> 00:01:35,800 Speaker 2: Well, good for him. I like most of his stuff. 30 00:01:35,959 --> 00:01:38,840 Speaker 1: Yeah, if you're a fan of SNL, the movie is 31 00:01:39,000 --> 00:01:39,559 Speaker 1: good enough. 32 00:01:39,640 --> 00:01:43,000 Speaker 2: I think did they portray chevy Chase like my dad 33 00:01:43,040 --> 00:01:44,200 Speaker 2: taught me to think of him? 34 00:01:45,319 --> 00:01:47,520 Speaker 1: The guy who played chevy Chase was great? 35 00:01:47,800 --> 00:01:48,160 Speaker 2: Okay? 36 00:01:48,240 --> 00:01:48,440 Speaker 1: Yeah? 37 00:01:48,600 --> 00:01:49,440 Speaker 2: Was it chevy Chase? 38 00:01:50,240 --> 00:01:51,160 Speaker 1: Chevy Chase Junior? 39 00:01:53,280 --> 00:01:53,720 Speaker 2: Junior. 40 00:01:54,080 --> 00:01:57,280 Speaker 1: It's like when Ice Cube got his son to play him, 41 00:01:57,600 --> 00:01:59,480 Speaker 1: because he looks just like him. It was pretty perfect. 42 00:01:59,760 --> 00:02:03,440 Speaker 2: The kid did really well until the hospital scene where 43 00:02:03,520 --> 00:02:07,120 Speaker 2: Easy's dying. Up until that moment, I was like, this 44 00:02:07,200 --> 00:02:11,160 Speaker 2: kid's pretty good for an amateur. Yeah, and even after 45 00:02:11,200 --> 00:02:14,120 Speaker 2: that too. It's just like one brief moment and it 46 00:02:14,120 --> 00:02:14,959 Speaker 2: can be forgiven. 47 00:02:15,520 --> 00:02:16,960 Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean, how do you think you would do 48 00:02:17,000 --> 00:02:19,560 Speaker 1: in an Easy death scene? Huh, mister big shot? 49 00:02:20,600 --> 00:02:25,480 Speaker 2: I would I'd be pretty over the top, I think easy, Yeah, 50 00:02:25,680 --> 00:02:31,120 Speaker 2: pounding on the walls and sobbing. Yeah, we're both just 51 00:02:31,240 --> 00:02:33,120 Speaker 2: decided at the same time. It's time to get on 52 00:02:33,160 --> 00:02:33,840 Speaker 2: with the episode. 53 00:02:33,919 --> 00:02:36,680 Speaker 1: Huh yeah, enough of that, So, Chuck, we're talking. 54 00:02:36,480 --> 00:02:39,200 Speaker 2: About Tavern on the Green. And I know for a 55 00:02:39,280 --> 00:02:41,959 Speaker 2: fact that we're talking about Tavern on the Green because 56 00:02:41,960 --> 00:02:44,800 Speaker 2: you recently dined at Tavern on the Green and after 57 00:02:44,880 --> 00:02:48,760 Speaker 2: reading all of this stuff, I actually am I'm curious 58 00:02:48,800 --> 00:02:52,160 Speaker 2: to know what you thought of it, because I'm curious. 59 00:02:52,480 --> 00:02:53,880 Speaker 2: That's why let's just leave it at that. 60 00:02:54,280 --> 00:02:57,480 Speaker 1: Well, have you been did I ask you that you didn't? 61 00:02:57,560 --> 00:02:59,200 Speaker 2: And no, so no to both of those. 62 00:02:59,360 --> 00:03:03,880 Speaker 1: Okay, how about this, I'll save my review of the 63 00:03:03,960 --> 00:03:06,560 Speaker 1: experience till the end. I think that's a great plan 64 00:03:07,120 --> 00:03:08,639 Speaker 1: just to tantalize listeners. 65 00:03:09,080 --> 00:03:11,760 Speaker 2: So let's go. We'll tell everybody if you're not familiar 66 00:03:11,760 --> 00:03:15,480 Speaker 2: with Tavern on the Green, it's a legendary restaurant in 67 00:03:15,639 --> 00:03:18,200 Speaker 2: part because of its location. It's in one of the 68 00:03:18,200 --> 00:03:22,240 Speaker 2: better restaurant locations in the United States. It's on Central Park. 69 00:03:22,280 --> 00:03:24,960 Speaker 2: It's actually a part of Central Park, so much so 70 00:03:25,480 --> 00:03:29,359 Speaker 2: that the city's parks department actually owns the restaurant. They 71 00:03:29,440 --> 00:03:31,639 Speaker 2: just lease it out to different operators who want to 72 00:03:31,680 --> 00:03:34,120 Speaker 2: try their hand at making it like the premier dining 73 00:03:34,240 --> 00:03:38,240 Speaker 2: establishment in Manhattan, and at multiple times it has been 74 00:03:38,360 --> 00:03:41,240 Speaker 2: exactly that. But what a lot of people don't know, 75 00:03:41,440 --> 00:03:44,000 Speaker 2: especially if you're not familiar with the restaurant, is that 76 00:03:44,080 --> 00:03:48,400 Speaker 2: it actually started out as a sheep enclosure. Sheep used 77 00:03:48,440 --> 00:03:50,080 Speaker 2: to sleep in tavern on the Green. 78 00:03:51,080 --> 00:03:53,200 Speaker 1: Yeah, you know, I think the fact that it's owned 79 00:03:53,200 --> 00:03:55,600 Speaker 1: by the Parks Department is the fact of the episode. 80 00:03:55,680 --> 00:03:58,119 Speaker 1: I had no idea until yesterday. 81 00:03:59,680 --> 00:04:03,480 Speaker 2: Okay, Yeah, it's definitely up there for sure in this one. 82 00:04:03,760 --> 00:04:08,760 Speaker 1: Yeah, but sheep Fold is a sheep enclosure, and for 83 00:04:08,800 --> 00:04:12,240 Speaker 1: the first sixty years or so, that's what Taverner on 84 00:04:12,280 --> 00:04:14,960 Speaker 1: the Green was, Like you said, just as a sort 85 00:04:15,000 --> 00:04:16,479 Speaker 1: of a quick recap. If you want to listen to 86 00:04:16,480 --> 00:04:19,440 Speaker 1: our Central Park episode about the history of Central Park, 87 00:04:19,440 --> 00:04:23,920 Speaker 1: it's well worth a listen. But when Frederick law Olmsted 88 00:04:24,080 --> 00:04:28,240 Speaker 1: and Calvert Vaux designed Central Park, they want a contest 89 00:04:28,279 --> 00:04:32,600 Speaker 1: in eighteen fifty eight design contests for their Greensword plan. 90 00:04:33,160 --> 00:04:36,680 Speaker 1: Part of the plan called for a parade ground and 91 00:04:37,040 --> 00:04:40,880 Speaker 1: a very big playground right at sixty sixth Street on 92 00:04:41,040 --> 00:04:42,479 Speaker 1: the west side of the park. 93 00:04:43,400 --> 00:04:47,800 Speaker 2: Yeah, and the thing took so long to build. I 94 00:04:47,839 --> 00:04:51,919 Speaker 2: think they were awarded the contract for their plan in 95 00:04:52,000 --> 00:04:56,960 Speaker 2: eighteen fifty eight, and by eighteen seventy they were still 96 00:04:57,000 --> 00:04:59,720 Speaker 2: building this and they were like, parade grounds are so 97 00:04:59,839 --> 00:05:03,040 Speaker 2: a eighteen fifties. We don't want one of those anymore. Yeah, 98 00:05:03,480 --> 00:05:05,080 Speaker 2: we're gonna go We're going to turn it into a 99 00:05:05,080 --> 00:05:07,839 Speaker 2: sheep meadow instead, because apparently sheep were all the rage 100 00:05:07,880 --> 00:05:11,039 Speaker 2: at the time. And I think that actually goes to 101 00:05:11,200 --> 00:05:14,880 Speaker 2: show even by the eighteen seventies, New York was so 102 00:05:15,040 --> 00:05:20,200 Speaker 2: urbanized that people yearned for kind of a pastoral setting, 103 00:05:20,480 --> 00:05:23,080 Speaker 2: so much so that they made a sheep meadow with 104 00:05:23,279 --> 00:05:26,159 Speaker 2: sheep in the middle of Manhattan in Central Park so 105 00:05:26,200 --> 00:05:29,360 Speaker 2: that people could come, you know, take in the sheep. 106 00:05:29,760 --> 00:05:35,720 Speaker 1: Yeah, well, not take them into visually. Yeah. We talked 107 00:05:35,720 --> 00:05:38,080 Speaker 1: a lot about Boss Tweed obviously, anytime we're talking about 108 00:05:38,120 --> 00:05:41,800 Speaker 1: this period, this era of New York. Boss Freed Tweed 109 00:05:41,880 --> 00:05:47,760 Speaker 1: ran the city and his cronies got involved with the 110 00:05:47,800 --> 00:05:50,160 Speaker 1: Central Park Planning Board and said, all right, we're going 111 00:05:50,200 --> 00:05:52,760 Speaker 1: to do some upgrades six million dollars worth in fact, 112 00:05:52,800 --> 00:05:56,120 Speaker 1: which is a ton of money back then and today. 113 00:05:57,480 --> 00:06:01,039 Speaker 1: But one of the new additions was a really fancy 114 00:06:01,200 --> 00:06:04,919 Speaker 1: sheep fold at sixty seventh in Central Park West that 115 00:06:05,160 --> 00:06:08,039 Speaker 1: was really beautiful. It was designed by Jacob Ray Mold, 116 00:06:08,080 --> 00:06:10,520 Speaker 1: one of the guys who designed a lot of the 117 00:06:11,240 --> 00:06:14,360 Speaker 1: actual buildings there in Central Park, of which there are 118 00:06:14,600 --> 00:06:17,160 Speaker 1: not a ton of, but they all have a distinct 119 00:06:17,600 --> 00:06:21,600 Speaker 1: sort of They're all sort of like made of stone, 120 00:06:21,760 --> 00:06:23,920 Speaker 1: and they all are really kind of classy and old 121 00:06:24,040 --> 00:06:27,680 Speaker 1: school looking. Neo Gothic, Yeah, neo Gothic. He was really 122 00:06:27,760 --> 00:06:32,360 Speaker 1: into that Gothic revival stuff. So Mold designed this beautiful 123 00:06:32,560 --> 00:06:37,120 Speaker 1: sheep fold and people would, like you said, they would come. 124 00:06:37,200 --> 00:06:40,800 Speaker 1: It was almost like an interactive little museum. They could 125 00:06:40,800 --> 00:06:44,400 Speaker 1: come and look at the sheep. They could come and 126 00:06:44,600 --> 00:06:50,040 Speaker 1: touch different varieties of wool. They would shear those sheep 127 00:06:50,160 --> 00:06:52,320 Speaker 1: and sell that wool in a big event every year. 128 00:06:52,720 --> 00:06:54,760 Speaker 1: And it was like, like you said, it was like, Hey, 129 00:06:54,839 --> 00:06:56,839 Speaker 1: you're tired of the city, you can go watch those 130 00:06:56,839 --> 00:07:00,840 Speaker 1: beautiful Dorset sheep and touch they're almost at first their will. 131 00:07:01,320 --> 00:07:06,600 Speaker 2: Right, good catch. Yeah. New York loves its unofficial mascots. 132 00:07:06,640 --> 00:07:09,160 Speaker 2: It loves adopting mascots. And I get the impression that 133 00:07:09,160 --> 00:07:11,640 Speaker 2: that flock of sheep was worn of them at the time. 134 00:07:12,400 --> 00:07:16,160 Speaker 2: So they lived there from the eighteen seventies up until 135 00:07:16,240 --> 00:07:21,400 Speaker 2: nineteen thirty four and they were moved to the Prospect 136 00:07:21,440 --> 00:07:26,640 Speaker 2: Park in Brooklyn. I read somewhere that one of the 137 00:07:26,720 --> 00:07:32,440 Speaker 2: rumors about that move was that Hooverville basically a tenement 138 00:07:32,560 --> 00:07:35,520 Speaker 2: camp that was set up by people during the depression 139 00:07:35,720 --> 00:07:38,000 Speaker 2: to survive in They were worried that they were going 140 00:07:38,080 --> 00:07:41,000 Speaker 2: to start poaching sheep, so they moved them from Central 141 00:07:41,000 --> 00:07:43,239 Speaker 2: Park to Prospect Park to protect the sheep. 142 00:07:43,400 --> 00:07:44,040 Speaker 1: I believe that. 143 00:07:44,960 --> 00:07:47,960 Speaker 2: But there was a couple of things about that sheep 144 00:07:48,040 --> 00:07:51,840 Speaker 2: enclosure that became Tavern on the Green. One of the 145 00:07:51,880 --> 00:07:54,200 Speaker 2: things was that the Central Park zoos sometimes they would 146 00:07:54,240 --> 00:07:58,000 Speaker 2: have extra animals I guess, more than they could care for, 147 00:07:58,440 --> 00:08:01,160 Speaker 2: so they would put them in the sheep closure temporarily 148 00:08:01,240 --> 00:08:04,320 Speaker 2: until they could find someone to sell it to. And 149 00:08:04,400 --> 00:08:06,280 Speaker 2: at one point there was a puma in there with 150 00:08:06,320 --> 00:08:08,120 Speaker 2: the sheep, and I'm quite sure the sheep did not 151 00:08:08,280 --> 00:08:09,080 Speaker 2: like that at all. 152 00:08:09,520 --> 00:08:12,440 Speaker 1: Yeah, that probably wasn't a good move. They did enjoy 153 00:08:12,480 --> 00:08:14,840 Speaker 1: their home, because this thing in eighteen seventy one cost 154 00:08:14,880 --> 00:08:18,160 Speaker 1: seventy thousand dollars to build, and like I said, it 155 00:08:18,240 --> 00:08:20,920 Speaker 1: was a beautiful building. They had these pavilions built for 156 00:08:21,040 --> 00:08:23,920 Speaker 1: people to sit in to watch and these pavilions had 157 00:08:24,000 --> 00:08:29,040 Speaker 1: these boucolic pastoral murals and it was just a lovely 158 00:08:29,080 --> 00:08:32,160 Speaker 1: little scene there. They even had, of course, a shepherd, 159 00:08:32,840 --> 00:08:35,120 Speaker 1: the last one to work there, worked there for the 160 00:08:35,600 --> 00:08:38,200 Speaker 1: final two decades until nineteen thirty four. His name was 161 00:08:38,400 --> 00:08:42,200 Speaker 1: Frank Hoey, and he watched over the herd and lived 162 00:08:42,200 --> 00:08:45,360 Speaker 1: there in nineteen thirty four. That's like you said when 163 00:08:45,400 --> 00:08:49,440 Speaker 1: everything changed, when Parks Commissioner Robert Moses, very famous New 164 00:08:49,520 --> 00:08:53,760 Speaker 1: York figure, said you know what, this sheep fold should 165 00:08:53,800 --> 00:08:55,480 Speaker 1: be a restaurant. 166 00:08:56,320 --> 00:08:59,680 Speaker 2: Yeah, and should be is a weird way to put it, 167 00:08:59,720 --> 00:09:02,640 Speaker 2: because when he announced it, they'd already started construction on 168 00:09:02,800 --> 00:09:06,960 Speaker 2: converting it, Yeah, to a restaurant. That was like a 169 00:09:07,080 --> 00:09:11,560 Speaker 2: tried and true Robert Moses trick where he's well known, 170 00:09:11,600 --> 00:09:16,160 Speaker 2: by the way as over developing and paving New York City, 171 00:09:16,200 --> 00:09:20,720 Speaker 2: often through vital neighborhoods. But that was just that was 172 00:09:20,760 --> 00:09:24,240 Speaker 2: standard Robert Moses stuff, like well, we've already started. If 173 00:09:24,240 --> 00:09:26,600 Speaker 2: you don't like the idea, sorry, we've already started and 174 00:09:26,640 --> 00:09:28,480 Speaker 2: spent money on it. What are we going to do now? 175 00:09:28,679 --> 00:09:31,400 Speaker 1: Yeah? I think his big slogan was, by the way, 176 00:09:32,840 --> 00:09:35,240 Speaker 1: exactly did I mention, Yeah, did I mention? 177 00:09:35,760 --> 00:09:38,760 Speaker 2: So this was I think In February nineteen thirty four, 178 00:09:39,320 --> 00:09:42,480 Speaker 2: the announcement came out The New York Times read sheep 179 00:09:42,520 --> 00:09:46,320 Speaker 2: fold In Park to become Tavern CWA workers converting old 180 00:09:46,320 --> 00:09:49,760 Speaker 2: building into a picturesque, popular restaurant. Prices to be moderate. 181 00:09:52,640 --> 00:09:55,679 Speaker 1: Yeah, and then they also said the remodel building will 182 00:09:55,720 --> 00:09:58,480 Speaker 1: be known in the future as Tavern on the Green 183 00:09:59,559 --> 00:10:04,560 Speaker 1: and and you know, within the average within reach of 184 00:10:04,559 --> 00:10:08,439 Speaker 1: the average purse was sort of the working not slogan, 185 00:10:08,559 --> 00:10:10,400 Speaker 1: but just you know, they wanted to make it affordable. 186 00:10:11,840 --> 00:10:14,120 Speaker 1: It wouldn't turn out, you know, it would end up being, 187 00:10:14,440 --> 00:10:17,640 Speaker 1: I guess for the time, a pretty expensive restaurant. I 188 00:10:17,720 --> 00:10:19,760 Speaker 1: think once it hit the sixties and seventies. But we'll 189 00:10:19,760 --> 00:10:24,120 Speaker 1: get there. Now. It's you know, it's a it's a 190 00:10:24,120 --> 00:10:26,040 Speaker 1: New York restaurant, so it's not cheap, but it's not 191 00:10:26,240 --> 00:10:28,439 Speaker 1: like some super super expensive place. 192 00:10:28,800 --> 00:10:31,600 Speaker 2: Yeah. I was surprised to see that. I read a 193 00:10:31,640 --> 00:10:34,960 Speaker 2: twenty fourteen restaurant review when it opened up again in 194 00:10:35,000 --> 00:10:38,160 Speaker 2: its current incarnation, and they were talking about like thirty 195 00:10:38,200 --> 00:10:41,800 Speaker 2: dollars main dishes. Yeah, that is not bad. No, I mean, 196 00:10:41,920 --> 00:10:43,000 Speaker 2: find a Barney City. 197 00:10:43,160 --> 00:10:43,920 Speaker 1: Yeah exactly. 198 00:10:44,320 --> 00:10:46,400 Speaker 2: I was, yeah, surprised to hear that, but I found 199 00:10:46,440 --> 00:10:51,320 Speaker 2: an old menu from maybe the fifties. They were selling 200 00:10:51,360 --> 00:10:54,560 Speaker 2: martinis for like eighty five cents, not on sale. This 201 00:10:54,720 --> 00:10:59,199 Speaker 2: was not a happy hour price, this was their regular menu. Yeah, yeah, 202 00:10:59,480 --> 00:11:02,640 Speaker 2: I know. You imagine how much trouble we would get into. 203 00:11:02,960 --> 00:11:05,480 Speaker 1: Yeah exactly. It's just get the change person out and 204 00:11:05,679 --> 00:11:11,240 Speaker 1: live your life. So one part of the announcement then 205 00:11:11,280 --> 00:11:14,360 Speaker 1: said this, the park Department will not undertake the management 206 00:11:14,360 --> 00:11:18,080 Speaker 1: of the restaurant, but will let it, as in, lease 207 00:11:18,120 --> 00:11:23,040 Speaker 1: it to an outside concessionaire by public bidding. And that 208 00:11:23,600 --> 00:11:27,199 Speaker 1: started sort of a very unusual arrangement where in New 209 00:11:27,240 --> 00:11:29,440 Speaker 1: York City we did the landlord of Tavern on the 210 00:11:29,480 --> 00:11:33,559 Speaker 1: Green and people would you know, bid for the contracts 211 00:11:33,880 --> 00:11:36,640 Speaker 1: and not only bid for the contracts, but pay a 212 00:11:36,760 --> 00:11:38,640 Speaker 1: pretty hefty licensing fee to do so. 213 00:11:39,040 --> 00:11:42,199 Speaker 2: Yeah, that's a big one too. They would pay an 214 00:11:42,240 --> 00:11:45,400 Speaker 2: incense like MRH and gold coin as tribute to the city. 215 00:11:48,120 --> 00:11:51,640 Speaker 2: Didn't believe that one good, so they seemed to the 216 00:11:51,679 --> 00:11:53,679 Speaker 2: City of New York also seems to have gotten some 217 00:11:53,720 --> 00:11:56,600 Speaker 2: free labor out of the deal from the federal government 218 00:11:56,640 --> 00:12:00,600 Speaker 2: because the civil Works Administration, which is a federal agency 219 00:12:00,679 --> 00:12:03,400 Speaker 2: during the depression that put out of work Americans to 220 00:12:03,559 --> 00:12:08,280 Speaker 2: work and like revamping infrastructure, you know, all the stuff 221 00:12:08,280 --> 00:12:14,160 Speaker 2: we do today. They actually converted the sheep Fold to 222 00:12:14,200 --> 00:12:17,000 Speaker 2: the Tavern on the Green. They paved the place where 223 00:12:17,000 --> 00:12:19,520 Speaker 2: the sheep used to eat with flagstones, so it was 224 00:12:19,559 --> 00:12:22,839 Speaker 2: converted to an outdoor dining area. You could also dance there. 225 00:12:22,880 --> 00:12:26,079 Speaker 2: People wouldn't look at you weird if you did. And 226 00:12:26,440 --> 00:12:30,600 Speaker 2: because it seems to have been an outdoor dining venue 227 00:12:30,679 --> 00:12:34,200 Speaker 2: only in its first incarnation in the thirties, it was 228 00:12:35,520 --> 00:12:37,320 Speaker 2: Dave helped us with this and he tried to do 229 00:12:37,360 --> 00:12:40,280 Speaker 2: some digging, and I think he's right that it was 230 00:12:41,000 --> 00:12:43,520 Speaker 2: open only during the summer because it was too cold 231 00:12:43,559 --> 00:12:46,000 Speaker 2: to eat outside in the winter in New York. 232 00:12:46,400 --> 00:12:48,800 Speaker 1: Yeah, And they called it Tavern on the Green because 233 00:12:48,960 --> 00:12:53,520 Speaker 1: New York had a rich tradition of taverns in their past. 234 00:12:53,559 --> 00:12:57,000 Speaker 1: In the seventeen hundreds, they had more taverns per capita 235 00:12:57,040 --> 00:12:59,959 Speaker 1: than any city in the world. And something else called 236 00:13:00,000 --> 00:13:03,880 Speaker 1: pleasure gardens were popular in the eighteenth century where you could, 237 00:13:04,000 --> 00:13:06,040 Speaker 1: you know, have a drink and do some dancing in 238 00:13:06,080 --> 00:13:10,040 Speaker 1: a very pastoral park like setting. And so tavern on 239 00:13:10,080 --> 00:13:11,880 Speaker 1: the Green was kind of a throwback to like, hey, 240 00:13:12,080 --> 00:13:14,120 Speaker 1: you know, throwback to the to the days of the 241 00:13:14,160 --> 00:13:15,000 Speaker 1: eighteenth century. 242 00:13:15,600 --> 00:13:17,720 Speaker 2: Yeah, and I read a little more on it, I 243 00:13:17,720 --> 00:13:21,880 Speaker 2: think on Curved or I think it was Curved where 244 00:13:21,880 --> 00:13:25,960 Speaker 2: they were talking about how those taverns were those pleasure 245 00:13:26,000 --> 00:13:29,240 Speaker 2: gardens often sprouted from tavern So taverns played a really 246 00:13:29,280 --> 00:13:33,040 Speaker 2: big role on creating green space even as far back 247 00:13:33,080 --> 00:13:35,680 Speaker 2: as the eighteenth century. Like, that's how much New York 248 00:13:35,800 --> 00:13:38,800 Speaker 2: was starving for green space that you would have to 249 00:13:38,840 --> 00:13:40,560 Speaker 2: like hang out at a tavern to do it. So 250 00:13:40,760 --> 00:13:43,000 Speaker 2: I thought that was pretty cool as a nod to 251 00:13:43,080 --> 00:13:43,720 Speaker 2: that tradition. 252 00:13:44,200 --> 00:13:48,880 Speaker 1: Well, their paved space was covered in horse crab, so 253 00:13:49,000 --> 00:13:52,320 Speaker 1: I mentioned green space was a nice respite. 254 00:13:52,160 --> 00:13:54,560 Speaker 2: Right, Yeah, and if you brought a horse to the tavern, 255 00:13:54,600 --> 00:13:55,800 Speaker 2: people would get really mad. 256 00:13:56,480 --> 00:13:58,400 Speaker 1: Oh man, can you imagine. 257 00:13:58,520 --> 00:13:59,559 Speaker 2: You want to take a break? 258 00:14:00,080 --> 00:14:02,400 Speaker 1: Yeah, that's a great setup. And then we'll pick back 259 00:14:02,480 --> 00:14:04,480 Speaker 1: up in the nineteen thirties, right up to this. 260 00:14:30,600 --> 00:14:36,240 Speaker 2: Learn and stuff with Joshua John stuff fu Shine Up. 261 00:14:39,560 --> 00:14:41,960 Speaker 2: So the whole thing started in the thirties when they 262 00:14:42,000 --> 00:14:45,080 Speaker 2: converted the sheep fold into the tavern on the Green, 263 00:14:46,280 --> 00:14:50,480 Speaker 2: and it was eventually like it didn't last for very 264 00:14:50,520 --> 00:14:53,520 Speaker 2: long as a tavern, or maybe this was during the 265 00:14:53,560 --> 00:14:57,120 Speaker 2: winter Chuck. It was taken over by the headquarters of 266 00:14:57,160 --> 00:15:02,080 Speaker 2: the City Patrol Corps during the forties. During World War Two, 267 00:15:02,120 --> 00:15:05,640 Speaker 2: a lot of the police officers around America went off 268 00:15:05,680 --> 00:15:09,920 Speaker 2: to war. They still need police back in America, so 269 00:15:10,920 --> 00:15:14,840 Speaker 2: they got volunteers actually from the people who were still 270 00:15:14,960 --> 00:15:18,200 Speaker 2: in the country, and apparently they made their headquarters at 271 00:15:18,240 --> 00:15:21,600 Speaker 2: Tavern on the Green And then in nineteen forty three 272 00:15:22,240 --> 00:15:25,240 Speaker 2: things really started to swing. I think it was kind 273 00:15:25,280 --> 00:15:30,200 Speaker 2: of an unusual, peculiar place up until this point. In 274 00:15:30,280 --> 00:15:33,200 Speaker 2: nineteen forty three, it like really starts to become Tavern 275 00:15:33,280 --> 00:15:35,040 Speaker 2: on the Green as we understand it today. 276 00:15:35,360 --> 00:15:37,600 Speaker 1: Yeah, because you know, New York grew from the south 277 00:15:37,800 --> 00:15:42,000 Speaker 1: upward and this was way up at sixty six sixty 278 00:15:42,040 --> 00:15:44,120 Speaker 1: seventh Street, So yeah, it might have taken a while 279 00:15:44,120 --> 00:15:47,360 Speaker 1: for that to become legitimized. But yeah, forty three is 280 00:15:47,360 --> 00:15:51,160 Speaker 1: when it really kind of started the I was about 281 00:15:51,200 --> 00:15:54,560 Speaker 1: to say NonStop operation as restaurant, but as we'll see, 282 00:15:54,560 --> 00:15:57,600 Speaker 1: that would be interrupted later on as well. But it's 283 00:15:57,640 --> 00:16:03,359 Speaker 1: at this point that it became year round open dancing, dining, cocktailing, 284 00:16:03,960 --> 00:16:07,440 Speaker 1: drinking three shots of gin for eighty five cents, I guess. 285 00:16:08,840 --> 00:16:11,400 Speaker 1: And it was doing pretty good. You know, it was 286 00:16:11,440 --> 00:16:14,040 Speaker 1: one of the most popular restaurants in the nineteen fifties. 287 00:16:14,720 --> 00:16:17,920 Speaker 1: They expanded it from ten thousand square feet to more 288 00:16:17,960 --> 00:16:22,480 Speaker 1: than double to twenty one thousand, including the very famous 289 00:16:22,480 --> 00:16:26,040 Speaker 1: Elm Tree Room, which you know, they built around one 290 00:16:26,080 --> 00:16:29,760 Speaker 1: of the famous live elm trees, and including the indoor 291 00:16:29,800 --> 00:16:31,800 Speaker 1: and outdoor space they had, they could see more than 292 00:16:33,000 --> 00:16:34,480 Speaker 1: up to twelve hundred guests. 293 00:16:34,680 --> 00:16:36,760 Speaker 2: Wow, that's a lot of people, a lot of folks. 294 00:16:37,360 --> 00:16:39,720 Speaker 2: I looked all over for a picture of that Elm 295 00:16:39,760 --> 00:16:42,480 Speaker 2: Tree room with Elm tree. There's a real dearth of 296 00:16:42,560 --> 00:16:45,160 Speaker 2: like vintage photos of Tavern on the Green. You think 297 00:16:45,160 --> 00:16:47,120 Speaker 2: they'd be all over the internet, but they're not. 298 00:16:47,480 --> 00:16:49,280 Speaker 1: Yeah, and I'm sure you ran into what I did, 299 00:16:49,320 --> 00:16:52,880 Speaker 1: which is tons of articles about that other elm right 300 00:16:52,920 --> 00:16:55,600 Speaker 1: next to the outdoor dining that was recently cut down. 301 00:16:55,920 --> 00:16:58,600 Speaker 2: I didn't see that. No, they cut down an elm tree. Huh. 302 00:16:58,680 --> 00:17:00,600 Speaker 1: Yeah, it was a one hundred and six year old elm. 303 00:17:00,640 --> 00:17:02,720 Speaker 1: And I think that it was like this summer that 304 00:17:02,920 --> 00:17:05,920 Speaker 1: had some kind of blight and that, you know, unfortunately 305 00:17:06,000 --> 00:17:08,359 Speaker 1: they had to take it down. But that was not 306 00:17:08,680 --> 00:17:11,560 Speaker 1: I don't think the Elm from the Elm Tree Room. 307 00:17:12,160 --> 00:17:17,640 Speaker 2: Okay, okay, good, pretty sure. So by nineteen fifty, the 308 00:17:17,720 --> 00:17:20,920 Speaker 2: Tavern on the Green was enough on the map as 309 00:17:20,960 --> 00:17:25,360 Speaker 2: far as like like nightlife in the United States went, 310 00:17:25,440 --> 00:17:29,000 Speaker 2: like popular culture was well enough aware of Tavern on 311 00:17:29,040 --> 00:17:30,920 Speaker 2: the Green that they were able to sell a live 312 00:17:31,000 --> 00:17:35,000 Speaker 2: album called Dancing at the Tavern on the Green to 313 00:17:35,080 --> 00:17:38,360 Speaker 2: Milt Saunders and his orchestra. And if you see did 314 00:17:38,400 --> 00:17:40,840 Speaker 2: you see the cover of that thing, Oh man, it 315 00:17:40,880 --> 00:17:44,600 Speaker 2: is they might as well just stamped the numbers nineteen 316 00:17:44,680 --> 00:17:47,000 Speaker 2: fifty on the cover and left it at that. It's 317 00:17:47,040 --> 00:17:50,320 Speaker 2: pretty great. But that was like they sold that record 318 00:17:50,359 --> 00:17:52,960 Speaker 2: because people out who couldn't make a Tavern on the 319 00:17:52,960 --> 00:17:55,200 Speaker 2: Green would want to buy that and impress their friends. 320 00:17:55,440 --> 00:17:59,119 Speaker 1: Yeah, totally. This is where they first started wrapping the 321 00:17:59,280 --> 00:18:01,320 Speaker 1: trees with the white lights, which is one of the 322 00:18:01,359 --> 00:18:03,159 Speaker 1: sort of signature Tavern on the Green things. 323 00:18:03,440 --> 00:18:06,000 Speaker 2: Yeah, I saw they're up to ten miles of lights. Now. 324 00:18:06,359 --> 00:18:09,600 Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean, I will say this spoiler alert for 325 00:18:09,720 --> 00:18:13,199 Speaker 1: my ultimate review. It is a very beautiful place to die. 326 00:18:13,520 --> 00:18:14,320 Speaker 2: Yeah, I believe that. 327 00:18:14,440 --> 00:18:18,720 Speaker 1: Still in fifty six, a very interesting thing happened in 328 00:18:18,720 --> 00:18:23,119 Speaker 1: its history when Robert Moses found himself up against some 329 00:18:23,760 --> 00:18:27,919 Speaker 1: Manhattan mommies when he said, Hey, I'm gonna I need 330 00:18:27,960 --> 00:18:29,760 Speaker 1: a bigger parking lot, so I'm going to use this 331 00:18:29,800 --> 00:18:32,920 Speaker 1: half acre over here that. Yeah, sure there are a 332 00:18:32,920 --> 00:18:34,479 Speaker 1: lot of kids that like playing over there, but we 333 00:18:34,520 --> 00:18:38,040 Speaker 1: need some parking. And the moms took it very seriously 334 00:18:38,680 --> 00:18:41,520 Speaker 1: and they got their kids informed. A human barricade to 335 00:18:41,520 --> 00:18:44,919 Speaker 1: block bulldozers got in a real fight with Moses. He 336 00:18:44,960 --> 00:18:47,119 Speaker 1: built a fence to try and keep them out. The 337 00:18:47,160 --> 00:18:52,639 Speaker 1: mom's got an injunction, and uncharacteristically Moses backed down and 338 00:18:52,840 --> 00:18:56,480 Speaker 1: abandoned that and set aside fifty thousand dollars for a 339 00:18:56,560 --> 00:18:58,280 Speaker 1: new playground that's still there today. 340 00:18:58,640 --> 00:19:02,480 Speaker 2: Yeah, the West sixty seventh Street to Venture Playground, which 341 00:19:02,480 --> 00:19:05,040 Speaker 2: if you see like vintage photos of it from the sixties, 342 00:19:06,320 --> 00:19:09,720 Speaker 2: they're like mounds made of stone that like I could 343 00:19:09,760 --> 00:19:11,960 Speaker 2: just see a kid slipping on and cracking its head 344 00:19:11,960 --> 00:19:14,360 Speaker 2: open with like they looked really dangerous, but I think 345 00:19:14,400 --> 00:19:16,680 Speaker 2: they kind of converted them into something a little more 346 00:19:16,720 --> 00:19:20,400 Speaker 2: safe today. But yeah, it's really neat that the tradition 347 00:19:20,520 --> 00:19:23,879 Speaker 2: of playgrounds that generation after generation of kids had played 348 00:19:23,920 --> 00:19:29,600 Speaker 2: on totally. So the first notable restaurant tour that took over, 349 00:19:29,880 --> 00:19:32,119 Speaker 2: I think the first restaurant tours that took over was 350 00:19:32,119 --> 00:19:35,159 Speaker 2: in the forties and they owned the Claremont Inn and 351 00:19:35,200 --> 00:19:39,359 Speaker 2: it was a super stuffy, well heeled dining place on 352 00:19:39,400 --> 00:19:42,480 Speaker 2: the Hudson. They're the first notable ones. But the first 353 00:19:42,520 --> 00:19:46,000 Speaker 2: actual restaurant tour who people had already heard of. His 354 00:19:46,080 --> 00:19:48,760 Speaker 2: name was Joe Baum and this is in the sixties 355 00:19:48,800 --> 00:19:51,240 Speaker 2: that he took over the lease of Tavern on the 356 00:19:51,280 --> 00:19:54,080 Speaker 2: Green and he was known as the cecil b de 357 00:19:54,200 --> 00:19:57,040 Speaker 2: Mill of restaurant tours, which was really saying something in 358 00:19:57,080 --> 00:19:57,760 Speaker 2: the sixties. 359 00:19:58,200 --> 00:20:01,840 Speaker 1: Yeah, and for good reason. He ran not only Tavern 360 00:20:01,920 --> 00:20:05,280 Speaker 1: on the Green, but the Windows of the World atop 361 00:20:05,320 --> 00:20:08,400 Speaker 1: the World Trade Center, eventually the Rainbow Room, the world 362 00:20:08,400 --> 00:20:11,520 Speaker 1: famous Rainbow Room, and the Four Seasons, which at the 363 00:20:11,600 --> 00:20:14,240 Speaker 1: time when this dude, when Joe Baum was running these, 364 00:20:14,760 --> 00:20:17,919 Speaker 1: they were the four highest grossing restaurants in Manhattan and 365 00:20:17,960 --> 00:20:20,520 Speaker 1: they were all his. Yeah, it's remarkable. 366 00:20:21,160 --> 00:20:24,640 Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean, that's a cecil b de Mill type. Yeah, 367 00:20:24,720 --> 00:20:26,239 Speaker 2: And if you don't know who that is, look him 368 00:20:26,320 --> 00:20:30,200 Speaker 2: up right. Yeah, so he did a really good job 369 00:20:30,200 --> 00:20:31,800 Speaker 2: of putting it on the map, and like we said, 370 00:20:31,880 --> 00:20:34,320 Speaker 2: you know, by nineteen fifty it was already you know, 371 00:20:34,440 --> 00:20:36,800 Speaker 2: part of popular culture. But I think this guy really 372 00:20:36,800 --> 00:20:40,000 Speaker 2: turned it into something genuinely special for the first time. 373 00:20:40,720 --> 00:20:43,320 Speaker 2: But I think most people who know about the history 374 00:20:43,320 --> 00:20:46,199 Speaker 2: of Tavern on the Green would agree that it didn't 375 00:20:46,280 --> 00:20:54,560 Speaker 2: really become like a gem of a restaurant bejeweled even 376 00:20:55,320 --> 00:20:58,720 Speaker 2: until Warner Leroy came along in I think nineteen seventy four. 377 00:20:59,440 --> 00:21:01,800 Speaker 1: Yeah, he came along at a good time because the 378 00:21:03,400 --> 00:21:05,520 Speaker 1: through the sixties and seventies it was doing okay, but 379 00:21:05,600 --> 00:21:07,959 Speaker 1: it started to feel a little bit dated. And then 380 00:21:08,160 --> 00:21:10,960 Speaker 1: by the time the seventies rolled around, Central Park had 381 00:21:10,960 --> 00:21:15,760 Speaker 1: become I don't know like how legitimately dangerous it was, 382 00:21:15,840 --> 00:21:18,640 Speaker 1: but it became dangerous enough to where it was sort 383 00:21:18,680 --> 00:21:22,440 Speaker 1: of part of the national punchline as far as like, yeah, 384 00:21:22,440 --> 00:21:24,240 Speaker 1: I go to Central Park if you want to get mugged, 385 00:21:25,200 --> 00:21:28,280 Speaker 1: that kind of thing. And so, you know, the restaurant 386 00:21:28,280 --> 00:21:32,040 Speaker 1: fell on harder times and Joe Baum was calling it 387 00:21:32,119 --> 00:21:35,040 Speaker 1: the Tavern in the Red and in nineteen seventy four, 388 00:21:35,200 --> 00:21:38,800 Speaker 1: like you said, Warner Leroy took over. He's a former 389 00:21:38,840 --> 00:21:43,000 Speaker 1: theater director, and this guy had a to say. He 390 00:21:43,080 --> 00:21:46,439 Speaker 1: had a flare sort of understating things. He ran a 391 00:21:46,440 --> 00:21:48,240 Speaker 1: bar for a while called Maxwell's Plumb. 392 00:21:48,400 --> 00:21:50,000 Speaker 2: Oh my god, it's seen pictures of that. 393 00:21:50,400 --> 00:21:55,359 Speaker 1: God, just gorgeous restaurant. Maybe over the top. I don't 394 00:21:55,400 --> 00:21:57,600 Speaker 1: know about gaudy or not. I mean, I think it 395 00:21:57,640 --> 00:22:01,359 Speaker 1: looks like an amazing place to have Artini, but it 396 00:22:01,400 --> 00:22:04,120 Speaker 1: did get some like bad reviews for just how sort 397 00:22:04,160 --> 00:22:06,919 Speaker 1: of kaleidoscopic and gaudy it was. 398 00:22:07,480 --> 00:22:09,800 Speaker 2: Did you see the picture of the actual bar bar? 399 00:22:10,240 --> 00:22:12,440 Speaker 1: Oh yeah, Oh my god, dude. 400 00:22:12,600 --> 00:22:15,080 Speaker 2: It looked just amazing. But also the dining room it 401 00:22:15,160 --> 00:22:17,439 Speaker 2: was just cool too, Like they had low ceilings with 402 00:22:17,480 --> 00:22:22,680 Speaker 2: tiffany lit tiffany plated glass hanging down or covering them. 403 00:22:22,680 --> 00:22:25,560 Speaker 2: It's just amazing. Yeah, I loved Maxwell's Plum. I would 404 00:22:25,600 --> 00:22:29,679 Speaker 2: have loved it too. It turns out also carry Grant, Warren, Baty, 405 00:22:30,080 --> 00:22:33,639 Speaker 2: Barber Streisan. They all loved Maxwell Plum. All the best people. 406 00:22:34,000 --> 00:22:34,200 Speaker 1: Yeah. 407 00:22:35,960 --> 00:22:38,800 Speaker 2: And one of the things that that Warner Leroy was 408 00:22:38,840 --> 00:22:41,320 Speaker 2: known for that he made his name for at Maxwell's 409 00:22:41,320 --> 00:22:44,840 Speaker 2: Plum was having a really eclectic menu that was also 410 00:22:45,080 --> 00:22:52,200 Speaker 2: not exclusionary. He wanted to make sure that basically anybody 411 00:22:52,240 --> 00:22:57,240 Speaker 2: could come and like enjoy a meal at his place. 412 00:22:57,480 --> 00:22:59,720 Speaker 2: And he also didn't have a dress code either. That 413 00:22:59,760 --> 00:23:01,960 Speaker 2: was a big one too. He wanted you to just 414 00:23:01,960 --> 00:23:06,880 Speaker 2: feel comfortable. So he had Maxwell Plum's menu everything from 415 00:23:06,920 --> 00:23:09,720 Speaker 2: Iranian caviar to hamburgers. I believe. 416 00:23:10,160 --> 00:23:14,159 Speaker 1: Yeah, there's a place in Atlanta, what is his name 417 00:23:14,200 --> 00:23:16,520 Speaker 1: of it? Haven't been there, but the theme of the 418 00:23:16,560 --> 00:23:20,679 Speaker 1: restaurant is that it's got like five or six different 419 00:23:21,359 --> 00:23:25,439 Speaker 1: distinct cuisines, and that's like what it's known for. And 420 00:23:25,600 --> 00:23:27,440 Speaker 1: it's even in the name of the restaurant. I can't 421 00:23:27,440 --> 00:23:28,160 Speaker 1: remember what it's called. 422 00:23:29,040 --> 00:23:31,400 Speaker 2: Oh, six cuisines over on West Peach Tree. 423 00:23:35,200 --> 00:23:38,280 Speaker 1: That's a good one. Thanks, you got me. I can't 424 00:23:38,320 --> 00:23:40,320 Speaker 1: remember anyway, I'll look it up and let you know. 425 00:23:40,560 --> 00:23:41,639 Speaker 2: Yeah, please do let me know. 426 00:23:42,119 --> 00:23:44,879 Speaker 1: But you're right. So Maxwell's Plum was was kind of 427 00:23:44,880 --> 00:23:47,000 Speaker 1: a wacky place. He took over tabern On the Green 428 00:23:47,840 --> 00:23:51,840 Speaker 1: and he brought that same kind of flashiness there. He 429 00:23:51,840 --> 00:23:53,520 Speaker 1: has a quote where he said, a restaurant is a 430 00:23:53,520 --> 00:23:56,080 Speaker 1: fantasy kind of living theater in which diners are the 431 00:23:56,080 --> 00:23:58,199 Speaker 1: most important members of the cast. It's one of the 432 00:23:58,200 --> 00:24:01,119 Speaker 1: few creations that appeal to all of this senses and 433 00:24:01,240 --> 00:24:04,320 Speaker 1: one with which I can create my own world. So 434 00:24:04,600 --> 00:24:07,840 Speaker 1: he spent ten million bucks on a restaurant he doesn't own, 435 00:24:08,760 --> 00:24:12,280 Speaker 1: renovating this thing to, you know, in his own sort 436 00:24:12,320 --> 00:24:13,639 Speaker 1: of flashy style. 437 00:24:14,440 --> 00:24:16,800 Speaker 2: So did you see that New Yorker review that I 438 00:24:16,840 --> 00:24:17,239 Speaker 2: sent you? 439 00:24:17,800 --> 00:24:18,560 Speaker 1: Yeah? 440 00:24:18,600 --> 00:24:21,280 Speaker 2: Did you see them describing what they what they did 441 00:24:21,280 --> 00:24:24,520 Speaker 2: on opening day in nineteen seventy six. Yeah, so I 442 00:24:24,560 --> 00:24:25,200 Speaker 2: say take. 443 00:24:25,040 --> 00:24:27,199 Speaker 1: It, man, Well, I don't have it in front of me, 444 00:24:27,240 --> 00:24:27,800 Speaker 1: can you take it? 445 00:24:28,080 --> 00:24:31,639 Speaker 2: Sure? So they had the world's largest Sunday seventy two 446 00:24:32,040 --> 00:24:35,560 Speaker 2: and fifty pounds of Neapolitan ice cream. There was a 447 00:24:35,640 --> 00:24:38,880 Speaker 2: nine liter bottle of champagne that had been flown over 448 00:24:38,920 --> 00:24:41,240 Speaker 2: from France that had its own first class seat on 449 00:24:41,320 --> 00:24:44,919 Speaker 2: Air France. And then there was a sixteen foot model 450 00:24:44,920 --> 00:24:47,600 Speaker 2: of Central Park as a cake. This is what Warner 451 00:24:47,680 --> 00:24:51,000 Speaker 2: Leroy did. Yeah. I also saw that he was known 452 00:24:51,040 --> 00:24:54,480 Speaker 2: for wearing taffeta suits or sequin suits, So yeah, he 453 00:24:54,600 --> 00:24:57,720 Speaker 2: was flashy to the nines. He was also the son 454 00:24:57,760 --> 00:25:01,840 Speaker 2: of the legendary producer of the Wizard of oz Mervyn 455 00:25:01,920 --> 00:25:05,240 Speaker 2: le Roi, which explains Warner LeRoy's daughter's name. 456 00:25:06,119 --> 00:25:06,919 Speaker 1: Oh is it Dorothy? 457 00:25:08,480 --> 00:25:11,920 Speaker 2: It'd be great. No, her name is Jennifer oz le Roi. 458 00:25:12,480 --> 00:25:14,680 Speaker 1: Oh right, okay, yeah. 459 00:25:14,520 --> 00:25:16,280 Speaker 2: Let's called family tradition right there. 460 00:25:17,400 --> 00:25:18,719 Speaker 1: I really thought it would be Dorothy. 461 00:25:19,520 --> 00:25:22,920 Speaker 2: It kind of should have been Dorothy Red Shoes Lroi. 462 00:25:23,520 --> 00:25:25,800 Speaker 1: Or what's the witch in Wicked? 463 00:25:26,840 --> 00:25:27,400 Speaker 2: I don't know. 464 00:25:28,760 --> 00:25:31,560 Speaker 1: We went and saw Wicked. Uphaba ufala uphaba. 465 00:25:32,040 --> 00:25:32,520 Speaker 2: I don't know. 466 00:25:32,800 --> 00:25:36,840 Speaker 1: That's what Emily went as for Halloween. Anyway, the green 467 00:25:36,880 --> 00:25:38,840 Speaker 1: Witch from Wicked. That would have been a good name too. 468 00:25:39,119 --> 00:25:40,560 Speaker 2: That's the Wicked Witch of the West. 469 00:25:40,640 --> 00:25:44,199 Speaker 1: I think, yeah, but she had a name. Chandeliers were 470 00:25:44,200 --> 00:25:48,879 Speaker 1: brought in. He brought in fifteen chefs from France. He 471 00:25:48,960 --> 00:25:54,119 Speaker 1: brought the chandeliers in straight from India, and then built 472 00:25:54,240 --> 00:25:58,879 Speaker 1: the very famous, some may say infamous Crystal Room, which 473 00:25:58,960 --> 00:26:03,720 Speaker 1: was a very over the top room full of crystals. 474 00:26:03,720 --> 00:26:06,760 Speaker 1: It was, you know, made of glass. That was the building. 475 00:26:06,800 --> 00:26:09,680 Speaker 1: If you've seen the very first Ghostbusters when Rick moranis 476 00:26:10,600 --> 00:26:13,520 Speaker 1: runs up and bangs on the window before getting attacked, 477 00:26:14,240 --> 00:26:17,679 Speaker 1: that is the crystal room. And that's the part that 478 00:26:17,720 --> 00:26:20,199 Speaker 1: I couldn't figure out. Like the room I ate in 479 00:26:20,359 --> 00:26:22,479 Speaker 1: was all glass as well, and I think it was 480 00:26:22,520 --> 00:26:25,960 Speaker 1: just a read sort of a different version of. 481 00:26:25,880 --> 00:26:29,240 Speaker 2: What that was exactly. Yes, they completely altered it. Yeah 482 00:26:29,240 --> 00:26:31,200 Speaker 2: for sure. It wasn't like it was in the eighties 483 00:26:31,240 --> 00:26:34,320 Speaker 2: where it was like in its heyday. It was also 484 00:26:34,440 --> 00:26:38,000 Speaker 2: in other movies, Arthur, one of my favorites. It was 485 00:26:38,040 --> 00:26:42,600 Speaker 2: in Beaches, the scene where they win that dance contest 486 00:26:42,640 --> 00:26:44,520 Speaker 2: against the gangsters that are chasing them. 487 00:26:44,760 --> 00:26:46,199 Speaker 1: Yeah, ton of movies. 488 00:26:46,400 --> 00:26:51,480 Speaker 2: Yeah, it's really a well known dining room. But yeah, 489 00:26:51,560 --> 00:26:54,160 Speaker 2: it's not there anymore. And one of the reasons why 490 00:26:54,200 --> 00:26:57,639 Speaker 2: is because over the years warn of le Roy's taste 491 00:26:58,240 --> 00:27:01,960 Speaker 2: started to kind of seem a little tech. Yeah. So yeah, 492 00:27:02,080 --> 00:27:05,000 Speaker 2: but I think now if they had just preserved it, 493 00:27:05,600 --> 00:27:08,239 Speaker 2: people I think more people would flock to it just 494 00:27:08,280 --> 00:27:09,600 Speaker 2: because of the vintage thing. 495 00:27:09,680 --> 00:27:12,480 Speaker 1: You know, Well now they would because yeah, that kind 496 00:27:12,520 --> 00:27:16,639 Speaker 1: of campy, kitchy thing is appreciated, but at the time 497 00:27:16,960 --> 00:27:20,919 Speaker 1: not everyone appreciated it. Semi recently, I guess when it 498 00:27:20,960 --> 00:27:23,520 Speaker 1: reopened they kind of look back and I got named. 499 00:27:23,520 --> 00:27:26,199 Speaker 1: Pete Wells, a former restaurant critic for The New York Times, 500 00:27:26,920 --> 00:27:29,720 Speaker 1: described that original Crystal Room as a wedding cake palace 501 00:27:30,119 --> 00:27:32,280 Speaker 1: as imagined by a six year old princess with a 502 00:27:32,359 --> 00:27:32,919 Speaker 1: high fever. 503 00:27:35,200 --> 00:27:37,440 Speaker 2: That is great, man. If you want to read great 504 00:27:37,560 --> 00:27:40,800 Speaker 2: turns of phrase, just read restaurant reviews. They are so 505 00:27:41,119 --> 00:27:45,560 Speaker 2: cruel but in the funniest ways. And that whole that 506 00:27:45,640 --> 00:27:49,920 Speaker 2: whole review from twenty fourteen is just hilarious but also 507 00:27:50,040 --> 00:27:52,399 Speaker 2: like you just feel bad at the same time for 508 00:27:52,520 --> 00:27:56,720 Speaker 2: laughing at it. Yeah, totally, so under warn of le 509 00:27:56,800 --> 00:28:01,720 Speaker 2: Roy's steerage like this. When Tavern on the Green became 510 00:28:01,840 --> 00:28:05,720 Speaker 2: like the place where Patrick Bateman would want like a seat, 511 00:28:06,000 --> 00:28:08,760 Speaker 2: and apparently the managers made pretty good money on the side, 512 00:28:08,800 --> 00:28:12,840 Speaker 2: accepting bribes to see people in the crystal room. It 513 00:28:12,880 --> 00:28:17,040 Speaker 2: was like the place to be, and not just the 514 00:28:17,080 --> 00:28:20,200 Speaker 2: eighties but also through the nineties too, so the whole 515 00:28:20,240 --> 00:28:22,879 Speaker 2: place was riding high. As a matter of fact, I 516 00:28:22,920 --> 00:28:27,919 Speaker 2: think in the nineties it was the highest grossing independent 517 00:28:27,960 --> 00:28:30,560 Speaker 2: restaurant in the United States. Tavern on the Green was. 518 00:28:30,960 --> 00:28:35,240 Speaker 1: Yeah, they had revenues annually of more than forty million bucks, 519 00:28:36,000 --> 00:28:40,720 Speaker 1: seating more than six hundred thousand diners a year, which 520 00:28:40,760 --> 00:28:44,440 Speaker 1: is a staggering number of people. He got a pretty 521 00:28:44,480 --> 00:28:46,640 Speaker 1: good deal. It was one of these things where when 522 00:28:46,640 --> 00:28:49,280 Speaker 1: he came in the Central Park, was kind of dangerous, 523 00:28:49,320 --> 00:28:51,280 Speaker 1: and like I said, the restaurant was on hard times. 524 00:28:51,640 --> 00:28:53,280 Speaker 1: So he was really in the driver's seat as far 525 00:28:53,320 --> 00:28:55,760 Speaker 1: as sort of saying, like, hey, give me a pretty 526 00:28:55,760 --> 00:28:59,959 Speaker 1: good deal. Mayor ed Koch and he was pretty desperate. 527 00:29:00,320 --> 00:29:03,840 Speaker 1: The mayor was and the city was. So they let 528 00:29:03,960 --> 00:29:07,960 Speaker 1: him build that crystal crystal room without you know, getting 529 00:29:08,000 --> 00:29:11,440 Speaker 1: the necessary permit, which was apparently pretty expensive. And they 530 00:29:11,480 --> 00:29:14,040 Speaker 1: said you only have to pay one point two million 531 00:29:14,080 --> 00:29:16,640 Speaker 1: for the license fee, which apparently is a lot cheaper 532 00:29:16,680 --> 00:29:18,520 Speaker 1: than the arrangement he had with Boum. 533 00:29:18,920 --> 00:29:22,760 Speaker 2: Yeah, and also apparently the crystal room expansion was illegal 534 00:29:22,880 --> 00:29:25,840 Speaker 2: under municipal codes, and they did they look the other 535 00:29:25,920 --> 00:29:28,800 Speaker 2: way without with them not getting a building permit to 536 00:29:28,840 --> 00:29:31,960 Speaker 2: build it. Yeah, like they really were sinking a lot 537 00:29:32,000 --> 00:29:35,959 Speaker 2: of faith into Tavern on the Green, bringing in a 538 00:29:36,000 --> 00:29:38,520 Speaker 2: lot of revenue for the city, not just through the 539 00:29:38,520 --> 00:29:42,040 Speaker 2: licensing fees, but you know, people traveling to New York 540 00:29:42,240 --> 00:29:44,440 Speaker 2: in part to go dining at Tavern on the Green. 541 00:29:44,520 --> 00:29:46,760 Speaker 2: That was like the way that it was viewed. 542 00:29:47,320 --> 00:29:50,160 Speaker 1: Yeah, should we take another break? Yeah, all right, we'll 543 00:29:50,200 --> 00:29:52,360 Speaker 1: take another break and we'll come back and continue through 544 00:29:52,360 --> 00:29:53,160 Speaker 1: the eighties and nineties. 545 00:29:53,240 --> 00:30:24,640 Speaker 2: Right after this learn and stuff with Joshua John stuff 546 00:30:24,800 --> 00:30:25,760 Speaker 2: fu Shine up. 547 00:30:29,400 --> 00:30:32,960 Speaker 1: So another fact of Tavern on the Green at the 548 00:30:32,960 --> 00:30:36,800 Speaker 1: time was that Leroy had a staff that was not unionized, 549 00:30:36,800 --> 00:30:40,200 Speaker 1: so he paid pretty low wages for a long long time. 550 00:30:41,120 --> 00:30:44,360 Speaker 1: It took a walk out in nineteen eighty nine over 551 00:30:44,400 --> 00:30:47,280 Speaker 1: that low pay for the workers to finally get with 552 00:30:47,320 --> 00:30:50,160 Speaker 1: the union the New York Hotel and Motel's Trade Council. 553 00:30:51,000 --> 00:30:52,600 Speaker 1: But they were rolling in dough at the time, so 554 00:30:52,600 --> 00:30:55,520 Speaker 1: they could afford those wages, and they were doing pretty 555 00:30:55,560 --> 00:30:59,280 Speaker 1: well until two thousand and one. First of all, Warner 556 00:30:59,360 --> 00:31:03,000 Speaker 1: Leroy died very sadly in February of that year. Then 557 00:31:03,240 --> 00:31:06,800 Speaker 1: nine to eleven happened, which put a dent on New 558 00:31:06,880 --> 00:31:09,720 Speaker 1: York City as a whole. Yeah, and that's when Jennifer 559 00:31:09,760 --> 00:31:17,560 Speaker 1: Oz Learoy Oz Dorothy Greenwitch Learoy had taken over. But 560 00:31:17,720 --> 00:31:21,600 Speaker 1: it just wasn't happening. They just could not recapture that magic. 561 00:31:22,760 --> 00:31:26,440 Speaker 1: The restaurant was never very well reviewed for the food, 562 00:31:26,520 --> 00:31:29,840 Speaker 1: and it was starting to kind of matter because people 563 00:31:29,960 --> 00:31:33,160 Speaker 1: weren't going just for the experience and food was just 564 00:31:33,200 --> 00:31:34,920 Speaker 1: a much bigger deal. And there were plenty of great 565 00:31:34,960 --> 00:31:38,080 Speaker 1: restaurants by then, So the restaurant just kind of fell 566 00:31:38,120 --> 00:31:42,320 Speaker 1: off by the mid two thousands. 567 00:31:42,520 --> 00:31:45,280 Speaker 2: I saw in Town and Country magazine, the go to 568 00:31:45,480 --> 00:31:49,400 Speaker 2: source for facts about New York night life. Yeah, they 569 00:31:49,480 --> 00:31:53,520 Speaker 2: said that the New York Times reviewed over like twenty 570 00:31:53,520 --> 00:31:55,760 Speaker 2: three years or something like that. The New York Times 571 00:31:55,760 --> 00:31:58,280 Speaker 2: reviewed tevern On the Green five times, and it never 572 00:31:58,360 --> 00:32:01,680 Speaker 2: got more than one out of four stars. Yes, mean 573 00:32:02,120 --> 00:32:03,920 Speaker 2: like that sounds like a vendetta almost. 574 00:32:03,960 --> 00:32:07,120 Speaker 1: You know, I do think it was had a bit 575 00:32:07,120 --> 00:32:08,640 Speaker 1: of a bulls eye on it. I'm not saying like 576 00:32:08,680 --> 00:32:10,520 Speaker 1: the food was ever like great, and it was just 577 00:32:10,640 --> 00:32:14,800 Speaker 1: really unfairly reviewed, But I do think it was definitely 578 00:32:14,840 --> 00:32:18,680 Speaker 1: a restaurant that critics wanted to kind of poke a 579 00:32:18,680 --> 00:32:19,080 Speaker 1: hole in. 580 00:32:19,320 --> 00:32:20,960 Speaker 2: Yeah, it's just me. 581 00:32:21,640 --> 00:32:23,080 Speaker 1: Yeah, I know. So. 582 00:32:23,840 --> 00:32:26,080 Speaker 2: I think in two thousand and nine. There was a 583 00:32:26,120 --> 00:32:31,440 Speaker 2: lawsuit in two thousand and eight against the management for 584 00:32:31,920 --> 00:32:35,480 Speaker 2: sexual and racial harassment of female, black and Hispanic employees. 585 00:32:36,080 --> 00:32:38,800 Speaker 2: It's not a good look for your restaurant. And then 586 00:32:38,880 --> 00:32:42,400 Speaker 2: the next year the Parks Department said, we're kind of 587 00:32:42,440 --> 00:32:44,680 Speaker 2: done with the Leroy family. I think you guys have 588 00:32:44,760 --> 00:32:47,600 Speaker 2: run your course, and they decided not to renew their 589 00:32:47,600 --> 00:32:51,000 Speaker 2: twenty year license with the family, and so they announced 590 00:32:51,040 --> 00:32:53,280 Speaker 2: that they would be taking bids and probably assumed that 591 00:32:53,360 --> 00:32:58,520 Speaker 2: this was going to be the revamping, regeneration, a revitalization 592 00:32:58,600 --> 00:33:00,800 Speaker 2: of Tavern on the Green, and it turns out that 593 00:33:00,920 --> 00:33:03,360 Speaker 2: no one would go near it. They were like, I 594 00:33:03,400 --> 00:33:06,320 Speaker 2: don't know, man, the place has a pretty bad reputation 595 00:33:06,560 --> 00:33:08,680 Speaker 2: and it's going to cost a lot to bring it 596 00:33:08,760 --> 00:33:14,280 Speaker 2: back to its glory. And it set unused for five years. 597 00:33:14,320 --> 00:33:17,959 Speaker 1: I think, yeah, from twenty ten to twenty fourteen. It 598 00:33:18,080 --> 00:33:23,320 Speaker 1: was five years not a restaurant, And like you said, 599 00:33:23,360 --> 00:33:25,719 Speaker 1: it was just it was a big risk because it 600 00:33:25,760 --> 00:33:28,560 Speaker 1: was a big expensive undertaking. It had never had a 601 00:33:28,560 --> 00:33:31,280 Speaker 1: great reputation. I think it was always the target of critics, 602 00:33:32,160 --> 00:33:35,800 Speaker 1: and so no one would go in. I think they 603 00:33:35,880 --> 00:33:37,520 Speaker 1: tried a couple of times. It was a guy named 604 00:33:37,520 --> 00:33:42,120 Speaker 1: Dean Pole who ran the Central park Boatthouse restaurant. He 605 00:33:42,280 --> 00:33:44,440 Speaker 1: tried to negotiate a good deal with the trade union, 606 00:33:44,520 --> 00:33:47,120 Speaker 1: couldn't do it for six months, so he backed out. 607 00:33:47,240 --> 00:33:51,120 Speaker 1: Other bidders were scared away, and so while it was vacant, 608 00:33:51,120 --> 00:33:55,280 Speaker 1: Mayor Bloomberg said, well, let's make it a gift shop. 609 00:33:55,840 --> 00:33:58,160 Speaker 1: So it was an information center and a center and 610 00:33:58,240 --> 00:34:01,120 Speaker 1: tourist shop, and you know, there are a lot of 611 00:34:01,120 --> 00:34:04,000 Speaker 1: people that are like just this once, you know, sort 612 00:34:04,000 --> 00:34:10,080 Speaker 1: of at least great. I don't know if a great restaurant, 613 00:34:10,120 --> 00:34:12,799 Speaker 1: but great New York City landmark has now been turned 614 00:34:12,840 --> 00:34:17,080 Speaker 1: into a chotchke shop or some of the complaints. So finally, 615 00:34:17,480 --> 00:34:21,640 Speaker 1: in twenty twelve, the city said, all right, Philly, step in, 616 00:34:22,960 --> 00:34:25,480 Speaker 1: we love you down there, New York City Light. What 617 00:34:25,560 --> 00:34:28,600 Speaker 1: if you got for us? And Jim Cayola and David 618 00:34:28,680 --> 00:34:32,799 Speaker 1: Salama from Philly got the bid to reopen the tavern 619 00:34:33,280 --> 00:34:37,160 Speaker 1: by investing ten million dollars to sort of get rid 620 00:34:37,200 --> 00:34:41,600 Speaker 1: of Laroy's flashy thing and say, let's make let's take 621 00:34:41,640 --> 00:34:44,080 Speaker 1: it back to the old school, nineteenth century tavern look. 622 00:34:44,440 --> 00:34:47,680 Speaker 2: Yeah, and they really did the actual like bar tavern area. 623 00:34:47,760 --> 00:34:50,200 Speaker 2: They did a great job with Apparently they brought in 624 00:34:50,320 --> 00:34:55,279 Speaker 2: architects who were good with discovering the actual historic part 625 00:34:55,280 --> 00:34:58,400 Speaker 2: of any structure, and they did that. They stripped it 626 00:34:58,440 --> 00:35:02,520 Speaker 2: down to its cathedral beams, the original ones in the ceiling. 627 00:35:02,640 --> 00:35:04,040 Speaker 2: So I'll bet that looked pretty cool. 628 00:35:04,280 --> 00:35:04,760 Speaker 1: It does. 629 00:35:05,360 --> 00:35:09,720 Speaker 2: The bar was like studded with like brass nail heads 630 00:35:09,760 --> 00:35:10,920 Speaker 2: is that correct. 631 00:35:11,680 --> 00:35:13,080 Speaker 1: Yep, I saw brass nailheads. 632 00:35:13,360 --> 00:35:16,760 Speaker 2: It's just like in the original stone fireplace, the original 633 00:35:16,760 --> 00:35:21,000 Speaker 2: copper gutters, like they were all like just like they 634 00:35:21,040 --> 00:35:23,520 Speaker 2: were just brought to the four and so the tavern 635 00:35:23,600 --> 00:35:27,000 Speaker 2: vibe of the tavern itself. From what I read, they 636 00:35:27,080 --> 00:35:31,200 Speaker 2: just nailed it. It was the crystal room revamp that 637 00:35:31,280 --> 00:35:36,120 Speaker 2: I saw the most criticized. Really, I don't remember who 638 00:35:36,160 --> 00:35:39,040 Speaker 2: said it. It might have been Pete Wells who said 639 00:35:39,040 --> 00:35:42,040 Speaker 2: that it resembles an all day casual dining option at 640 00:35:42,040 --> 00:35:48,160 Speaker 2: a family friendly resort in Florida. Disagree, Okay, Well you're 641 00:35:48,200 --> 00:35:50,520 Speaker 2: disagreeing with Pete Wells, not me. I'm just reading a quote. 642 00:35:50,520 --> 00:35:51,640 Speaker 2: You know, I found pithy. 643 00:35:52,000 --> 00:35:54,640 Speaker 1: No, I know it is. It's that is pithy because 644 00:35:55,239 --> 00:35:57,320 Speaker 1: because that room it is a it is a glass 645 00:35:57,440 --> 00:36:01,719 Speaker 1: room with that that looks out onto the courtyard with 646 00:36:01,760 --> 00:36:05,200 Speaker 1: those lights. It's a wonderful room to dine in. 647 00:36:05,719 --> 00:36:09,080 Speaker 2: Gotcha. Maybe it was because the serving staff has to 648 00:36:09,080 --> 00:36:11,200 Speaker 2: wear Bermuda shorts and golf shirts tucked in. 649 00:36:11,480 --> 00:36:15,480 Speaker 1: Yeah the flamingo kid. Yeah, that bar area is gorgeous. 650 00:36:15,520 --> 00:36:22,879 Speaker 1: Though the two guys for Phillykola and Salama, were some 651 00:36:22,920 --> 00:36:26,640 Speaker 1: say cronies. The City suiteened the deal a bit. They 652 00:36:27,080 --> 00:36:29,080 Speaker 1: Bloomberg put a lot of pressure on the trade unions 653 00:36:29,120 --> 00:36:33,160 Speaker 1: to give them a two year break from having to 654 00:36:33,160 --> 00:36:36,439 Speaker 1: sign a labor contract and to defer that licensing fee 655 00:36:36,480 --> 00:36:39,360 Speaker 1: for five years, which is a lot of money. And 656 00:36:39,400 --> 00:36:45,000 Speaker 1: it turns out that Cayola's sister was married to and 657 00:36:45,040 --> 00:36:47,640 Speaker 1: I think still is to a goy named Kevin Chicky, 658 00:36:47,760 --> 00:36:51,400 Speaker 1: who was Bloomberg's former deputy mayor and an executive at 659 00:36:51,440 --> 00:36:54,399 Speaker 1: Bloomberg Software Company. But he was like, that's that's all 660 00:36:54,440 --> 00:36:55,680 Speaker 1: just coincidence. 661 00:36:55,560 --> 00:36:59,280 Speaker 2: Right, Yeah, I mean that's a couple of coincidences layered 662 00:36:59,320 --> 00:37:00,160 Speaker 2: on top of each other. 663 00:37:00,280 --> 00:37:01,520 Speaker 1: Yeah, that's New York for you. 664 00:37:02,120 --> 00:37:04,200 Speaker 2: So one of the big one of the big parts 665 00:37:04,239 --> 00:37:07,279 Speaker 2: about the reopening in twenty fourteen, which New York was 666 00:37:07,320 --> 00:37:09,719 Speaker 2: excited about. I mean, this was an icon that had 667 00:37:09,760 --> 00:37:11,759 Speaker 2: been shut down and no one was sure when or 668 00:37:11,800 --> 00:37:14,960 Speaker 2: if it was going to come back. One of the 669 00:37:15,000 --> 00:37:17,120 Speaker 2: things they did was they went through and took all 670 00:37:17,160 --> 00:37:22,759 Speaker 2: of those amazing decorations that Warner Leroy had installed and 671 00:37:22,800 --> 00:37:27,920 Speaker 2: they auctioned him off. Like you could get silverware, dinnerware, 672 00:37:28,440 --> 00:37:31,440 Speaker 2: you could get some of the original copper weather veins. 673 00:37:31,480 --> 00:37:35,920 Speaker 2: They auctioned off for some reason, those chandeliers from the 674 00:37:35,920 --> 00:37:39,440 Speaker 2: Indian Maharaja. You could buy those two. It sounded like 675 00:37:39,480 --> 00:37:41,680 Speaker 2: it was a heck of an auction and they actually 676 00:37:41,680 --> 00:37:43,080 Speaker 2: held it in the crystal room. 677 00:37:43,719 --> 00:37:44,160 Speaker 1: Wow. 678 00:37:44,640 --> 00:37:46,440 Speaker 2: Yeah, I would have liked to have known about that. 679 00:37:46,760 --> 00:37:50,600 Speaker 1: Yeah, I'd buy a fork for sure, for sure. 680 00:37:51,360 --> 00:37:55,840 Speaker 2: So they opened in twenty fourteen, and immediately every single 681 00:37:56,000 --> 00:38:02,040 Speaker 2: outlet in New York panned the like, just panned it. 682 00:38:02,280 --> 00:38:07,040 Speaker 1: Yeah, here they go again. Some quotes comatose potato salad, 683 00:38:08,160 --> 00:38:11,080 Speaker 1: roasted quail, that's as dry as a week old English muffin. 684 00:38:11,480 --> 00:38:12,800 Speaker 1: They're all just so pithy. 685 00:38:13,040 --> 00:38:18,000 Speaker 2: Yeah. New York Magazine said that the salad is the 686 00:38:18,080 --> 00:38:20,320 Speaker 2: kind that you would get a third rate country club, 687 00:38:20,600 --> 00:38:22,520 Speaker 2: which Tavern on the Green pretty much is. 688 00:38:23,200 --> 00:38:25,160 Speaker 1: That's a man, I know, it's pretty bad. 689 00:38:25,400 --> 00:38:28,400 Speaker 2: Not even just a country club, a third rate country club. 690 00:38:28,440 --> 00:38:31,680 Speaker 2: I mean, they're just being mean. I haven't seen any 691 00:38:31,719 --> 00:38:34,799 Speaker 2: recent reviews. I know that the executive chef who was 692 00:38:35,200 --> 00:38:39,440 Speaker 2: running the place when it opened, Katie Sparks, She laughed 693 00:38:39,440 --> 00:38:41,680 Speaker 2: after I think like six months or something like that. 694 00:38:42,040 --> 00:38:45,240 Speaker 2: And from the restaurant reviews I read, they were saying 695 00:38:45,280 --> 00:38:49,200 Speaker 2: like it's kind of understandable, Like they're creating these really 696 00:38:49,280 --> 00:38:53,680 Speaker 2: extravagant dishes, at least on paper for seedings of like 697 00:38:53,760 --> 00:38:57,080 Speaker 2: seven hundred people, and it's really hard to get well 698 00:38:57,080 --> 00:38:59,960 Speaker 2: made hot food out to tables when you're serving seven 699 00:39:00,040 --> 00:39:03,160 Speaker 2: one hundred people at a seating. So they were at 700 00:39:03,239 --> 00:39:05,120 Speaker 2: least a little bit understanding. But I haven't read a 701 00:39:05,160 --> 00:39:10,520 Speaker 2: recent review of Tavern on the Green and its food. Yeah, 702 00:39:10,560 --> 00:39:12,600 Speaker 2: so we're gonna have to rely on you. I guess 703 00:39:12,600 --> 00:39:13,440 Speaker 2: as what you're saying. 704 00:39:13,760 --> 00:39:18,520 Speaker 1: Well, here's my review. It was fine. It wasn't like 705 00:39:18,560 --> 00:39:20,719 Speaker 1: the food was It wasn't like the food was bad. 706 00:39:20,760 --> 00:39:22,920 Speaker 1: It was like, oh, this is gross, but it's you know, 707 00:39:23,040 --> 00:39:24,960 Speaker 1: it's just I mean, I'm looking at the menu here. 708 00:39:25,000 --> 00:39:28,759 Speaker 1: We can read through some of these things. Appetizers. There's 709 00:39:28,800 --> 00:39:33,040 Speaker 1: a crab cake, there's a calamari salad. There's a country salad, 710 00:39:33,160 --> 00:39:35,080 Speaker 1: honey roasted figs that sounds pretty good. 711 00:39:35,280 --> 00:39:38,920 Speaker 2: Sure, steak of Dorset sheep, oh. 712 00:39:38,760 --> 00:39:43,440 Speaker 1: Man burrata with hearth roasted grape tomatoes. It's all pretty 713 00:39:43,480 --> 00:39:44,240 Speaker 1: standard stuff. 714 00:39:44,640 --> 00:39:44,839 Speaker 2: Yeah. 715 00:39:45,280 --> 00:39:46,839 Speaker 1: And then if you move on to the mains, you've 716 00:39:46,840 --> 00:39:52,000 Speaker 1: got some diversity. Scallops Scottish salmon for thirty eight bucks, 717 00:39:53,719 --> 00:39:56,840 Speaker 1: grilled whole fish for forty six bucks, wrack of lamb, 718 00:39:57,719 --> 00:40:00,360 Speaker 1: you know, fairly pedestrian, I think if I'm not miss Taken. 719 00:40:01,120 --> 00:40:04,440 Speaker 1: I had the lemon thyme chicken under a brick. 720 00:40:05,800 --> 00:40:06,960 Speaker 2: Did you get to keep the brick? 721 00:40:07,400 --> 00:40:09,959 Speaker 1: Didn't get to keep the brick. It was a real 722 00:40:09,960 --> 00:40:12,760 Speaker 1: tavern on the Green brick from the old sheeps Fold 723 00:40:14,200 --> 00:40:17,640 Speaker 1: or sheeps hold that came with blistered green beans, smashed potatoes, 724 00:40:18,200 --> 00:40:21,120 Speaker 1: and a jew for thirty five bucks. And it was 725 00:40:21,160 --> 00:40:24,440 Speaker 1: like it was pretty good chicken. Okay, but you know, 726 00:40:24,760 --> 00:40:26,640 Speaker 1: trefle fries, shrimp cocktail. 727 00:40:26,800 --> 00:40:29,120 Speaker 2: It's the menu. 728 00:40:28,960 --> 00:40:34,560 Speaker 1: Is not not Third Rake Country Club. But I didn't 729 00:40:34,560 --> 00:40:37,600 Speaker 1: go in there expecting like New York's finest meal. I 730 00:40:37,640 --> 00:40:41,120 Speaker 1: went there for the experience. We were in Central Park 731 00:40:41,200 --> 00:40:42,960 Speaker 1: and that you know, you can walk right over there. 732 00:40:43,000 --> 00:40:45,160 Speaker 1: I'd always wanted to go as a bucket list thing, 733 00:40:46,320 --> 00:40:48,640 Speaker 1: and now I can say I've been, and I would 734 00:40:49,080 --> 00:40:52,200 Speaker 1: very much recommend to have that experience. If it's something 735 00:40:52,239 --> 00:40:54,560 Speaker 1: that like piques your interests, if it's like I've always 736 00:40:54,560 --> 00:40:56,480 Speaker 1: wanted to try tavern on Green, like, go try it 737 00:40:56,520 --> 00:40:56,879 Speaker 1: for sure. 738 00:40:57,080 --> 00:40:59,640 Speaker 2: Yeah. I think that's how New York magazine concluded their review, 739 00:40:59,680 --> 00:41:01,640 Speaker 2: They're like, it's a once in a lifetime thing. 740 00:41:02,200 --> 00:41:03,800 Speaker 1: Yeah, go go once. 741 00:41:04,040 --> 00:41:06,120 Speaker 2: Yeah, that's pretty much what they said. And they even 742 00:41:06,160 --> 00:41:09,480 Speaker 2: said if that so, yeah, hopefully it's gotten a little better. 743 00:41:09,520 --> 00:41:11,759 Speaker 2: It sounds like it's gotten better. Was the food warm? 744 00:41:13,080 --> 00:41:15,480 Speaker 1: The food was warm, The service was good. 745 00:41:15,640 --> 00:41:17,960 Speaker 2: Okay, those are two things that definitely got called out 746 00:41:17,960 --> 00:41:19,680 Speaker 2: in those twenty fourteen reviews. 747 00:41:19,960 --> 00:41:21,440 Speaker 1: Yeah, my martini was good. 748 00:41:21,760 --> 00:41:22,120 Speaker 2: Nice. 749 00:41:24,520 --> 00:41:27,440 Speaker 1: It's definitely touristy, Like I didn't expect the ghost of 750 00:41:27,520 --> 00:41:30,640 Speaker 1: John Lennon and Warren Baty to come wandering in, so 751 00:41:30,719 --> 00:41:34,359 Speaker 1: it feels a little touristy. But it was. It was good, 752 00:41:34,400 --> 00:41:36,680 Speaker 1: It was fine. I recommend if you've never been to 753 00:41:36,760 --> 00:41:39,080 Speaker 1: New York and you think and you're into the touristy thing, 754 00:41:39,600 --> 00:41:41,880 Speaker 1: go for sure. If you go to New York a 755 00:41:41,920 --> 00:41:44,880 Speaker 1: ton and you've never been, like, give it a shot. 756 00:41:45,040 --> 00:41:47,000 Speaker 1: Your for one, ap your meals. You can always go 757 00:41:47,040 --> 00:41:51,000 Speaker 1: eat somewhere better the next night. Okay, but it's cool, 758 00:41:51,000 --> 00:41:53,080 Speaker 1: it's worth going to. It's kind of like a Russian 759 00:41:53,080 --> 00:41:55,080 Speaker 1: team room. I've never been there, but I want to 760 00:41:55,120 --> 00:41:56,560 Speaker 1: try it. Just haven't you been there? 761 00:41:57,400 --> 00:41:59,400 Speaker 2: No, I've never been I think that was also a 762 00:41:59,400 --> 00:41:59,879 Speaker 2: warner of the. 763 00:42:00,800 --> 00:42:02,480 Speaker 1: Okay, I thought you had been there for some reason, 764 00:42:02,480 --> 00:42:04,279 Speaker 1: but like, I want to try that out just to 765 00:42:04,360 --> 00:42:05,799 Speaker 1: sort of say that I've been there and know what 766 00:42:05,840 --> 00:42:06,759 Speaker 1: that experience is like. 767 00:42:07,040 --> 00:42:10,839 Speaker 2: Same here, I've got some dining to do. Yeah, okay, well, 768 00:42:10,880 --> 00:42:12,560 Speaker 2: you got anything else about Tavern on the Green? 769 00:42:13,080 --> 00:42:13,480 Speaker 1: I do not. 770 00:42:13,760 --> 00:42:16,520 Speaker 2: Well, thanks for sharing, Chuck, that was very nice. Sure, 771 00:42:17,200 --> 00:42:20,719 Speaker 2: And since Chuck said sure, as everyone knows that, just 772 00:42:20,800 --> 00:42:21,919 Speaker 2: unlock listener mail. 773 00:42:24,800 --> 00:42:26,600 Speaker 1: You know, in lieu of listener mail, We're going to 774 00:42:26,680 --> 00:42:28,480 Speaker 1: do another shout out to our friends at co ED 775 00:42:29,120 --> 00:42:32,680 Speaker 1: because they have a very special thing going. You've heard 776 00:42:32,719 --> 00:42:34,480 Speaker 1: of talked about co ED before. There are friends that 777 00:42:34,560 --> 00:42:37,960 Speaker 1: run the nonprofit down in Guatemala to help break the 778 00:42:38,000 --> 00:42:41,239 Speaker 1: cycle of poverty through education, and they do really really 779 00:42:41,280 --> 00:42:44,960 Speaker 1: great stuff and they're doing a special stuff you should know, 780 00:42:45,560 --> 00:42:48,240 Speaker 1: sort of co branded. 781 00:42:49,640 --> 00:42:52,279 Speaker 2: Co hosted stuff you should know ex co ed. 782 00:42:52,920 --> 00:42:55,960 Speaker 1: Yeah, so let's talk about our call to action. Huh. 783 00:42:56,080 --> 00:42:58,880 Speaker 2: Yeah. So they have a program going called the Cooperative 784 00:42:58,960 --> 00:43:02,200 Speaker 2: which you can join. You just you donate twenty dollars 785 00:43:02,239 --> 00:43:04,920 Speaker 2: a month and they pull it all together to sponsor 786 00:43:05,040 --> 00:43:08,319 Speaker 2: students in their Rise Youth Development program and what they're 787 00:43:08,320 --> 00:43:13,000 Speaker 2: shooting for in twenty twenty five is sponsoring eleven hundred 788 00:43:13,040 --> 00:43:16,680 Speaker 2: students plus and what these kids will do will start 789 00:43:16,719 --> 00:43:20,240 Speaker 2: school in rural Guatemala and this would be their biggest 790 00:43:20,239 --> 00:43:23,520 Speaker 2: class ever. So they're really hoping that stuff you should 791 00:43:23,560 --> 00:43:27,600 Speaker 2: Know Listeners will come through and add to the already 792 00:43:27,800 --> 00:43:31,840 Speaker 2: donated one point three million dollars in contributions to COED 793 00:43:32,040 --> 00:43:34,040 Speaker 2: just from Stuff you should Know Listeners alone. 794 00:43:34,080 --> 00:43:37,239 Speaker 1: Amazing. Yeah, and here's the incentive too. If you set 795 00:43:37,320 --> 00:43:39,680 Speaker 1: up your gift by giving Tuesday, which is December third, 796 00:43:40,200 --> 00:43:42,560 Speaker 1: you can get a chance to have a virtual hangout 797 00:43:42,600 --> 00:43:45,640 Speaker 1: with us on Zoom. We do that every year. It's 798 00:43:45,640 --> 00:43:47,480 Speaker 1: a lot of fun. We hang out with a handful 799 00:43:47,480 --> 00:43:50,080 Speaker 1: of folks on zoom. And you know, we can attest 800 00:43:50,080 --> 00:43:52,400 Speaker 1: to co ED. They're a great organization. We know them personally. 801 00:43:52,440 --> 00:43:55,520 Speaker 1: We went to Guatemala and saw the work firsthand, and 802 00:43:55,560 --> 00:43:58,160 Speaker 1: there they are walking the walk down. 803 00:43:58,040 --> 00:44:00,840 Speaker 2: There for sure. Yeah. And if you want to know 804 00:44:00,880 --> 00:44:02,880 Speaker 2: more about the whole program, we did a two parter 805 00:44:03,560 --> 00:44:06,440 Speaker 2: on co ED and where we went to Guatemala and 806 00:44:06,480 --> 00:44:08,560 Speaker 2: you can hear Jerry give a heartfelt speech in it. 807 00:44:08,920 --> 00:44:09,439 Speaker 1: That's right. 808 00:44:09,760 --> 00:44:13,600 Speaker 2: The real Jerry, So yeah, go forth and go to 809 00:44:13,800 --> 00:44:19,920 Speaker 2: Cooperative for Education dot org slash sysk and donate twenty 810 00:44:19,920 --> 00:44:23,359 Speaker 2: bucks a month. And we appreciate it. COED appreciates it, 811 00:44:23,400 --> 00:44:27,279 Speaker 2: and the kids in Guatemala appreciate it too. Great And 812 00:44:27,320 --> 00:44:29,200 Speaker 2: if you want to send us an email, you can 813 00:44:29,520 --> 00:44:36,280 Speaker 2: send it off to stuff podcast at iHeartRadio dot com. 814 00:44:36,440 --> 00:44:39,319 Speaker 1: Stuff you Should Know is a production of iHeartRadio. For 815 00:44:39,400 --> 00:44:43,600 Speaker 1: more podcasts my heart Radio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, 816 00:44:43,719 --> 00:44:47,359 Speaker 1: or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.