THE WALL STREET JOURNAL. **** Saturday/Sunday, October 19 - 20, 2019 |D9
Lunch
Upon a
Time
In a bygone New York,
luncheonettes made
delicious meals available
to all. These recipes
recapture the magic
JAMES RANSOM FOR THE WALL STREET JOURNAL, FOOD STYLING BY JAMIE KIMM, PROP STYLING BY NIDIA CUEVAI
LIVED INa lot of funky little
places when I moved to New
York in the early 1970s. One
of them was a small sunlit
storefront on the southern tip
of MacDougal Street. There was no
kitchen, just a hot plate on a little
shelf and a refrigerator that I spray-
painted red. Rather than cooking, I
found it easier and more exciting to
step outside my door and wander
around downtown, looking for
cheap, delicious sustenance.
I would walk around the corner
to Zampieri Brothers Bakery for
a slab of onion focaccia, or to a
teahouse in Chinatown for a
breakfast ofsam bo fan(aka
three treasures rice), or take a
hike through the beautiful de-
serted streets that later became
Tribeca, to the Market Diner, for
a corn muffin and coffee. Dave’s
Corner on Canal Street was my
sweet stop, with a marble counter
facing the street where I could park
for a quick lime rickey or an egg
cream while trolling Canal Street for
great junk finds and art supplies.
These places are all gone now.
My favorite lunch spot was the
Bleecker Luncheonette, and I almost
always had the green minestrone,
with bread—from A. Zito & Sons
Bakery down the block—and a foil-
wrapped pat of butter, all for the
price of $2.75. Sometimes the owner
of Zito’s was next to me at the coun-
ter, having a bowl, too. The Lun-
cheonette’s owner and chef,
Lorenzo, was usually fuming about
something, and his wife served us
from behind the counter. The soup
tasted deeply of green vegetables
and basil, with a shake of grated
Parmesan as an optional garnish.
These days I cook at home a lot
more; I’ve also been to culinary
school and worked as a pastry chef
for a couple decades, for what that’s
worth. Don’t worry—I haven’t gone
all cheffy in my attempts to recreate
those lost luncheonette recipes here.
They’re as simple as they should be.
My memory of the lime rickey
at Dave’s Corner was mainly about
something cold and bracing. I tried
a “purist” version with seasonal
sour cherries macerated with
sugar and made into a syrup, but it
turned out to be costly and some-
what disappointing. Then I remem-
bered the bottled fruit syrups sold
at a favorite Eastern European
market. For the rickey, the right
balance is a hint of cherry and a
good dose of lime. Most important,
it should be served very cold.
Back when I was ordering the on-
ion focaccia at Zampieri Brothers, I
called it the Raging Slab. It was
served by the big floppy piece,
loaded with greasy onions. Cooking
lots of sweet onions down and being
generous with the olive oil through
the process is paramount. Allow the
dough to really puff up on the sec-
ond proofing, and bake until the
bottom is toasty underneath. If the
focaccia looks dry after you remove
it from the oven, brush on more oil.
I knew I wanted to make a vege-
tarian version of the green mine-
strone, and to match the richness of
the original I finally settled on sim-
mering the broth with a few Parme-
san rinds. Cooking times for the last
vegetable additions will vary de-
pending on how snappy you want
them. The soup keeps well for a few
days; adding a handful of string
beans or greens each time you re-
heat it will keep it fresh tasting.
I’ve gotten as close as I think I
can to the Bleecker Luncheonette
green minestrone, inching beyond
the memory to something tangible.
Over the years I’ve seen other reci-
pes attempting to recapture the
taste of that soup, too. Clearly, I’m
not the only one who misses it.
BYMEREDITHKURTZMAN
Cherry Lime Rickey
This old soda fountain drink can be made
more sweet or sour and bracing, depending on
the proportion of lime juice to syrup. Have it
your way. The sour-cherry syrup can be found
in health food stores or Eastern European
markets.Total Time:30 minutes
Serves: 4Zest of 3 limes plus 6 tablespoons juice(^1) / 2 cup sugar
(^1) / 2 cup water
(^1) / 4 - (^1) / 3 cup sour-cherry syrup
Sparkling water or club soda
1.Make the lime simple syrup: Bring water and
sugar to a boil and simmer until sugar dis-
solves. Remove from heat and add lime zest.
Set aside to steep for 20 minutes. Strain out
lime zest and chill. This will stay fresh tasting,
in a sealed container in the refrigerator, for a
dayortwo.
2.Into each of 4 chilled glasses, measure out 1
tablespoon sour-cherry syrup, 1½ tablespoons
lime juice and 2 tablespoons lime syrup. Pour
in sparkling water and stir together briskly
with a long spoon.
Dave’s Corner was my
sweet stop, with a marble
counter where I could
park for a quick lime
rickey or an egg cream.
BLUE PLATE
SPECIAL
Green minestrone,
onion focaccia and
a cherry lime rickey
make a thoroughly
satisfying combo.
EATING & DRINKING
Green Minestrone
Active Time:30 minutes
Total Time:10 hours (in-
cludes overnight chilling)
Serves: 6
3 tablespoons extra-virgin
olive oil
1 large onion, cut into small
dice
(^1) / 2 teaspoon black pepper-
corns, crushed
5 cloves garlic, smashed
12 ounces Parmesan rinds
1freshbayleaf
6 sprigs fresh thyme
1 cup split peas
2 stalks celery, cut into
small dice
1 pound russet potatoes,
cut into ½-inch cubes
1 zucchini (12 ounces), cut
into ½-inch cubes
11 / 2 cups string beans
sliced into^1 / 2 -inch pieces
3 cups coarsely chopped
escarole, lacinato kale or
spinach
A few stalks of basil
Grated Parmesan or pesto,
for garnish
1.Make the Parmesan broth:
Heat olive oil gently in a
heavy bottomed 6-quart pot
over medium heat. Add on-
ions, crushed peppercorns
and garlic, and cook until on-
ions are translucent. Pour 3
quarts water into pot and
bring to a simmer. Add Par-
mesan rinds, thyme and bay
leaf. Cook at a low bubble un-
til broth has reduced to 2
quarts, 1^1 / 2 -2 hours. Pass broth
through a strainer, discarding
remaining herbs and bits of
rind. Chill broth overnight.
2.Simmer split peas with 5
cups water until soft and
mushy, about 1 hour. Add salt
to taste. Set aside to cool,
and refrigerate overnight.
3.Finish the soup: Bring Par-
mesan broth to a simmer in
a heavy bottomed 6-quart
pot. Add vegetables in this
order, allowing broth to come
to a simmer between each
addition: celery, potatoes,
zucchini, cooked split peas,
green beans, greens of your
choice and basil. Let cook un-
til vegetables reach your de-
sired texture, whether al
dente or softer. Add salt and
pepper to taste. Remove
basil stalks before serving.
4.Serve soup with a dusting
of grated Parmesan or a dol-
lop of pesto.
Find a recipe for onion focaccia atwsj.com/food.
Iamthe
beginning
of many
ideas.
MAX, AGE 11, BOSTON
STUDENTS WRITE THE FUTURE.
VOLUNTEER. SUPPORT. BE INSPIRED.
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