Who knew that the connection between chow and construction work could transcend this iconic lunchtime image and/or outstrip Lucky Vanous in all his glory? Today's New York Times City section reveals a new, out-of-the-way Brooklyn lunch counter bringing grade-A fare to hard-working guys decked out in tool belts and hard hats:
At a casual glance, the dusty byways of eastern Greenpoint in Brooklyn do not suggest that the neighborhood is a culinary destination. The main traffic arrives not by foot but by truck, and the area is mostly residential. The Newtown Creek Water Pollution Control Plant, a growing collection of bulbous storage tanks, is the largest landmark.
Directly opposite the plant, however, a new house of chow is in operation. The building, a low-slung blue structure at Greenpoint Avenue and Monitor Street, has concrete floors and two neon signs. One bears its name, Uncle Paulie's Restaurant, and the other declares, "Open."
"It's one-one-two-two-two," the owner, Paul Pedro Jr., said into the phone the other day, reminding a delivery agency of his restaurant's ZIP code. Open just over six months, Uncle Paulie's is the only restaurant in a neighborhood full of hard-labor businesses. Yet Mr. Pedro's location choice makes sense once one sees hungry workers filing in for his hearty Italian dishes...
...The fare at Uncle Paulie's is a cut above most lunch-counter fodder, much of it cooked fresh by Mr. Pedro himself, who is, in fact, an uncle. He prepares his own veal Marsala, lemon chicken and grilled, roasted pork chops. A full plate costs $6.
"It's good stuff," said Jose Garcia, a welder who works nearby, as he cut into his roast beef. "I come in every day. I try everything."
$6 dollars for veal Marsala? Maybe I should change careers! I would look rather hot in a toolbelt, if I do say so myself...
Comments