I used to work in Soho, right on Hudson Street, not far from Houston
Street. During lunch I would roam the narrow streets of the area
discovering culinary and fashion treasures tucked into the small
storefronts of the area called the Village. I still own an asymmetrical
jacket, a relic of those days that will probably never fit me again, yet
I can't bare to part with it as if, if I do, I concede defeat to time
and a thicker waist.
It turns out that as a child I had once lived in the area for a
while, it was a townhouse on Charles street where we lived with my
godmother. I asked my brother what he thought would have happened to us
if we had stayed and grew up in the area. "We'd probably be selling art
on the street," he said, his toothy smile showing he was amused by the
idea.
Well, today I had the chance of taking a jaunt down memory lane, this
time hitting only the culinary spots of old, icons of New York still
standing.
We did stop at Payard on Houston Street where the macaroons arrayed in
seductive boxes around the store beckon like sirens in the deep
seas. All we bought was a lone almond croissant, but looking at the
photographs, regrets are many.
Our first stop was Raffeto's on Hudson Street. Raffeto's is an Italian
fresh pasta shop where you can pick the kind of pasta you want and they
will cut it to your specifications on a one hundred year old pasta
cutting machine. The fourth generation Raffeto, Sarah and her
staff, greeted us with smiles and she was such a joy to meet.
Sarah Raffetto(R) and Ro
The 100 year old pasta cutting machine
This box of ravioli came home with me!
The choices for pasta were dizzying, egg, spinach, mushroom, squid
ink(my favorite but not my husband's), chestnut, on and on. The big
change from years ago was a cold food case on one wall of the place, but
everything else seemed the same.
The glass cases for dried pasta still frame the wall behind the counter and look so amazingly vintage and special.
There
is a case of a variety of fresh sausages, and jars of various
condiments, marmalades and assorted Italian specialty foods but what I
really go for there is the fresh pasta. As a single woman in New York
City, I'd buy half a pound of egg pasta, go home drop it in a pot of
boiling water, drain, sprinkle some cheese, and voila, dinner was ready!
Our next stop was Murrey's Cheese on Bleeker.
Endless display cases of cheese from all over the world, sausages, smoked meats, condiments, dairy, you name it, they have it!
Did I mention bread?
Our last stop was the Puerto Rico importing company on Bleecker. This is
where my coffee used to always come from. As soon as you walk into the store,
the intoxicating aroma of coffee hits your brain and there's no turning
back. Sacks of coffee beans from everywhere in the world beckon and you
must answer the call. I used to always buy the Mocha Java but today I
chose the Indian Monsoon Malabar. Why you might ask? Simply, I was
intrigued by the name.
Perhaps soon they'll be another New York City jaunt to the Lower part of Manhattan and another chance to buy those missed macaroons. And yet, who knows, there's so many possibilities in the big city!
Enjoy!
Maria
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