Sheepshead Bay elicits a warm feeling for me. It was one of the first
areas of Brooklyn I ever got to know, thanks to an early girlfriend and several
co-workers at the New York City Housing Authority. In those days, the
highlights were Lundy’s, Pips Comedy Club (where my stand-up routine bombed,
but a young Andrew Dice Clay, on the same bill, got tremendous applause), Joe’s
Clam Bar and Captain Walter’s.
Today, as the Eagle’s Lore
Croghan wrote recently, the highlights along Emmons Avenue include the Cherry
Hill Gourmet Market, the Turkish restaurant Liman, Randazzo’s Clam Bar (which
was also there in the old days), the Opera Cafe and more. And, of course, on
the other side of Emmons Avenue is the bay itself, with its fishing boats.
Throughout the years, one mainstay on Emmons Avenue, much less exotic
than many of the locales named above, has been the El Greco Diner. When someone
walks from the subway to the bay, the El Greco is one of the first things they
encounter. But not for long! As Sheepshead Bites, Gothamist and a host
of other media outlets have reported, the owners plan to close the diner by the
end of this week, reportedly to make way for a “new residential tower with
ground-level commercial space.”
Many of the aforementioned restaurants are geared to both locals and
visitors, but the El Greco, it seems to me, was mainly for locals. I can’t see
anyone making a trip to go there. It’s not that different from other Brooklyn
diners, including the Park Plaza in Brooklyn Heights, the Purity Diner in Park
Slope, the Green Pavilion in Bensonhurst, the excellent Three-Star Diner on
Avenue U and more.
The menu at the El Greco reveals a lot of variety but few surprises –
mainly the usual burgers, omelets, pancakes, sandwiches, pasta, dinner specials
and so on. Online reviews of the food there are mixed—Yelp gave it an average of only two stars and Google reviews gave
it an average of three stars.
But classic New York City diners aren’t meant for fine dining. They’re
meant as a place to go for breakfast, on the way to the bay, after a date,
after a softball game, for a late-night snack or to meet old friends and family
members. They offer solid, hearty food. And if a diner has a back room or large
tables, chances are you’ll find all kinds of groups meeting there, from
political discussion groups to poetry readings to board-game fanatics. Just
check meetup.com.
It’s not just the El Greco that’s closing. In the past few years, diners
have been closing all over the New York area. In Brooklyn, these have included
the Kings Plaza Diner, the Americana Diner in Dyker Heights and, unfortunately,
one of my favorites, the Celeste Diner in Concord Village.
Diners have traditionally occupied a “middle ground.” They attract people
who aren’t accustomed to upscale restaurants or can’t afford them on a regular
basis, but who demand something better than fast food.
For all of these reasons, I’m lamenting the closing of the El Greco
Diner. Time to raise your glass of Diet Coke, say a toast and wait for the last
turkey burger or spinach omelet with French fries to arrive.
