Crossing Nagle Avenue in my neighborhood this morning on my way downtown for some belated used-CD shopping, I ran into Vincent and Megan who were on their way to help my neighbor Kelly move a futon into her new apartment. I decided to join the merry band and we walked the dozen blocks uptown together to the woman who’d advertised the sofa-bed on craigslist. If we’d had more time, we would have stopped by the intersection of Cumming Street and Seaman Avenue for a quick photo-op at that infamous signpost.
Let it be said: futons are a bitch to move. The mattress easily weighed as much as a tackling dummy and this one even looked like one once we’d bound it with twine and bungee cords and propped it up on a hand cart to wheel haltingly down Broadway. We took turns pushing it and hoisting the unwieldy wooden slats and frames we’d disassembled and by the time we’d deposited everything in Kelly’s apartment, we had a thirst for cold beers.
Despite my moaning that there’s not a good place to get general diner-style food in my neighborhood, Kelly proved to be much more perceptive than I by leading us to the Park View Cafe for lunch, near the corner of Dyckman and Broadway. It’s got a full-featured diner-style menu with many salads and sandwiches, steaks and pasta, and tasty omelet-intensive breakfasts served late daily. Although they’re not 24/7, they’re open daily until 10 or 11 p.m. And they deliver! I chowed down on a portabella mushroom sandwich and fries with a Negra Modello.
Park View Cafe
- 219 Dyckman St. (just off Broadway)
- (212) 544-9024
- Meal 44 of 52: portabella mushroom sandwich platter ($7) and a cold beer ($3.50)