Elaine's

The Rise of One of New York’s Most Legendary Restaurants

By: Amy Phillips Penn

Narrated by: Nicol Zanzarella, Johnathan McClain

Length: 2 hrs and 50 mins

Publisher's Summary

A tribute to legendary restaurateur Elaine Kaufman and her renowned Manhattan creative melting pot.

Elaine's was a world-famous New York restaurant that became home to writers and celebrities. Owner Elaine Kaufman was known to be "New York feisty", controversial, often rude, always blunt, with the flare of Gertrude Stein and Dorothy Parker. Elaine was highly respected and frequently feared, and Elaine's the restaurant received the public's love and praise time and time again. Woody Allen held a regular table there, and Elaine's was even featured in Allen's Manhattan and Billy Joel's song "Big Shot".

Throughout the years Mick Jagger, John Lennon, and countless celebrities, politicians, socialites, private eyes, athletes, and artists and the biggest names in Hollywood became Elaine's regulars. Most emphatically Elaine's raison d'être was to nourish "starving writers" with encouragement, introductions to Pulitzer Prize winners, and free food and alcohol. These struggling authors responded to Elaine's support with profound gratitude.

Elaine passed away in 2010, forcing the restaurant manager to close shop shortly after. "There is no Elaine's without Elaine", she decreed. However, the memories remain and are recalled by a variety of Elaine's regulars in this moving, oftentimes amusing collection of personal essays.

©2015 Amy Phillips Penn (P)2015 Audible, Inc.

Elaine's Patrons; Hashtag Me Too

This is a 'manthology' of obsequies and anecdotes (previously published ) honouring Elaine Kaufman, proprietor of Elaine's, the trendy NY restaurant which opened in the sixties and closed in 2015.

I am grateful to this collection for eliminating all lingering regret about missed opportunities to dine at Elaine's.

As it happens, I've already enjoyed hundreds of meals in lesser known venues dodging the baleful stares of a hovering
bullying with zero impulse control. I had no choice but to stop dining at my Mom's.

And what a dreary book - each essay is the same as the last and the narrators - lovely readers both - were forced to affect amateurish accents .

Perhaps the editors hoped the stilted Brooklynese and Alabama drawls might distract us from the endless narrative sameness of these valedictions. Such optimism.

This book is a bummer. And we need fewer books on successful women who hate their own sex and behave badly.

Such a shame to discover that Elaine wore Prada...

Stale and pretty dull

Elaine’s was a mess. The food was expensive and they were mean people.
Often they were apt to not wait on you at all!
Pmammon

Meh

I think maybe if you were an Elaine’s customer, this would make you feel very nostalgic. But as someone in 2021 who never went, this left me feeling like I don’t get why this place was so special compared to all the other places just like it that have always existed. I rarely got a dose of picturing what it physically was like to go there, look around, and want to be part of the scene. Much of the name dropping was lost on me because time has just moved on and so has their fame. And this is just an endless list of reverential name dropping with no reconciliation with what we know of those people now (ahem, Woody Allen is just one example). Maybe that really was all the scene was about, a place for a certain type of famous person to superficially network and feel special? That’s all I got out of listening to this. Maybe there are other memoirs that do it justice.

Good to Know

I like learning the reality of the settings of books I've read. Very good book.

ELAINE'S " Where everyone knew her name"

Would you consider the audio edition of Elaine's to be better than the print version?

Not necessarily. The voices were very flat!

Who was your favorite character and why?

It's hard to say there were many.

Have you listened to any of Nicol Zanzarella and Johnathan McClain ’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

I think "CHEERS" already did, don't you?

Any additional comments?

WISH I COULD HAVE BEEN THERE TO MEET THAT WONDERFUL LADY!!!

ELAINE WAS ONE OF A KIND<br />

Utterly adore this book, and I wish Elaine had been my MOMA also!!!
Amy Phillips Penn brings forth the ambiance, the heat, & star studded qualities of this remarkably, unique character, Elaine, who can never be replaced.

Sit Down & Eat

Peek through the window into Elaine’s literary clubhouse in Manhattan’s Yorkville neighborhood, where you were nobody unless Elaine liked you. Read the book, you knucklehead.

Historic New York Eatery

Elaine’s
First hand accounts of the patrons and family of the historic New York Restaurant and it’s magnetic matron.

It was awesome. sorry you missed it

Elaine's was THE place to go and to be. It is amazing to hear so many people's fond memories.

“ His Local “

Amy Phillips Penn captures the essence of where my friend Fr. Pete could just hang out and Elaine could just be… NO politically correctness, just love, kindness and straight talk. Rest In Peace you two!