It was O. Henry, I believe, who spoke of restaurants as "literary
landmarks." They are really much more than that--they are signposts,
psychical rather than physical, which show the trend of the times--or
of the neighbourhood. I suppose nothing in Greenwich Village could be
more significantly illuminating than its eating places. There are, of
course, many sorts. The Village is neither so unique nor so uniform as
to have only one sort of popular board. But in all the typical
Greenwich restaurants you will find the same elusive something, the
spirit of the picturesque, the untrammelled, the quaint and
charming--in short, the _different_!
The Village is not only a locality, you understand, it is a point of
view. It reaches out imperiously and fastens on what it will. The
Brevoort basement--after ten o'clock at night--is the Village. So is
the Lafayette on occasion. During the day they are delightful French
hostelries catering to all the world who like heavenly things to eat
and the right atmosphere in which to eat them.
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