Hearting New York at The Lexington Candy Shop

I once heard a terrific quote about New York that goes something like this, though I don’t remember who said it or where I heard it or if it’s a quote at all and not something I’m just making up. Here it is: “If you live in New York and you don’t love it it’s your fault.”

There is truth in this quote, I believe. You have to understand that I come from a family of New York defectors (their defection was mostly weather-related) and that my love for New York is like some sort of spiritual rebirth. What Harriet Miers is to Christianity, I am to New York. I’m a born-again New Yorker.

Now the quote I may have misquoted above puts the obligation on the New York resident to go seek out the wonder that is the Big Apple. And so the other day (Friday to be exact) when I should have been working I decided I’d ride the 6 train uptown to 86th street to sample Austrian delights at Cafe Sabarsky and then see the Van Gogh drawing exhibit at the Met.

All went to plan except when I entered Cafe Sabarsky it was a mob scene (not literally, figuratively) and I had to enact a Plan B. This involved whipping out Robert Sietsema’s “Food Lover’s Guide to the Best Ethnic Eating in New York City” which I keep handily in my bag. I quickly flipped through the index. What was near this spot on 83rd and 5th? Where could I go? Aha! The Lexington Candy Shop!

Says Sietsema: “For an unforgettable taste of the indigenous haute cuisine of the Upper East Side, including foamy chocolate egg creams and oozing grape-jelly omelets, there’s no better place than the handsomely retrograde Lexington Candy Shop. Swivel on a bar stool or sprawl in a booth and ponder, Why is this place still here? (Hint: frequent movie and fashion shoots.)”

So I made my way from 5th Ave. over to Lexington and parked myself in a booth. I observed the kitschy counter:

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And ordered an egg cream and a sandwich from a very motherly waitress. Actually our exchange was very funny.

Me: I’ll have the sliced egg club and an egg cream.

Waitress: You want mayo on the sandwich?

Me: Sure.

Waitress: You want that on white toast?

Me: Sure.

Waitress: You want chocolate in that egg cream?

Me: Sure.

Waitress: Ok, that was easy!

And so she swiftly returned with my egg cream.

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Now those of you with keen memories may remember that I shot a film a few months ago (or weeks ago) for some other website where they videotaped me eating my way around SoHo. Did I tell you about that? Well it hasn’t gone up yet (it was supposed to be up in September) and on one part of the video I talk about why an egg cream is called an egg cream. If I were a good showman, I’d make you wait for the explanation on video (or let you Google it) but I’ll tell it to you anyway; this is the theory I’ve heard. The theory goes like this: during the Depression, when times were hard in America, people couldn’t afford ice cream in their ice cream sodas. So they’d say “ice cream soda, neg cream.” Like: negative on the ice cream. And thus the egg cream (or neg’ cream) was born. [It’s chocolate syrup, milk and seltzer.]

And as far as egg creams go, this was right up there. Supposedly the best in New York is at Gem Spa in the East Village. I was there a long long time ago and I can still remember how that egg cream used to make me smile. The key to a good egg cream is the seltzer: it’s gotta come from a compressed bottle or it just ain’t right. Dean N Deluca sells egg creams in SoHo at a little booth and they pour the seltzer from little plastic bottles. No! No! No! End rant.

As for my sandwich:

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It really hit the spot. I was too timid to try the grape-jelly omelet (sorry, that just sounds gross) and I was glad I stuck with the basics: bacon, egg, mayo, lettuce and tomato on white toast. Very American, very dinery, very Lexington Candy Shop.

Afterwards, I made my way to the Met and saw both the Van Gogh exhibit and an exhibit on occult photography. I was actually disappointed with both. My favorite discovery was in the sculpture gallery, a Rodin sculpture called “The Hand of God.” It’s a giant marble hand and between the thumb and forefinger are two bodies intertwined. Here’s a pic I found on Google:

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No one was really looking at it, but I was really taken with it. In what other city could you wake up, unsure of your day, and find yourself illuminated, several hours later, by a classic sculpture from a French master after eating a sliced egg club and drinking an egg cream at a Candy Shop? Not many, I tell you. As the t-shirt says: I heart NY.

8 thoughts on “Hearting New York at The Lexington Candy Shop”

  1. Apart from the nice soup I have to say thanks for showing the picture of the Rodin sculpture- so very beautiful even to an atheist like me!

  2. I agree with you – if you’re open to it, the City has a way of leading you into an unexpected, delightful adventure, doesn’t it? Among my favorite memories of living in NYC are just such serendipitous jaunts – and the occasional epiphany!

  3. You would probably love the Rodin museum in Paris. When I was there, that same sculpture kept me captivated for a good long time, as did many others.

    NOTE: When you go (you will right?) most of the more intimate, moving pieces were inside.

    You can’t get the sandwich or the egg cream, but the same quote could be said of Paris.

  4. You’re right – Lexington Candy hits the spot when you need some comfort food. The milk shake is the best I’ve ever had. And the brunch on the weekends- Awesome!

  5. I love the Lexington Candy Shop, but I have to say you missed the specialties of the house. Next time have a coffee malted. They mix their own syrups there and it is really something. Malt is stored in their antique container next to the malt mixer, be sure and check it out.

    They also serve wonderful Lemonade, using sugar syrup and lemons squeezed to order.

    I asked the owner about the kelly omelette and he pointed me to an old menu framed on the wall. He said they used to be popular in the 1930s, and he occasionally gets an aged customer who still orders one. He also mentioned that the grape jelly can turn the egg a bit green too.

    Bon apetit?

  6. The Lexington Candy Shop has the worst service ever!

    We ordered some breakfast here, waited at least 15 minutes, while everyone around us (even those who arrived and ordered later) was receiving their food. We thought something was wrong, so we asked our waitress who was already rude to begin with. She had forgotten to place the order with the kitchen! Her response: she shrugged her shoulders, said sorry in a feeble attempt, and walked off.

    When she returned, we asked if she could give us a discount or something…she said that she just worked there. The owner of the shop, who was behind the counter, watched all of this and said nothing.

    They just don’t care about service here.

  7. I believe it is the french name that is the origin (I took french at JR HS in the bronx):

    The drink originated in 19th century New York City, and there are many
    stories about how it’s name came to be. Some say it originally contained
    an egg. Others say it comes from the yiddish word “Echt” which means
    real or good cream. Still others say it was the product of a New York
    accent, turing a french drink name, “chocolate et creme” into a
    “Chocolate Egg Cream.” No matter why its name came to be, the egg cream
    is a tradition of the American Soda Fountain that still lives around the
    country.

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