April, 7, 2011
The words “Tom’s Restaurant” may not set off any bells or whistles in your skull, but replace “Restaurant” with “Diner” and all the sudden you’ve got a Suzanne Vega song stuck in your head that won’t leave for several days. Sorry about that! And throw in this madcap and wacky bass riff and you’ll have a clue as to the other thing this place is famous for. The exterior of this uptown diner was used as the infamous Monk’s Diner on Seinfeld where among other things, George confessed to “pleasuring himself” to a copy of his mother’s Glamour magazine which led in to the legendary “contest.” I’ve never been to this place and since it’s open till 1:30 am, I thought that tonight we’d do a blog about nothing. Cue the bass riff for...now.
Okay, we'll be taking an uptown train to Tom's.
Thanks for the warning, I'll invest in a set of earplugs immediately!
Wow, it's almost empty down here, not a good sign. Looks like we're in for a bit of a wait.
And, once again, through the magic of the internet you're spared an 11 minute wait for this train.
It's crowded for 11:00 pm on a Tuesday night. Standing room only.
And here we are at the 96th Street stop. It's a fifteen block walk from here.
And I hate to keep whining about the weather, but it's rainy and cold out here. Spring be sprung already!
Pizza!
We're almost there, I think I see the sign in the distance.
And here we are. I have to confess, I know nothing about photography and my camera is a shitty little 90 dollar thing I bought at Best Buy. This shot is too red. Let me try one with a flash.
This is weird, with the flash, the shot got darker! Let's try a different setting.
Shit, still too red. Let me try another.
Holy shitballs, this is like the place has gone nuclear! I should really learn how to use this camera.
Okay, this one is fairly close, you want a better shot, take it yourself.
And a full shot of Tom's for posterity. Now let's cue up that bass line and go inside and get a beer already! I'm freezing out here!
Once I'm inside I'm informed there's no beer. Shit.
So let's take a look around in here. Of course you've got your obligatory signed Seinfeld photos from the cast.
And blown up shots of the TV Guide covers from the last episode.
And a shot of the place in the daytime when it doesn't have a nuclear reactor glow to it.
While I was at Tom's I met Walter who's a taxi driver and is part of the International Folk Dancer's in Central Park. They gather every Sunday from 1-6 pm. For more information on this call Walter at 917-873-2026.
And suddenly...cake! Goodnight everybody and see you tomorrow after dark.
In Their Own Words (Taken from the “About Us” section of their website.)
Tom's Restaurant has been a staple in Morningside Heights New York for over 70 years. This picture shows Tom's Restaurant before it was expanded and its name changed to Tom's.
Suzanna Vega wrote a song about us. Click here to visit her website.
Tom's has also been used in the hit TV show Seinfeld. In the show, the diner Jerry and his friends frequented was called Monk's Diner. The show features Tom's facade but filmed the interior scenes at the studio in California. The night the photographers came to shoot the facade in the early 90's one of the owner's sons was curious and asked the photographers why they were photographing the restaurant. "It's just for some pilot," the photographer replied. Some pilot that turned out to be!
Many of Tom's best customers are the Columbia Students. Over the years, Tom's has become a right of passage for the students. Life is not complete for a Columbia student unless they get a milkshake and gravy fries at 3 am in the morning on a Thursday, Friday, or Saturday night.
Tom’s Restaurant
2880 Broadway (Between 111th and 112th St.)
212-864-6137
Further reading: Flickr, Wikipedia, My TV Moments and Trip Advisor.
You also might like: Pancakes, Cigarettes and Jackie O.
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