Elinor Nauen

Johnny wore his raven head for the calendar & friends photos a couple of weeks ago. Among Johnny's many great qualities is that he gets breakfast for me every Sunday morning (although sometimes he makes me go). I pretty much always get either a Greek omelet or a cheddar-apple omelet, but today I asked for pierogis. He brought back blintzes. He gets rice pudding, & eats most of what I order. He doesn't want to bill to be more than about $12 because he wants to give them $20, no more no less. He refuses to vary, which is among Johnny's many strange qualities.  Read More 

Johnny & I were thrilled to be at the New School the other evening to see B&H Dairy get a Village Award from the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation.

Owners Ola & Fawzy, and the whole crew, have been part of our extended family for many years now. Among the first people to visit Johnny in the hospital after his terrible Hummer rundown 5 years ago were Leo & his wife, and Mike and his wife & baby.

That they could reopen after being shut down for 5 months after the 2nd Avenue explosion & fire is a testament to the reciprocated love from many, many people, who donated money, time, expertise, & other support to keep this nearly 80-year-old diner in business.  Read More 

Who doesn't like cheery tomatoes with their eggs salad? One more reason to love B&H.

Woke up at 4:30 this morning, so excited that B&H was scheduled to reopen. Johnny & I went there at 7 in our matching "Challah por favor" shirts but they had decided to open at 9 instead. Went back over there, by no means the only people in B&H shirts, and soon enough (finally!), we were sitting at the counter. A guy from NY1 asked me what I was going to order. I don't order, I said, Mike knows what to feed me. Mike agreed: whatever she tells me she wants, I give her challah french toast.  Read More 

So relieved to go by B&H this afternoon & to find the place intact. They just need their gas hooked up & then they'll open, probably early next week. They're a couple of doors up from where the explosion two weeks ago took down 3 buildings.

And happy to see a local campaign to support them. They are a beloved neighborhood institution & support not only their workers but many of us. Two of the guys who work there were the first people to visit Johnny in the hospital after his accident in 2012. They sent him juice & soup every day, and wouldn't let me pay for anything until I threatened to stop coming in. I can't say enough good things about them, let alone their French toast.  Read More 

This is the remains of my breakfast this morning at B&H, the best diner in the world. Mmmm, challah french toast—although today I had an apple-cheddar omelette. Almost the first people to visit Johnny in the hospital last year were Mike & Leo, who every day would send Johnny a juice or a sandwich, along with great love & concern. I finally had to threaten never to come in again unless they let me pay.  Read More