US Senator John McCain ate there. Barrack Obama ate there, a lot. Suzanne Vega sang about ‘Tom’s Diner’.
You might know it from the American TV series ‘Seinfeld’ because it was shown in a wide shot as the preferred restaurant where the show’s characters gathered to meet, eat and advance the plot.
The real Tom's goes on after more than forty years, neat and busy, feeding Columbia students and watching other neighboring businesses come and go.
Because it has the classic look of neon culture, my eye is caught whenever I am in the neighbourhood, as I was last night to watch my friend Jane perform in a production of Marat Sade up at Columbia University. But, if you are nearby, say visiting St John the Divine, or Riverside Church, or watching a basketball game at Columbia University, it is a good place to catch your breath and take a load off your feet.
If Tom's is not something you seek then hike down to 106th and Broadway to Mama’s Too for the finest slab of cheesy, tomato-y, blistered and blackened cheese bubbly pizza you could ever hope to be served.
Nearest subway station in 110th Street on the 1 Train.
Find your way with 308 Insider Tips from our Local Spotters
Their prices are in keeping with the neighborhood: a plate of two eggs, two pancakes, 'home' fried potatoes and your choice of sausages or bacon, is $12.
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This sun soaked park bench is a destination neighborhood residents know, spending time there in observation. It’s one of the more fabulous NYC stages.
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Among its offerings are a $10 breakfast special and its enormous $15 lunchtime hamburger, a price unobtainable anywhere else within walking distance.
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Its bright neon sign is easy to spot. Stand Up NY feels like a proper theater as it has a street-level entrance and the programming is mad extensive,
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308 Insider Tips from our local Spotters
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