Elaine's: The Rise of One of New York's Most Legendary Restaurants from Those Who Were There

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A tribute to legendary restaurateur Elaine Kaufman and her renowned Manhattan creative melting pot.
Elaines was a world-famous New York restaurant that became home to writers and celebrities. Owner Elaine Kaufman was known to be New York feisty, controversial, often rude, always blunt, with the flare of Gertrude Stein and Dorothy Parker.
Elaine was highly respected and also frequently feared, and Elaines the restaurant received the publics love and praise time and time again. Woody Allen held a regular table there, and Elaines was even featured in Allens Manhattan and Billy Joels song Big Shot. Throughout the years, Mick Jagger, John Lennon, and countless celebrities, politicians, socialites, private eyes, athletes, artists, and the biggest names in Hollywood became Elaines regulars.
Most emphatically, Elaines raison dtre was to nourish starving writers with encouragement, introductions to Pulitzer Prize winners, and free food and alcohol. These struggling authors responded to Elaines support with profound gratitude.
Elaine passed away in 2010, forcing the restaurant manager to close shop shortly after. There is no Elaines without Elaine, she decreed. However, the memories remain and are recalled by a variety of Elaines regulars in this moving, oftentimes amusing, collection of personal essays.
Skyhorse Publishing, as well as our Arcade imprint, are proud to publish a broad range of books for readers interested in history--books about World War II, the Third Reich, Hitler and his henchmen, the JFK assassination, conspiracies, the American Civil War, the American Revolution, gladiators, Vikings, ancient Rome, medieval times, the old West, and much more. While not every title we publish becomes a New York Times bestseller or a national bestseller, we are committed to books on subjects that are sometimes overlooked and to authors whose work might not otherwise find a home.

Reviews

"What Truman Capote did for Tiffany's, and Woody Allen for Manhattan, Amy Penn has done for Elaine's. With impeccable literary alchemy she transforms a culturaland oh, so sociallandmark into a witty, engaging, hilarious, touching, resonant, star-studded yet gloriously human work of art to savor and enjoy over and over as an armchair feast. Elaine should be beaming from the Other Side of Paradise, her amazement and gratitude laced with tart, four-letter exclamations of amazement and joy. We may read and share in this feast for all seasons." Charles Scribner

"Restaurants are places to eat, but some few restaurants are about much more than food. Elaines, for decades a fixture on New York Citys Upper East Side, attracted crowds of celebrities from the entertainment industry as well as wannabes and people who simply craved proximity to the famous. George Plimpton, Norman Mailer, Elaine Stritch, and Woody Allen all hung out there. Paparazzi hovered at the restaurants front door to capture candid shots of actors and writers coming and going. At the restaurants center, the incomparable, tart-tongued owner, Elaine Kaufman, held forth, hopping from table to table and even eating off her customers plates. Her jealous regard for customers privacy made Elaines a relatively safe haven. Penn has collected reminiscences of Elaines from folks who made it a sort of second home. Their anecdotes give the rest of us brief access into the orbit of the notorious even when their stories reveal more about the storyteller than about Elaines and its denizens." Booklist
"What Truman Capote did for Tiffany's, and Woody Allen for Manhattan, Amy Penn has done for Elaine's. With impeccable literary alchemy she transforms a culturaland oh, so sociallandmark into a witty, engaging, hilarious, touching, resonant, star-studded yet gloriously human work of art to savor and enjoy over and over as an armchair feast. Elaine should be beaming from the Other Side of Paradise, her amazement and gratitude laced with tart, four-letter exclamations of amazement and joy. We may read and share in this feast for all seasons." Charles Scribner

"Restaurants are places to eat, but some few restaurants are about much more than food. Elaines, for decades a fixture on New York Citys Upper East Side, attracted crowds of celebrities from the entertainment industry as well as wannabes and people who simply craved proximity to the famous. George Plimpton, Norman Mailer, Elaine Stritch, and Woody Allen all hung out there. Paparazzi hovered at the restaurants front door to capture candid shots of actors and writers coming and going. At the restaurants center, the incomparable, tart-tongued owner, Elaine Kaufman, held forth, hopping from table to table and even eating off her customers plates. Her jealous regard for customers privacy made Elaines a relatively safe haven. Penn has collected reminiscences of Elaines from folks who made it a sort of second home. Their anecdotes give the rest of us brief access into the orbit of the notorious even when their stories reveal more about the storyteller than about Elaines and its denizens." Booklist

Author Bio

Amy Phillips Penn is a renowned society columnist. Her career began at the New York Post as assistant to the legendary society columnist Eugenia Sheppard. Penn followed in her mentors path with her own byline. Her column, Around the Town, was syndicated in the Palm Beach Daily News. Ms. Penns credentials as a writer and a native New Yorker, coupled with a curriculum vitae as an Elaines regular, gave her access and a unique insiders perspective into the world of Elaines. She resides in Indio, California.

Liz Smith is a popular gossip columnist also known as the Grand Dame of Dish. Her work has appeared in the New York Daily News, Newsday, New York Post, and Chicago Tribune. She is the author of the New York Times bestseller, Natural Blonde.