103-Year-Old Dines Out On Fish Every Night

[thistle]

"A Nightly Dinner Out That's Like Therapy" by Corey Kilgannon in The New York Times.

So, Don, is this you in 50+ years? I wish it were me, I would LOVE to go to a different restaurant every night, & this guy definitely deserves it.

[DonRocks]

So, Don, is this you in 50+ years? I wish it were me, I would LOVE to go to a different restaurant every night, & this guy definitely deserves it.

I suspect that fifty years from now, fish will be dining on me!

But Mr. Rosen and I have essentially the same backstory which makes this really interesting to me.

[zoramargolis]

But Mr. Rosen and I have essentially the same backstory which makes this really interesting to me.

Oh? Which part of his backstory? Pogroms? Eating herring from barrels on the Lower East Side at age 11?

[DonRocks]

Oh? Which part of his backstory? Pogroms? Eating herring from barrels on the Lower East Side at age 11?

"I haven't eaten dinner home in many years," said Mr. Rosen, who tried singles groups and other activities after his wife of 70 years, Lillian, died five years ago, when she was 95. But nothing brought him the comfort of a fine restaurant. "It's my therapy, it lifts my spirits," he said Wednesday evening while examining the menu with a magnifying glass at David Burke Townhouse on East 61st Street.

[Joe H]

"A recent six-month fling with a 90-year-old woman he met at synagogue did not work out."

I was extremely impressed with the 70 year marriage. But then, a 103 year old having a "six month fling" with who is essentially for him, "jailbait"-really grabbed my attention.

[jayandstacey]

"I haven't eaten dinner home in many years," said Mr. Rosen, who tried singles groups and other activities after his wife of 70 years, Lillian, died five years ago, when she was 95. But nothing brought him the comfort of a fine restaurant. "It's my therapy, it lifts my spirits," he said Wednesday evening while examining the menu with a magnifying glass at David Burke Townhouse on East 61st Street.

Interesting.  For some it is shopping, for others watching TV or just eating.

But dining has an unreal pull on me.

I don't have your backstory...I can't imagine.  I do have my ups and downs though.  And a decent/favorite restaurant will celebrate the ups and mitigate the downs.  Quite amazing really and self-perpetuating.

As I eat at new places and try new things...and eat familiar things executed very well - I find more and more that my own cooking is an exercise in disappointment.  In the effort exerted, in the taste, in the overall experience.  Last night's stuffed cabbage I made had undercooked quinoa, undercooked cabbage, bad red sauce and really lame cheese on top.  Yet even if I go to a chain restaurant, I almost always get a dish that is designed to taste good and is executed quickly by someone who knows what they are doing.  The more I eat out, the worse my own cooking seems.

Combine this with being treated like a valued guest (even McDonald's generally will have a clean table waiting for me) and of course the addictive quality of the food itself...dining out is, for me, a drug habit that I can't seem to kick.

Therapy?  Sure, when I feel the need for therapy.  Mostly it is just much better than the alternative in almost every way.

[DonRocks]

Interesting.  For some it is shopping, for others watching TV or just eating.

But dining has an unreal pull on me.

I don't have your backstory...I can't imagine.  I do have my ups and downs though.  And a decent/favorite restaurant will celebrate the ups and mitigate the downs.  Quite amazing really and self-perpetuating.

I love restaurants, and I owe them, perhaps quite literally, my life.

Man, I wish to God that Karen could see what this website in her honor has turned into.

You know what she'd say to me?

"D, take care of yourself. Don't do this for me; get into the best shape you've ever been in, and enjoy your life."

That's the kind of unselfish person she was.

Gosh, it's so true.

"Take care of my mom, D, and take care of yourself, and be the best father you can possibly be to Matt."

[jayandstacey]

Tonight is my wife's birthday.  I volunteered "let's go out!" and she said "Absolutely - Tom and Ray's."

We went, sat at the counter, and she ordered a grilled cheese sandwich.  She's a teacher at the high school down the street and two of the bus boys are her students.  There were maybe 3 other people in the place.

They brought out the grilled cheese, holding it together.  It had a single lit candle and we all sang Happy Birthday.  The boys mentioned (as boys might) that they wished she had ordered a burger as it is more cake-shaped.   Our kids topped off their dessert with jimmies, because that's just what you do.

It was a great meal.  Truly.  Yet I don't think putting it in a Tom & Ray's thread would do it justice.  It seems more appropriate here.

[thistle]

If I weren't married, I'd send this guy my picture-

http://www.gq.com/blogs/the-feed/2013/11/alan-richman-harry-rosen-eleven-madison-park-review.html?mbid=gqpr