A $10 Pre-Opera Meal for Two
My husband and I won $25 tickets in the Metropolitan Opera’s weekly online drawing for orchestra seats to a Saturday night performance. The only issue: where could we eat a pre-opera meal in keeping with our thrifty seats?
The price tag wasn’t our only consideration. The weather was, too. It was sunny and in the ’70s- one of those perfect spring days to eat outdoors. Unfortunately, everyone else had the same idea, and I certainly didn’t want to miss the start of the opera because we had waited too long for an outdoor table.
The solution was about 15 blocks north of Lincoln Center: Zabar’s Cafe, on Broadway at 80th Street. Zabar’s itself may not be much of a secret, but it’s rarely on lists for pre-performance dining. Nevertheless, for less than 10 bucks total we got a filling meal for a leisurely picnic at Theodore Roosevelt Park, just a few blocks east of the cafe at Columbus Avenue.
We arrived at Zabar’s shortly before it closed at 7 p.m., so the choices were limited. My husband got his first pick: a Cuban panini ($5.50) with porchetta ham, Swiss cheese and other goodies. I settled on the potato latkes with apple sauce (3 for $2) and the last remaining knish ($2).
I was especially happy with the broccoli knish. Not only were the flavor and texture right, but it stayed warm for the next half hour — more than enough time to find the perfect park bench. We watched the sun set over 81st Street and still had plenty of time for a stroll before the 8:30 p.m. curtain. Even better, we had plenty of money leftover for a big slice of cake!
By Diane Erwin on April 27, 2009 | 0
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