Can’t you tell she just won Bingo at Tortilla Flats? I would say that I’ve been going to this joint for 35 years but that would be a lie. The truth is that we used to go all the time back in the ’80’s but at some point my life shifted and I stopped going. In my memory, it was like a big party every night (and a lot of days, too) and walking through that door opened a universe of limitless possibilities. Tall order for a bar, huh? You might think it’s a tequila-hazed memory from a geezer who’s sorry he got off the bus but you know what? I went through that door last night and IT’S EXACTLY THE SAME! The same too-sweet drinks, the same greazy chow and the same pass-around, shared smile on every face in the place. And the same understanding that, one way or another, you’re not walking out of there the way you went in. Leslie Neblett, Karen Duffy Lambros, Jessica Bondy and I certainly didn’t and neither did anyone else who was there last night.
Then, of course, there’s the knowledge that this will all be gone in a couple of days. How is that even possible, that this conspiracy of fun that has been here for 35 years is just going to slink away? Well, it’s crystal clear from walking up to the place that the far West Village is no longer the all-tolerating, open sewer it was when this place opened (that I knew but, jeez, have ya been there lately? It’s unrecognizable).
So, class, what else have we learned?
That New York no longer tolerates oddballs, miscreants and reprobates? (that we already knew).
That real estate rules all in NYC? (that we already knew).
We learned that you have 4 more days to party like it’s 1989. After that, it’s lights out.
Grab your swizzle sticks, kids. It’s gonna be a rough ride!
https://patch.com/…/tortilla-flats-west-village-staple-clos…