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The copy listed on Nick Harvill Libraries of Everyone Comes to Elaine’s signed by the legendary restaurateur herself, Elaine Kaufman, brought back fond memories of 1990s Manhattan. Elaine’s appeared to be a regular joint. It was not trendy or overly fussy. Yet celebrities flocked to it. A primary draw, of course, was Elaine. She was fiercely loyal to her regular customers—writers, actors, and other media types. Non-regulars and those who transgressed her were not so fortunate. They might find themselves seated in Siberia or not welcome at all.
There were exceptions to the Siberia rule. Elaine once awarded me prime real estate, seating my party with George Plimpton at one adjacent table, and Michael Douglas and Barbara Walters dining à deux at another. My dinner date was positioned so that he never saw Douglas and Walters. Given how star struck he was simply by Plimpton, I thought it best to keep him in the dark, thereby saving him from severe neck strain and rescuing us from the wrath of Elaine.
Elaine herself was not shy about pointing out celebrities. Once, when a customer asked for directions to the men’s room, she casually replied, “Take a right at Michael Caine.”
It is easy to understand why literary types were drawn to Elaine. Not only was she kind and warm, but also she was clever. This is most evident in the “Top Ten List” writer and producer Charles Kipps prepared of the things he heard Elaine say:
There were exceptions to the Siberia rule. Elaine once awarded me prime real estate, seating my party with George Plimpton at one adjacent table, and Michael Douglas and Barbara Walters dining à deux at another. My dinner date was positioned so that he never saw Douglas and Walters. Given how star struck he was simply by Plimpton, I thought it best to keep him in the dark, thereby saving him from severe neck strain and rescuing us from the wrath of Elaine.
Elaine herself was not shy about pointing out celebrities. Once, when a customer asked for directions to the men’s room, she casually replied, “Take a right at Michael Caine.”
It is easy to understand why literary types were drawn to Elaine. Not only was she kind and warm, but also she was clever. This is most evident in the “Top Ten List” writer and producer Charles Kipps prepared of the things he heard Elaine say:
The book paints a glowing portrait of Elaine. Yet it is not exactly hagiography. It points out that a fiery temper sometimes got the best of her, albeit usually with considerable justification. The book reprinted this 1998 cartoon from the Daily News, suggesting what might happen to a customer who drew her ire:
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