Cafe Reggio; Danish Pastry; Green Book

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   Three New York City items.

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CAFE REGGIO

   From the NEW YORK HERALD TRIBUNE, 4 May 1946, pg. 13, col. 6:

_Owner Finds Coffee Shop Changed Over Night_
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_Cafe Reggio Transformed_
   _Into Medieval Store by_
   _Artist Rosario Murabito_
By Clementine Paddleford
(...)
   The coffee shop, we mean.  Two months ago Mr. Parisi was but Dominic, the coffee man, that fellow who doesn't take his hat off; when he does he starts sneezing.  You know that old boy there at 119 Macdougal?  His place was the Cafe Reggio, three spindle-legged tables, one counter, a pot-bellied stove, a neighborhood hangout for the Macdougal Street boys who drink coffee and play pinochle until Dominic says, "Out!  I'm shutting him up to go home."
   One magnificent thing, always dominating the shop, was Mr. Parisis's business partner, the espresso machine.
(...)
   MAKING ESPRESSO--(...) And the coffee?  It is superb.  Have espresso plain, the price (Col. 7--ed.) but 5 cents.  The cappucino, 10 cents, is espresso with steamheated milk floating lazily over its surface.  That delicate bouquet is the merest pinch of ground cinnamon.
   The espresso machine is a great urn, its center filled with water which is kept at high temperature.  Nine taps each fitted out like a (Col. 8--ed.) miniature percolator, are strung around the sides.  The Italian roast coffee ground fine as dust, is placed in those individual makers and the live steam forced through.  The cups rest on the small platform projections under the spigots and slowly they fill with the dripping brew.

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DANISH PASTRY (continued)

   From the NYHT, 30 April 1946, pg. 26, col. 6:

_Frozen Danish Pastry Dough Aids Home Cooks_
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_Take From Refrigerator,_
   _Then Thaw and Bake Are_
   _Simple Rules for a Treat_
By Clementine Paddleford
   The first Danish pastry to win name and fame in New York City back in the 1890's has gone ultra modern and sells in frozen dough form, ready for the home oven.
   Two products in the line, one the individual pastries mentioned a few weeks ago, the other a twist that's new as this week, called "Almond Delight."  Both items are made of the same basic dough formula, the one Herman Gertner bought from Lane L. M. Kleiting back at the turn of the century.
   This Kleiting fellow blew into the Gertner's restaurant one autumn day, recipe in hand and offered it for sale with a long list of fancy fillings.  He stayed around long enough to teach the pastry chef the way of its making and how to turn it out in sticks, envelopes, turnovers, twists.  Four months after the Danish breads went on the menu they were the talk of the town.  The smart thing after the theater was to drop into Gertner's at 1440 Broadway for coffie and pastries.
   Herman Gertner had been manager of the old Astor before he branched out for himself in 1890, opening his first little restaurant on lower Broadway, then the restaurant uptown, then a third at 711 Seventh Avenue.  A restaurant chain was his plan; Danish pastries changed his mind.  He decided to hire extra bakers and sell the breads wholesale.  His sweetbread business went soaring until 1939, when Herman retired and returned his famous recipe to the safe box at the bank.

(Surely Lane L. M. Kleiting must be _L. C. Klitteng_.  I copied from Klitteng's ads in baking periodicals, so that's probably right--ed.)

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GREEN BOOK

   The OED's "green book" entry describes it as an official book from India.  One citation.
   The "Green Book" is an New York City tradition.  If, say, the World Trade Center is destroyed and you need to contact a city agency, you go to the Green Book.  There are elections next month and there will be high turnover; next year's Green Book is a necessity.
   From the NYHT, 3 May 1946, pg. 19, col. 7:

_City Publishes_
_"Green Book,"_
_First Since '44_
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_662-Page N. Y. Directory_
   _Is of Record Size; Also_
   _Lists Personnel of U. N._
(...)  Technically known as "The Official Directory of the City of New York," the vest-pocket directory was last published in 1944 because of war-time restrictions on paper. (...)
   For the first time since the initial "Green Book" was published in 1918, the familiar directory has gone international with a listing of United Nations key personnnel.  It contains much more.  The publication is the only one listing a complete telephone directory, cross indexed, of all the city, state and Federal agencies with offices in any of the city's five boroughs.  There is a thumbnail history of the city, population figures, real estate and tax information, a digest of important city laws and a special section of forty-nine pages devoted exclusively to license information. (...)
   The little volume first got the name of "Green Book" in 1918, when the traditional green velour cover was introduced.