Frank Sinatra – The “King Of Cool!”
Frank Sinatra. Singer. Actor. Cool Cat. This shot of him in the 50’s says it all, so much so that a New York restaurant has this proudly on their bar:
Yes, they have a statue that rests on the bar, showing Frank with the same pose – because this was Sinatra’s favorite New York hangout!
That’s Frank with the owner and Dean Martin on the right – this classic “red sauce” restaurant in mid-town Manhattan is terrific!
This restaurant has been part of New York’s food scene for decades – it opened in 1944 and is till going strong, thanks to this cool bar with Frank’s statue and ice cold Martinis:
Last week, I shared a review of the restaurant. It was all part of a question my blogging friend had about “ambience”, and how important it is to your dining experience…whether sipping a Martini or diving into Patsy’s Chicken Parmigiana!
Yes, that’s an extra meatball on the side because I had to try one of them as well!
You can see my full review of Patsy’s – the food and the drinks, and a more in-depth discussion of the importance of “ambience” in dining out here:
Of course, sometimes “ambience” can get carried away:
Ummmm….yes, that is a Wild Boar wearing neon…and it greets you when you enter this wild NY finding establishment:
Alex, my son Jeff and I had to try “Bad Roman”: a restaurant that loves neon as well as dishes like this:
Don’t you want to know what exactly you are eating? Click on my review – and more about the giant “Raviolo” by clicking here!
And out in Hollywood, an iconic restaurant is still going strong after more than 100 years of great ambience!
Click here for a trip into Hollywood’s fabled past at Musso & Frank!
I love how celebrities can drive people into restaurants, just for the hope of a glimpse of fame….how else do you explain this?
Did the classic film star Mickey Rooney really have a “potato fantasy” restaurant?
Click here for the story!
And as we get into the holiday season, what if you saw some of Hollywood’s biggest stars posing this gift?
Bing Crosby and Bob Hope are just two of the stars selling cigarettes for the holidays!
See more of these wild retro ads here!
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Categories: Art, Exotic Travel, Memoirs, New York, Pop Culture, Restaurants, Talent/Celebrities, Travel, Travel Adventures, Travel Memoir, Wacky Food
johnrieber 
Frank Sinatra was amazing. What a voice!
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I remember my mother used to call him “Frank Not-So-Hotra”, I guess she didn’t care for him, lol.
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What a great post, John. I’d love to eat at Patsy’s one day. And the big stars selling cigarettes made me smile.
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Mickey’s Potato Fantasy never fails to amuse me. A huge meal of potatoes cooked 4 ways!
Best wishes, Pete.
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Yes Pete that’s a fun one to be sure! Thanks as always for the comments!
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and of course, there is a wild boar with a neon necklace to greet you as you walk in. love the history the best.
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Oh, what fun looking back and remembering 🙂 ! Way, way, way back Frank Sinatra and Bing Crosby one (boring to them) night at the Hanalei Plantation in northern Kauai, Hawaii actually decided on me to ‘win’ a hula competition . . . so, shared a drink and a talk! Sinatra came to Oz an awful lot later to sing at various theatre restaurants >>> hmm, rather ‘bossy’ and hyper-critical in his older years our papers were full of negativity re the guy! Nice to seem him on home ground in earlier times . . .
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Thanks for those memories!
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