""You used to have to dress up to go out to lunch," says the fashion designer, cabaret singer, and foremost man-about-town Isaac Mizrahi. "I really liked the idea of having a reason to put on a coat and tie. But over the years, everything has become much more casual. Now you go in a sweatshirt, and it's okay because everybody around you is dressed like that.""
"A lifelong New Yorker, Mizrahi has no shortage of haunts. "There used to be a million places: Mortimer's, La Grenouille, La Caravelle, the Four Seasons," he says, "but they're all gone now. It used to be such an incredible event, going to lunch." But the one thing he refuses to compromise on, even now? "A civilized luncheon in a restaurant ends with the cookie plate," he says. "Even if you're on a diet.""
Isaac Mizrahi is a fashion designer, cabaret singer, and notable New York social figure who notes a shift toward casual dress for daytime dining. He continues a long-running cabaret engagement at Café Carlyle and plans a six-week national tour from New Bedford to Palo Alto. He recalls many classic New York restaurants that have closed and laments the loss of formal luncheon ritual. He insists that a proper restaurant luncheon concludes with the cookie plate, even when dieting. His routine includes making strong iced coffee at home, using a pitcher handmade by neighbor Maira Kalman, who was traveling to Mexico.
Read at Grub Street
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