Cafeteria

Long Live New York Restaurant Cafeteria, Chelsea’s Eccentric 24/7 Time Capsule of the Early Aughts | Eater NY

"When I visited the Chelsea spot Cafeteria, its menu felt unapologetically basic — avocado toast, kale salad, overpriced “street tacos,” and era-specific fusion like mac and cheese eggrolls (also described as spring rolls) and falafel tacos — yet somehow perfect. Opened in 1998 with Tyler Florence as the opening chef and known as a Sex and the City hangout, it’s a 24/7 time capsule with an early-aughts aesthetic: black-and-white palette, hole-filled IKEA-like chairs, garage-door windows, and a bar emblazoned with the words “beer,” “liquor,” and “wine.” The place still draws an eccentric, fashiony crowd (I noticed one woman in a skin-tight yellow vinyl jumpsuit), the servers aren’t in a rush, and it makes unlikely late-night fare possible — hanger steak at 3 a.m., a surprisingly good meatloaf served with mashed potatoes and green beans — alongside simple but solid cocktails (cosmos and a whiskey-and-Averna option) and novelty offerings like the $18 “mac attack” mac-and-cheese flight. Its unchanged menu and website slideshow of mostly shirtless men make it easy to mock, but its weirdly chic, approachable vibe explains why it has persevered and still fills up." - Kayla Kumari Upadhyaya