Downtown Restaurants

Downtown Manhattan had a diversity of restaurants. A few, like Luchow's, dated back before the turn of the century when 14th Street was midtown and the heart of the entertainment district and the Village and Little Italy had Italian restaurants that catered to the immigrant population. Italian restaurants became popular in the 1920s with couples on an inexpensive date and remained a choice for cheap eats, the expensive trattoria palaces still decades into the future. The neighborhood also had more expensive options for the ad men and publishing executives who lived in the high-rises along Fifth Avenue. Chinatown drew tourists and families. the financial district had its chain restaurants serving lunch to office workers and chop houses for the businessman's lunch. The Bohemian crowd had its own favorites.