Supplies Drying Up at City's Bars, Restaurants

By Sylvia Carter STAFF WRITER

September 13, 2001

Intrepid New York city chefs are keeping many restaurants open, though often with limited menus because food deliveries are spotty.

But eventually, city dwellers marooned by Tuesday’s terrorist attack may have to do without such staples of the lifestyle to which they have become accustomed such as fresh, creamy bufala mozzarella, just-caught, flown-in fish and even beer on tap.

The Fulton Fish Market was closed yesterday, though traditionally Thursday is its biggest day of the week, when restaurateurs stock up on fish for the weekend.

Bread and fresh vegetable deliveries are sporadic as well, because vehicular access is severely limited. Now, eateries are running out of fresh lobster flown in from Maine and bufala mozzarella flown from Italy.

“We are going to run out of fish” soon, said Mario Batali, chef and part owner of Babbo, a destination restaurant in Greenwich Village. “And the bufala mozzarella usually comes in at 5:30 on Thursday.”

Not yesterday, with all but a few flights to get stranded travelers home canceled, and security coiled as tight as a fresh fiddlehead fern.

Draft beer, from distributors as nearby as Brooklyn and Queens, is also running low.

Corner Bistro, a dark beer-and-burger joint festooned with cobwebs on West Fourth and Jane Streets in Greenwich Village, has been open throughout the disaster, even on Tuesday. But manager Harold Wedick said that there was likely only enough tap beer to get through yesterday. Distributors for Anheiser Busch’s Budweiser, McSorley’s and Samuel Adams have not been able to get to the bar, he said.

When it runs out, Wedick said, “I guess they’ll have to switch to bottled beer — or I make a pretty good gin and tonic.”

The good news is that there are plenty of the famously juicy burgers. “We ran out of ground meat Wednesday,” Wedick said, “but we got an ample supply this morning. We hand-delivered it from the meat market at 14th Street.”

The bread distributor called from the 14th Street checkpoint and, using business cards to get through, the Bistro workers were allowed through to get a delivery of buns.

Burgers weigh less than kegs of beer, though.

Barrow Street Ale House, another Village bar, has also stayed open all during the crisis, and yesterday obtained some bread from a Sheridan Square supermarket that somehow got a delivery, according to Mike Zilinsky, a bartender.

At Old Town Bar, a venerable watering hole at 18th Street and Park Avenue, also remained open -- even on Tuesday. A delivery of pilsner was promised from Brooklyn Brewery for today, said bartender Amy Yax.

Deliveries of imported cheese might become a problem in the future, said Beth Goslin, director of marketing for Terrance Brennan’s cheese restaurant, Artisanal, at Park Avenue and 32nd Street, but the restaurant has a stockpile of cheese.

“Our main concern right now,” said Goslin, “is getting enough food in to send to the relief effort” because deliveries are fewer.

Concern about wine and cheese is “not important, it is nothing in comparison to what has happened,” she added.

-- Anonymous, September 14, 2001

Answers

LA residents stock up on food after terrorist attacks

Source: AFP|Published: Friday September 14, 10:08 AM

Worried the US terrorist attacks might be followed up by an onslaught in Los Angeles, residents have rushed to stock up on food, military gear including gas masks, and US flags.

"We had a few customers with the impression that this is going to lead us to World War III as soon as we find out exactly who did this," said Peter Kalaydjian, owner of a shop selling survival materials.

Lawyers, doctors, security guards and other "regular people" who, since Tuesday's suicide attacks against the twin towers of the World Trade Centre and the Pentagon, have bought defence materials including knives, helmets and other things to help them in the event of an attack.

Kalaydjian said he sold more than 600 gas masks, and sales generally had multiplied by 10 times in the last three days.

Other sought-after articles include first-aid kits "because in the event of a disaster all the hospitals and ambulances are going to be full and people are trying to prepare to heal themselves as well", he said.

Today, the US Congress urged all Americans to display the Stars and Stripes as a "symbol of solidarity".

Ned Escaip, who has a small shop also selling military style material, said: "I'm out of gas masks and out of the flags that stick on windows as well as the big flags."

Escaip has also sold large quantities of flashlights and batteries.

"A middle-aged lady came and bought a gas mask and wanted to know if I had one for dogs," he noted.

Meanwhile, in Los Angeles supermarkets, which are used to taking precautions against earthquakes, people were also stocking up on some more basic products.

"The day the attacks happened people came to buy gallons of water and canned food and all of that, to make sure they prepare for anything," said a local supermarket supervisor, Fuensanta Espinoza.

The requests and local reaction appeared not to have caught trade people off-guard.

"The same thing happened the last time the United States bombed Baghdad and there were war threats and during the Desert Storm. It's the nature of our business," said Kalaydjian.

-- Anonymous, September 14, 2001