A couple of food notes from the neighborhood:

My Favorite Bistro, at 72nd and Columbus, appears to be closed. I never went during the year-and-change it was open. Why? Because the first thing I saw on the menu was iceberg salad for $7. There is no excuse for iceberg lettuce--except maybe, just maybe, under a piece of gefilte fish. Iceberg has no place in any salad and charging $7 for a salad with it is presumptuous.

Speaking of sub-par, so is the Santa Monica sandwich at Route 66 on 9th Avenue. Advertised as a sandwich on "five grain bread" with cheese and avocado, it sounds good from the menu. However, this bread turns out to be paltry Wonder-shape slices, and the cheese seems like it is right out of a store-bought package. For the same amount, I could have enjoyed a meticulously crafted sandwich at Eatery.