Heavy History and Red Sauce Minus the Shills

The East Village is probably my favorite neighborhood in the City for many reasons. First, the bars: there are over 200. Each one has its own theme and feel. There are trendy bars, quiet bars, discount bars, clandestine bars, tiki bars, country western bars, communist bars, Polish bars, German bars, dive bars, a dive bar that has frequently been featured on television shows and in movies (I could go on forever).  Certainly, there is no dearth of choices when deciding where to enjoy a spirit.    

The East Village also offers a wide variety of food choices. One can purchase a $1 slice of pizza— before a long night of imbibing at the various bars noted above—or a more sophisticated plate of polenta with rabbit.  

In addition to the many food and drink options, the East Village is full of history.  There is history of immigrants, mobsters, churches, and artists.  

John's on 12th Street is a rare old school red sauce joint in an area replete with mob history.  On August 22, 1922, directly in front of the restaurant, Lucky Luciano murdered mobster Umberto "Rocco" Valenti.  While a Bronx man described the event as the coolest thing he had ever seen, an eight year girl from New Haven visiting family in the East Village was fatally wounded,  Just around the corner two blocks south of John’s at 265 East 10th Street is Lucky Luciano’s childhood home.  There is also De Robertis Pasticerria on First Avenue where affiliates of the the Gambino Family crime once conducted business. 

Former Home of Lucky Luciano.

De Robertis Pasticceria on First Avenue

On to the food, I found the food at John’s not good, but not bad either.  It’s the typical red sauce fare: chicken parmesan, veal parmesan, marsala, meatballs, lasagna.  This type of restaurant is a staple on Mulberry Street in Little Italy, Manhattan.  However, two salient differences between John’s and the Mulberry Street restaurants: there are no shills and no throngs of tourists. 

Entrance to John's

Sausage Parmesan?  Yikes!  I see why some of our Jewish friends refrain from eating meat with dairy.

What John’s lacks in food quality, it makes up for it with its ambiance.  The place sports old tile floors, a small service bar, old time bathrooms (I looked into the bathroom stall to see if there was an old wooden box with a string to flush and hide a gun just like in The Godfather), and those “old time small fancy” cocktail glasses that I would drink from at my grandmother’s house.

Interior of John's.  Has some resemblance to The Godfather scene mentioned above (watch scene below)?

I don’t believe I will ever return to John’s on my own volition, but if I had friends in town with a craving for old red sauce fare, John’s would fit the bill.