Last year my husband had a cold for a few days after Christmas while we were visiting my family in New York. After he got better, we decided to take the subway from Brooklyn to Central Park to take a few photos. When we passed by the restaurant Tavern on the Green, I told my husband that I used to help serving pasta dinners to the runners before the Marathon. When we debated whether to continue looking for a place for breakfast or going into Tavern knowing how much it would cost, "We are on vacation" was what CP always said when we had to make decision to spend money on something foolish.As I sat in the dining room with festive Christmas decoration, fanciful table cloth, the fine china, the flashy overwhelmed wall paper, the flowery carpet and the formalities each server lavishing on the guests, I thought of what Scarlett said to Bhett Butler when he told her to go ahead and spend as much money as needed to make Tara what it once was, the wealthiest and extravagantly ornated plantation. "I want all the people who's been mean to me to be pea green with envy", O'Hara said. Ms. MK who told me that I could never find another job because I did not speak any English, the person who told me "Let's see how long you will last" when I told him that I would be working full time and attending college at night and the person who saw my face and told me that the job was offered to someone else when I arrived at the scheduled interview (the day before he told me I was perfect for the job and asked how soon I could start), I want all these people to be pea green with envy that I did what they told me I could not. I did not have to lie, steal, cheat or kill. I did all the hardwork, the American ways, working and paying taxes, financing my own college education, purchasing my own home and God is my witness, I will never be hungry and that I have achieved my American Dream.
The Tavern with one of the many glittering fancy chandeliers and soaring vaulted ceilings. The restaurant is a maze of dining rooms, each decorated with different fantasy theme and the garden area which is enclosed under a beautiful canopy of lighted trees.
According to an information sheet, when originally built in 1870, the rural Victorian Gothic structure now known as Tavern on the Green was designed by Jacob Wrey Mould as a sheepfold. The first incarnation of the restaurant was launched on October 20, 1934. In 1976, the Tavern reincarnated and dazzled New Yorkers with the additional glass enclosed Crystal and Terrace Rooms, lavish use of stained glass, etched mirrors, erratic antique prints and excessive adorned chandeliers. 
$105 for breakfast for two that included two tiny cups of coffee, two glasses of orange juice, a cheese omelet, a scrambled egg with ham and harsh brown, English muffins with butter and jam, no white or rye toast, was it worth it? The server told us that "traditionally" no toast being served at New Year breakfast. What tradition and who decided that it was a tradition? Were we supposed to know the tradition? Since we asked for toast, that proved that we did not belong at the Tavern. We were just two "wannabe" poor country mouse in a place where we don't belong. A meal at the Tavern is not about the food or service, it's about being there and about being seen of being there! 
The sign reads, Private Dining Room, where celebrities and distinguished New Yorkers, enjoy their meals away from the masses. Photo below showed the decorative whimsy in the waiting area, right outside the Garden Bar.
PS: This January 10th marks the 29th Anniversary of my family arriving in New York City, beginning a new life and becoming Americans. God Bless America.
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