Manhattanville, Broadway Between 125th and 126th Streets

Mary Sargent © 2009 …………………………………….. click to enlarge

The last time I was here, I went home and read about Manhattanville and learned about Columbia University's expansion plans. Not surprisingly, there have been protests and lawsuits. Maggie Astor, of the Columbia Spectator, has been reporting this story and one of her articles concerned La Floridita, the tapas restaurant above, regarding negotiations with Columbia about a possible land swap deal. Ramon Diaz, the owner, was worried about the impact a change in location would have and said, regarding that location, “It’s the Champs Elysées [of New York]—I’m on two of the most famous streets in the world." Hmm. Well, maybe if the Champs Elysées had a rusty old viaduct running down the middle of it.

I hadn't taken a usable photograph of La Floridita, so I couldn't use any of that material. Today I had my second chance.

See the green striped awning at the right of the photo? It's the edge of Floridita, a much more casual eatery, shown below.



Mary Sargent © 2009 …………………………………….. click to enlarge

Diaz said his uncle came from Cuba and opened La Floridita in 1965, and at one time had 7 of them. Was this the original one? If you know, please let me know.


See map.