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A ‘Jewish luncheonette’ returns to the Flatiron District, with a killer egg cream
(New York Jewish Week) — It’s just after 1 p.m. on an unseasonably warm autumn day, and the line at the recently opened Flatiron restaurant S&P, which describes itself as “a new place for a very old lunch counter,” is out the door.
Fortunately for my rumbling stomach, the crowd is mostly due to the tight quarters within: Many customers are simply waiting for takeout orders of pastrami sandwiches and matzah ball soup. The barstool seating at the vintage marble counter means space near the entrance is at a premium, and my dining companion (none other than Shannon Sarna, the editor of The Nosher) and I are quickly seated at a two-top in the cramped yet convivial rear, which is dominated by a long green banquette.
S&P officially opened Sept. 28, the latest venture from Eric Finkelstein and Matt Ross, the founders of hip local sandwich mini-chain Court Street Grocers. It’s the newest iteration of an old-school luncheonette at 174 Fifth Ave., which first opened in 1928 and had been known for decades as Eisenberg’s Sandwich Shop.
I myself had once been a regular Eisenberg’s customer: At the tail-end of the ’90s, my first “real” job in New York was at the Flatiron Building across the street. To me — and, clearly, to many other New Yorkers — Eisenberg’s was the kind of place that seemed to be entwined with the very fabric of the city, like pigeons, hot dog carts and subway cars. I can’t say the food was particularly good at Eisenberg’s, but washing down a tuna melt with an egg cream in the vintage environs always felt special.
After a series of owners, Eisenberg’s shuttered for good during the pandemic in March 2021. Finkelstein and Ross — who first met as undergraduates at the Rhode Island School of Design, where they graduated in 2003 — were tapped to take over the space this spring, as the building’s landlord was committed to having a tenant who would preserve the vibe (if not the name, due to legal reasons) of Eisenberg’s.
The partners have spiffed up the interior and the menu a tad — but not enough so that the eatery feels unrecognizable. In fact S&P very much feels the same as Eisenberg’s always has, even if the floor is new and dishes such as bananas and sour cream are recent additions. As Finkelstein, 40, who grew up in a Jewish family in Hollis Hills, Queens, told me in a phone interview: “This is the kind of food I grew up around and with.”
In an effort to preserve the space’s long history, the new owners settled on a name that honors the restaurant’s original owners, Charles Schwadron and Rubin Pulver. “You can see that these two guys, Schwadron and Pulver, had built this place out right when the building was erected, and they were going to run a restaurant together,” Finkelstein said, explaining research that included scouring old lawsuits and tax documents. “In a 1940 tax photo, which is how we found out it had been called S&P, you can see five other sandwich shops on the same block.”
Following a hectic weekday lunch rush, I spoke with Finkelstein about the luncheonette’s legacy, its Jewish influences and how to make a perfect egg cream.
This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.
New York Jewish Week: Eisenberg’s felt like the kind of place that’s been around forever — and the new S&P still does. The nostalgia is there, but at the same time, the restaurant really feels like a living, breathing part of the city. Is that what you were aiming for?
Eric Finkelstein: This kind of place has always been really important to my business partner, Matt [Ross], and I — and to, obviously, a lot of people in New York. It’s the kind of place that people associate with New York. When you think about the city, you assume that these places are everywhere — and they should be. There are a number of reasons why they aren’t; some of them are organic, and some of them aren’t.
We found ourselves with an opportunity to help the city retain this one. And I think, fundamentally, what we really wanted to do was just make sure that if we were going to do this, that we did it in a way that was honest — where we tried to make the best food that we can, and try to provide the most appropriate level of service that we can, and that it’s not, to use a phrase Matt uses, a “theme-park version.” Because we definitely feel that this kind of thing is timeless, and it’s not, you know, it’s not an exercise in nostalgia to try to keep this place open.
Were you familiar with Eisenberg’s before you opened S&P?
I wasn’t aware of Eisenberg’s as a kid. My father definitely knew of it; my great-grandparents worked in the neighborhood, where there were a ton of places like Eisenberg’s. When we opened Court Street Grocers [in 2010], Matt and I used a number of things as a model for what we wanted to do [and this was one of them]. Like everybody else, I was kind of bummed to see the place had declined so precipitously in those last couple of years, then even more devastated to see it close.
I should say, obviously, that we are not Eisenberg’s. We don’t have the right to use that name. S&P is a different business. But one of the things that I loved so much about Eisenberg’s is that it was a lunch counter, that, you know, there were hundreds, or maybe thousands of lunch counters exactly like it in New York, with the same exact specs for the marble countertop and the mirrored back bar.
There are a lot of traditional Jewish foods on the menu, like latkes and matzah brei, but you also have things like cheeseburgers and bacon. Would you consider S&P a Jewish deli, or do you see it as Jewish in any way?
I would consider it a Jewish luncheonette. I think a deli has counter service, like a deli counter. Maybe a deli food case, and you could order food to go, or you could sit down at a table and maybe get a table service. But I think the lunch counter aspect of it makes it not a deli but a luncheonette.
It’s obviously not kosher. But, you know, I think there’s a tradition of this kind of lunch counter in New York that was Jewish inflected. And even a lot of diners have a lot of traditional Jewish food on their menus, for whatever reason, just because it’s New York.
I read that S&P’s desserts are made by your relatives. I love how this is a family business — a lot of the classic Jewish restaurants in the city, like Katz’s Delicatessen and Russ & Daughters, are generations-old family businesses. Do you feel like you’re recreating some of that, with something new?
My father makes the rugelach and both of Matt’s parents make the carrot cake.
The Court Street Grocers business, we’ve always thought of it as a kind of mom-and-pop-style operation. Decisions are made based on what’s actually happening with interactions between the customers and the staff, versus just kind of coming up with what people call “a concept” and executing it. These places should be living and breathing things that change.
Bonus question: I ordered a tuna melt and an egg cream at S&P, just like I used to at Eisenberg’s. I like egg creams OK but I don’t generally love them. But the one I had at S&P was by far the best egg cream I’ve ever had. What’s your secret?
First of all, we have good seltzer — we made sure that we had a good seltzer system put in, with the right amount of carbon dioxide, pressure, and a way that we can get it cold enough, which is a big deal. We’re using good milk, and we’re using Fox’s U-Bet [chocolate] syrup. So it’s sort of the same ingredients that everybody uses. I don’t know if ours is better, but the order of operations is really important. Before we opened we tried, over and over again, different ways of making it, like you put the chocolate syrup and then the milk. [Or] you put the milk and seltzer and then syrup. We’ve gotten to a place where we’re really satisfied. The amount of syrup is really important — I think it’s just proportions and order of operations, and then doing your best to try to not beat out all the carbonation.
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Belgian Police Detain Former EU Foreign Policy Chief Mogherini in Fraud Probe
European Union VIce Presiden and High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini (L) is seen during a talk with Vietnam’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh in Hanoi, Vietnam, Aug. 5, 2019. Photo: REUTERS/Kham
Belgian police on Tuesday detained former European Union foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini and a current senior EU diplomat as part of a fraud investigation that included raids at several sites, three sources familiar with the probe said.
The European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) said the investigation focused on “suspected fraud related to EU-funded training for junior diplomats.” It involved searches at the EU‘s diplomatic service in Brussels, at the College of Europe – an elite university in Bruges that educates many EU officials – and at the houses of suspects.
Mogherini and senior diplomat Stefano Sannino, both Italian nationals, are well known in Brussels diplomatic circles and news of their detentions sent shockwaves through the EU community in Brussels.
Mogherini was the EU‘s high representative for foreign and security policy and head of its diplomatic service from 2014 to 2019. She became rector of the College of Europe in 2020.
TENDER OF TRAINING PROGRAMME PROBED
Sannino previously served as the most senior civil servant in the diplomatic service between 2021 and 2024 and is now director general of the European Commission’s department for the Middle East, North Africa, and the Gulf.
The EPPO said in a statement that three people had been detained but withheld identities, citing the ongoing investigation. Neither Mogherini nor Sannino could be reached for comment.
The prosecutor’s office said its investigation centered on the establishment of the European Union Diplomatic Academy – a nine-month training program for junior diplomats, which was awarded to the College of Europe in 2021-2022 by the EU diplomatic service following a tender procedure.
It said there were “strong suspicions” that confidential information was shared during the process with one of the candidates participating in the tender.
“Prior to the searches, the EPPO requested the lifting of the immunity of several suspects, which was granted,” the statement said. “All persons are presumed innocent until proven guilty by the competent Belgian courts of law.”
A spokesperson for the EU diplomatic service confirmed police visited its offices on Tuesday as part of an investigation into activities that took place before the current foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas took office.
The diplomatic service is “fully cooperating with the authorities,” added the spokesperson, Anitta Hipper. “Since it’s an ongoing investigation, we will not be able to say more.”
The College of Europe said in a statement it would “fully cooperate with the authorities in the interest of transparency and respect for the investigative process.”
“The college remains committed to the highest standards of integrity, fairness, and compliance — both in academic and administrative matters,” it said.
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Pope Urges Middle East to Reject ‘Horror of War’ at End of First Overseas Trip
Pope Leo XIV waves to the crowd during a Holy Mass at the Waterfront, during his first apostolic journey, in Beirut, Lebanon, Dec. 2, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir
Pope Leo bade farewell to Lebanon on Tuesday with a fervent appeal to leaders across the Middle East to listen to their people’s cries for peace and to change course away from the “horror of war.”
The first US pope wrapped up his first overseas trip as Catholic leader by addressing 150,000 people at a Mass on Beirut’s historic waterfront, where he pleaded for Lebanon to address years of conflict, political crises, and economic misery.
Leo said the region as a whole needed new approaches to overcome political, social, and religious divisions.
“The path of mutual hostility and destruction in the horror of war has been traveled too long, with the deplorable results that are before everyone’s eyes,” Leo said. “We need to change course. We need to educate our hearts for peace!”
‘MAY THE ATTACKS CEASE’
Leo has been visiting Lebanon for three days on the second leg of an overseas trip that started in Turkey, in which he has pleaded for peace in the Middle East and warned that humanity’s future was at risk from the world’s proliferating conflicts.
The pope, a relative unknown on the world stage before his election to the papacy in May, has been closely watched as he made his first speeches overseas and interacted for the first time with people outside mainly Catholic Italy.
In Lebanon, he urged the heads of religious sects to unite to heal the country and pressed political leaders to persevere with peace efforts after last year’s devastating war between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah, and continued Israeli strikes.
He also asked the international community “to spare no effort in promoting processes of dialogue and reconciliation” and asked those with “political and social authority” to “listen to the cry of your peoples who are calling for peace.”
In remarks at Beirut’s airport moments before taking off for Rome, Leo made his first apparent reference to Israeli strikes, saying he had been unable to visit Lebanon’s south because it is “currently experiencing a state of conflict and uncertainty.”
“May the attacks and hostilities cease,” he pleaded. “We must recognize that armed struggle brings no benefit.”
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun asked Leo to keep Lebanon in his prayers, saying: “We have heard your message. And we will continue to embody it.”
‘PAIN AFTER PAIN’
Crowds had gathered at the waterfront hours before the start of Tuesday’s Mass. They waved Vatican and Lebanese flags as Leo toured in an enclosed popemobile, offering blessings as some in the crowd used umbrellas to guard against a strong Mediterranean sun.
Maroun al-Mallah, a 21-year-old student of landscape engineering, arrived at the site of Leo’s Mass before dawn to volunteer and said the visit could be a reset for Lebanon.
“It was lovely to know there was a sign of hope coming back to Lebanon,” Mallah told Reuters.
“Even in university, we just think what could come next. It’s just pain after pain after pain … especially after the third biggest explosion happened” at the port, he said.
Earlier on Tuesday, Leo visited a psychiatric hospital run by Franciscan nuns and prayed near rubble at the Beirut port, where a 2020 chemical explosion shredded parts of Beirut.
The blast killed more than 200 people and caused billions of dollars in damage, but an investigation into the cause has been stymied and no one has been held to account.
Leo laid a wreath of flowers at a memorial there and greeted about 60 blast survivors and relatives of the victims from different religions holding photos of their lost loved ones.
He gave each a rosary in a pouch bearing his coat of arms. One woman sobbed as she greeted Leo and asked if she could give him a hug. He nodded, and they embraced.
Cecile Roukoz, who lost her brother in the blast, said Leo “will raise his voice for justice, and we need justice for all the victims.”
Lebanon, which has the largest proportion of Christians in the Middle East, has been rocked by the spillover of the Gaza conflict as Israel and Lebanese terrorist group Hezbollah went to war, culminating in a devastating Israeli offensive.
The country, which hosts 1 million Syrian and Palestinian refugees, is also struggling to overcome a severe economic crisis after decades of profligate spending sent the economy into a tailspin in late 2019.
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The Hardest Thing in Philanthropy Is Saying ‘No’
An aerial view of the Temple Mount in the Old City of Jerusalem. Photo: Wikimedia Commons.
When people ask what the hardest thing about working in philanthropy is, they expect to hear about challenges related to raising money or dealing with difficult donors or recipients in various situations.
In actuality, the answer is significantly more painful: The hardest thing in philanthropy is saying “no.”
We know when there is money available and when there isn’t. At the end of the day, someone needs to make decisions.
I recently looked into the origin of the word philanthropy. The word is derived from an ancient Greek word “philos,” which refers to love, and “anthropos,” which refers to people. Basically, philanthropy literally translates to the love of humanity.
Note that there is no mention of money or donations in this definition. This shows something profound: the basic necessity of philanthropy is having a genuine desire to help other people. Money is simply a tool.
Imagine two cases that come up on the same day: One person needs an urgent financial grant for food. The second person requests support for studies that will allow him to earn a decent living and become independent, helping him stand on his own two feet. The budget is only able to help one of them. Which would you choose?
What needs to be considered: Is it better to give someone a fish, or teach them how to fish? I believe that it’s better to invest in someone who will be able to stand on their own two feet tomorrow and potentially even help others in the future. True, we have to say “no” to someone else, but that’s part of the decision.
I’ve been working in fundraising for more than 40 years in the United States, Canada, and Israel. The money we transfer is not ours — it’s the money of other people who have trusted us. We are the faithful messengers, which means we must ask: What will the effects of this money be?
It’s also a matter of professional responsibility. Every dollar is scrutinized — is the organization legitimate? Does it comply with tax laws on both sides? Just a month ago, I had to explain to a donor that donations to military causes do not meet the definition of charity under US tax law. That’s the kind of guidance an intermediary organization should give — even when it means saying “no.”
At our foundation, we work as a bridge between donors in North America and nonprofits in Israel. A donor in Toronto or New York wants to help in Israel, but they need someone on the ground to check and verify their potential projects. True philanthropy begins with loving people, but continues with the understanding that you can’t help everyone. And when the moment comes to say “no” — and it always will — you have to remember that it’s part of the mission. Because if we say “yes” to everyone, it would prevent us from helping anyone.
Chaim Katz is the founder and CEO of the Ne’eman Foundation, which helps Israeli non-profits receive donations from North America.