It’s Throwback Thursday, when Upper West Siders and formers UWSers send in their photos of life in the nabe back in the day. Today’s contribution is from Ibby Lang, who has been living here since 1976.
“This is my friend Jackie Huey on the SW corner of 79th and Broadway circa 1974. Note the late lamented Babka in the background. I believe the photo was taken on a trip to the City (my long-intended home) when I still was finishing up school in Buffalo (ugh). My friends and I were on a biking excursion.
P.S. I have been a proud Upper Westside resident since 1976, when I finished school.”
Babka Bakery was located at 2218 Broadway, now occupied by Sunglass Hut. If you remember it, tell us in the comments — I assume the Babka was good, no? Just writing the word Babka makes me want to eat an entire Babka. Babka Babka Babka.
Oh and here’s a picture from that same outing of Ibby making some sort of joke about “extreme biking.”
“In case it isn’t obvious, which it probably isn’t, we had just seen a piece on TV about “extreme skiing,” which sport was rather new at the time. In the photo, having been inspired, I am engaging in “extreme biking” (one foot on the seat of the bike, the other extended behind me) and laughing hysterically because I think I am being so funny. My friend Faith Crosby is holding the bike up because I had yet to master extreme biking. JAD Luggage in the background.”
To participate in Throwback Thursday, please send us a photo, preferably by email to westsiderag@gmail.com. The subject line of the email should be “Throwback Thursday.” In the email include the photo and a brief description of who is in it and where it’s taken and when.
The best way to send an older photo, if you don’t have your images scanned, is to scan them into your computer or take a photo of the photo with a phone or digital camera. We’re not looking for perfect clarity, just a good sense of the image and some information. If this isn’t an option email us and we’ll figure out how to get a digital version of the image. (And yes, we’ll even accept photos from after 2000.)
This is the second in our Throwback Thursday series. Check out our first post here.
Babka wasn’t just good, it was great. And I still miss it. My mother kept them in the house often.
Their babkas were different than what you find at Zabar today. They were bundt cake shaped, had dried fruits inside and a glaze style icing dribbled around. I remember them as more dense and moist, too. Delicious.
Sad they went the way of the Sachertortes at Eclair and the checkerboard cookies from Tip Toe Inn. All gone.
Great photo!
Nice to see how uncrowded and clean the streets were – compared to now.
That was the SE corner, not SW corner. I hadn’t thought of it since the 60s or 70s. I can’t remember how their baked good were but probably terrific.
Babka, in the background, was on the SE corner. The person depicted is on the SW corner.
Babka (like Cake Master RIP) had Jewish “corn” bread, the summit of sturdy, tasty rye. Now nowhere to be found, except in my memory.
Zabar’s sells a Jewish corn bread. Unfortunately (from my point of view), the last time I asked about it, about a month ago, they had only a seeded (caraway)version available. The used to sell it unseeded. Superb!
We had so many great bakeries between 72nd St. and 82nd St. – Babka, Cake Masters, Eclair, Royale, and Florence, to name a few. And you could get baked goods at C & L on 74th and Broadway. It was a very sweet time on the upper West side (sorry, I couldn’t resist).
Babka The best was Lichtmans at 86th on the south west corner of Amsterdam. Unfortunately no other bakery has made a babka as good.
Babka, Cake Masters, Eclair!! How wonderful the UWS used to be….
I would recommend a bakery for Babka. However is it herasy to go out of the UWS. Try The Arcade Bakery, 220 Church St. It is inside the building arcade. The Babka is wonderful and reminds me of what my grandmother used to bake.
I was 6 years old when they closed. I remember the bakery fondly, as well as Cake Masters. I remember the ladies behind the counter were always nice to me and they’d give me a cookie ‘on the house.”
The UWS really felt like a neighborhood back then, not so much anymore. I miss the old days, and I miss many of the quaint stores and homey restaurants that are no longer in business.
This is such a feelgood adventure. Kudos to you. I love what you are doing with this publication.
Not only do I remember Babka, but I can still remember the taste of their delicious bread and salt stickswhich were still warm!
Anyone remember Bloom’s on 72 St.
I still have a fancy tin from The Babka. Never had a babka since that could hold a candle to those. My Babcia used to send a babka from The Babka to the Indianapolis for every special celebration – birthdays, anniversaries, etc.
If anyone has a recipe for their, or a similar, babka – post one. (Cakemaster’s continued the tradition for a while and they were VERY good, too.)