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Here’s the Dish: Fairway 74th Street Cafe’s Classic Chicken Matzoh Ball Soup

October 19, 2023 | 10:32 AM - Updated on October 23, 2023 | 11:58 PM
in COLUMNS, FOOD
7
Photographs by Ava Stryker-Robbins.

By Ava Stryker-Robbins

Fairway Market, on West 74th Street and Broadway, is always bustling with energy. With aisles and aisles of every food you can imagine, the market is a welcoming place to all residents of the Upper West Side. And, just one staircase (or elevator ride) above the deli meats, baguettes, and produce, is a peaceful cafe with delicious food.

Fairway’s 74th Street Cafe, which has been open for at least 20 years, reopened on September 20th after a three-year hiatus due to the pandemic. It is now operating under new management with a new chef. Its Classic Chicken Matzoh Ball Soup is a comforting, tasty, and flavorful meal to eat on a chilly fall day. It contains fresh shredded chicken breast, carrots, celery, and matzoh balls. One thing that makes the dish unique is the sheer size of the matzoh balls. They are giant. Though their doughy, dumpling-like, slightly salty taste is subtle, they soak up the flavor of the broth and add more textural variation to the soup.

The chef who helped create the menu has 15-20 years of experience, according to Trevor Arnone, the new general manager, in a phone interview with West Side Rag. 74th Street Cafe serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and is open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Arnone hopes to “elevate this to pretty much the best cafe on the Upper West Side,” he said. “I am really hoping to tap into that old customer base that used to be here all the time. I know they’ve missed us.”

Growing up with a certified master chef as his father, Arnone was exposed to the kitchen at a very young age. “By nine years old, he had me at my first catering party in the back of the kitchen cutting herbs,” he said.

From there, Arnone’s passion grew. He has worked in the industry since college, first through an internship at a country club in Georgia, then running a food truck in upstate New York. “It was a passion and a love of mine,” he said.

Fairway first opened in the 1930’s as a small, corner produce store, according to its website. In 1954, founder Nathan Glickberg and his son, Leo, worked to transform the market and opened the 74th Street storefront. Though much has happened to the Fairway business since, including bankruptcy and a sale in 2020 to Village Supermarkets, which runs a number of ShopRites, the 74th Street market remains a quintessential Upper West Side location.

Arnone and his team are excited to transform the cafe and make it better than ever. “We cannot wait to welcome the entire community back and all new customers as well!”

The Classic Chicken Matzoh Ball Soup costs $10.

The Dish: Classic Chicken Matzoh Ball Soup
The Restaurant: Fairway’s 74th Street Cafe (2131 Broadway at 74th Street on the 2nd Floor)

You can read all of our Here’s the Dish columns here.

To receive WSR’s free email newsletter, click here.

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7 Comments
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Lisa
Lisa
1 year ago

I was so happy to hear the Fairway Cafe was reopening. Welcome back! Can’t wait to stop by for some matzoh ball soup!

6
Reply
Judy Katz
Judy Katz
1 year ago

Is there a menu we can access? I was a frequent guest. The burgers were especially delicious. Welcome back!!!!💥🫵🏻🙏🏼🇦🇷🇺🇸

4
Reply
MaryC
MaryC
1 year ago
Reply to  Judy Katz

https://www.fairwaymarket.com/sm/planning/rsid/4000/74thstreetcafe/

0
Reply
Jsc
Jsc
1 year ago

Any word on the pancakes? Still the same?

2
Reply
subway mom
subway mom
1 year ago

Thank you!

1
Reply
MaryC
MaryC
1 year ago

This is so much information about the manager but I’m more interest in the chef .
What do we know other than their 15-20 years of experience?

1
Reply
Jay
Jay
1 year ago

“Fairway’s 74th Street Cafe, which has been open for at least 20 years, reopened on September 20th after a three-year hiatus due to the pandemic.”

Um, Fairway 3 also went bankrupt in early 2020, before Covid.

Then ShopRite (Wakefern) took over and didn’t continue the cafe.

So “reopening” is a bit of a stretch.

It’s a new restaurant.

3
Reply

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