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Yew Tree House Antiques

Location
414 East 71st Street
Yew Tree House Antiques   LOST GEM 1 Antiques Upper East Side Uptown East

"This is what we love," explained Kevin Kleinbardt, who opened Yew Tree House Antiques with Ahna Petersen in the mid 1980s. While other antique shops have shrunken or folded in previous years, Yew Tree House has actually seen expansion in retail space, largely a testament to the owners, who shared with me that their true passion lies with seventeenth and eighteenth century English country antiques.

When I visited in 2015, however, an extremely rare collection of fifty-two carved folk art fish from the early twentieth century took over an entire wall. According to Kevin, each was crafted by a descendant of the Bounty mutineers from Pitcairn and signed accordingly on the bottom. Other pieces that caught my interest were a wood-carved and painted carousel zebra by Karl Muller from Germany, textured nautical prints by British artist Julian Meredith done with elm timber and Japanese rice paper, and an eighteenth Century French mirror.

Kevin's favorite part of what he does is the hunt, searching all over Europe and up and down the East Coast for intriguing folk art and homey antiques. "I do not know what I will come across... but I like a nice patina, and something with character that shows its age." He paused, and then added, "there are so many discoveries to be made out there." As a side street explorer, I have to agree there is always more to be found, and Yew Tree House Antiques is certainly a gem not to be overlooked.

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Yew Tree House Antiques   LOST GEM 16 Antiques Upper East Side Uptown East
Yew Tree House Antiques   LOST GEM 1 Antiques Upper East Side Uptown East
Yew Tree House Antiques   LOST GEM 2 Antiques Upper East Side Uptown East
Yew Tree House Antiques   LOST GEM 3 Antiques Upper East Side Uptown East
Yew Tree House Antiques   LOST GEM 4 Antiques Upper East Side Uptown East
Yew Tree House Antiques   LOST GEM 5 Antiques Upper East Side Uptown East
Yew Tree House Antiques   LOST GEM 6 Antiques Upper East Side Uptown East
Yew Tree House Antiques   LOST GEM 7 Antiques Upper East Side Uptown East
Yew Tree House Antiques   LOST GEM 8 Antiques Upper East Side Uptown East
Yew Tree House Antiques   LOST GEM 9 Antiques Upper East Side Uptown East
Yew Tree House Antiques   LOST GEM 10 Antiques Upper East Side Uptown East
Yew Tree House Antiques   LOST GEM 11 Antiques Upper East Side Uptown East
Yew Tree House Antiques   LOST GEM 12 Antiques Upper East Side Uptown East
Yew Tree House Antiques   LOST GEM 13 Antiques Upper East Side Uptown East
Yew Tree House Antiques   LOST GEM 14 Antiques Upper East Side Uptown East
Yew Tree House Antiques   LOST GEM 15 Antiques Upper East Side Uptown East

More places on 71st Street

Lost Gem
Polpette 71 1 Italian undefined

Polpette 71

Raised by parents from Sicily and Naples, Nick Mormando grew up in an Italian neighborhood in Brooklyn, exposed to authentic Italian food in a comfortable setting. "We were the house on the block that was always cooking something, " Nick explained. And he still is, having stayed true to his family recipes since opening the neighborhood-centric Polpette 71 restaurant in November of 1994. The front room is set up with white tablecloths, bottles of Pellegrino and photographs of "The Gates" by Christo and Jean-Claude, which decorated Central Park in 2005. On my first visit to Polpette 71, when it was still operating under its original name, Bello Giardino, Nick asked if I would like to sit outside in the garden. I looked up in surprise and eagerly replied, "Yes please. " Truly a hidden gem on West 71st, this quiet respite has become a favorite of mine over the last several years. The red-and-white checkered tablecloths, small bottles of olive oil, and a massive mural by Hans de Castellane - depicting an Italian landscape with ocean views and coastal dwellings - brings a smile to my face every time I stroll in. Overhead, a weaving grape vine, grown out of a tiny root planted years ago from Nick's childhood garden, opens to pockets of natural light. The star of the culinary show has been the "Nicky" meatball. Voted the best in the boroughs by Dish du Jour Magazine in 2009, it has since made guest appearances on television shows, and inspired Nick's latest restaurant, Polpette, on Amsterdam Avenue. Other favorites include the penne alla vodka, the linguini and clams, which Nick fondly remembers his mother serving twice a month as he was growing up, and my personal favorite, the eggplant parmigiana. In addition to the food and décor, the ambiance is set by the strong relationships the restaurant has established. Without a doubt, this is a neighborhood haunt. Special occasions are commonly celebrated, guests are unafraid to dine alone, often engaging in comfortable conversations with the servers, and diners are referenced by names. "We are that kind of place, " Nick smiled, recalling a couple who had met in his restaurant, moved outside of New York, but returned to Polpette 71 for their son's first birthday.

Lost Gem
Santa Fe 1 Mexican Family Owned undefined

Santa Fe

“Restaurants are a funny thing — I think most of us fall in and then some of us never leave, ” said Laura Bird, who spent decades working in and out of her uncle’s Southwestern eatery, Santa Fe, before taking over as the owner. Laura’s uncle, John Bird, initially set out to be a musician. However, “like most creatives in New York, he spent a lot of time working in restaurants in between gigs. ” He was a busboy at the casual Mexican joint, Cantina, on 70th Street for many years. Putting his dreams of stardom aside, John and a crew of coworkers he had befriended at Cantina chose to open a new place mere blocks away that would “elevate Southwestern cuisine. ” John later became the sole proprietor, and under his management, the business was able to straddle the line between attracting hotshot celebrities and serving as a warm, family restaurant. “So many people began bringing their kids to dinner and started a long-lasting tradition of dining at Santa Fe together, ” Laura shared. She fondly recalls her own early visits to her uncle’s restaurant. “It seemed like a game then. I remember the excitement of being allowed to use the soda gun for the first time. ” Little did she know that she would be a fixture at Santa Fe. Similar to her uncle before her, Laura graduated college with a theater major and the knowledge that she would need a side job to pay her rent. She went from working the coat check, to waitressing, to suddenly managing the entire restaurant. Though it may not be for everyone, Laura admitted that she loved the “vampire lifestyle — I could do what I loved during the day and then come here at night to do a different kind of show business. ”The family ties at Santa Fe do not stop at Laura and John. The chef of over a decade, José Gonzalez, appointed his son, Danny, as his second-in-command. Together, they dish up traditional Mexican foods as well as American staples and do their best to abide by John’s cardinal rule: consistency. “It’s easy to make something once, but the real goal is to keep cooking it the same way every time. We try to ensure that when people order a dish, it is the same flavor that they fell in love with when they first tried it a week or even ten years ago. ” Just as notable are Santa Fe’s margaritas, which have “a reputation of their own as our shining superstar. ”As for John, after devoting decades of his life to Santa Fe, he “took a bow from his restaurant journey” during the COVID-19 pandemic and entrusted Laura and her husband, Alex Fresqued, to keep running the show. In a heartwarming twist of fate, Santa Fe’s landlord turned out to be equally as fond of this neighborhood gem as its patrons, and he came on as a partner to help keep it alive.