A few months ago I had the opportunity to spend a couple of hours with the legendary Martha Cooper. Here's our conversation from that day.

“I am historically the only restaurant on Staten Island to ever receive 2 stars in The New York Times, and then put on the 100 best restaurants 80 days later.” Today, Bon Appétit is spending a day on the line with Shaw-naé Dixon, founder of Shaw-naé’s House on Staten Island. Shaw-naé’s started as a local favorite serving soul food from the comfort of her own home, but now with a brick-and-mortar location and a shout-out from The New York Times, this restaurant is becoming an NYC sensation.

00:00 Intro
01:20 Oxtail Prep
04:54 Making Mac & Cheese
07:12 Making Fried Chicken
10:37 Making Cornbread
13:42 Break Time
14:57 Pre-Shift Meeting

This excellent colorized vintage photograph from the early 1900s shows hundreds of curbside stock brokers, well-dressed pedestrians, horse carts and old-time shops. The camera looks north along Broad Street from around Beaver Street. Here is a Google Street View of what that similar view looks like today. The colorization was done by expert colorist and restorer Sanna Dullaway.