How do you make a restaurant great if the food is bad?

You have an owner who is such an astute purveyor of psychology, the human condition and interpersonal relationships, so good at it that she knows who you would most like to talk with - and can make it happen.

The social scene was the hallmark of Elaine Kaufman, who ran her namesake Elaine's restaurant for 48 years before dying in December.    It didn't just apply to celebrities, any person who walked in alone would be introduced to someone.    Over time, regulars would know many other regulars, which is what made them...regulars.   Celebrities, athletes and a substantial local clientèle would return despite the spotty food.

Woody Allen told New York magazine at a screening of "Midnight in Paris" that he went to Elaine's every night for decades "despite the unrelenting bad food."  

"I think you might want to stay tonight" was a hint from Elaine that someone big would be showing up.    In Billy Joel's "Big Shot" he sang "they were all impressed with your Halston dress and the people that you knew at Elaine's" cementing the restaurant's place in pop culture - and the reputation of Bianca Jagger as a lousy date.

Longtime Elaine's manager Diane Becker inherited the restaurant on Kaufmann's passing but finally had to close it.  "This is one of the most difficult decisions I've ever had to make," Becker said in a statement. "But the truth is, There is no Elaine's without Elaine."