Not everyone was a fan of Elaine's, the famed Italian restaurant on the Upper East Side that was a regular hangout to many famous New Yorkers (among them Woody Allen). While the place was never really known for its food, the reviews could be vicious: "Restaurant was probably good before Pizza Hut came out, but Pizza Hut has since raised the bar for overpriced Italian food," Grant E. complained. So how will the Yelp users who took to the Internet to semi-anonymously complain about the now-closed restaurant feel hearing that items from the restaurant—as well as souvenirs from the late Elaine Kaufman's apartment—brought in $385,734 at auction this week, an amount that surpassed pre-sale estimates ("Of course the decor is not that exciting"—A.K. on Yelp). more ›

Six months after Elaine Kaufman the woman went to that great restaurant in the sky, her eponymous Upper East Side restaurant is closing for good after service Thursday, May 26th. It seems that the 81-year-old Kaufman, the "first woman Mafia don," really was the crucial ingredient in the restaurant's recipe for success. more ›

After the death of Elaine Kaufman last month many wondered what would happen to the "first woman mafia don's" eponymous UES restaurant. And now we know: Seems that Kaufman left her restaurant and much of her estate to Diane Becker, a longtime manager at the restaurant. Becker plans to use Kaufman's apartment and its contents to deal with estate taxes while keeping things the same at the restaurant. “The staff is still here, and we’re going to try to run it as usual,” she told the Times. “The only missing link is Elaine.” more ›

Yesterday, friends remembered restaurateur Elaine Kaufman at the Frank E. Campbell Funeral Home. The 81-year-old passed away last week, but her legend loomed large. Page Six reports that 60 Minutes' Steve Kroft said, "I would have to categorize her, in a nonviolent way, as the first woman Mafia don. She held a great deal of social cachet in New York and was the arbiter of the pecking order of the literary and media world." And Gay Talese said, "We used to say, 'Head to the Large Lady's Lounge.'" more ›

Legendary Upper East Side restaurateur Elaine Kaufman died yesterday at age 81, and the remembrances are pouring in today. In the Post's editorial, "There was always Elaine herself, larger than life in every sense, who in 1963 created a salon for the hip and famous where literary lions and actors rubbed elbows and downed drinks with journalists, politicians, society and law-enforcement types alike." more ›

New York's literary dining scene will be a little less lively tonight, Elaine Kaufman the 81-year-old propreitress of Upper East Side establishment Elaine's has died. She passed away today at Lenox Hill Hospital due to complications with emphysema. more ›