The first time I went in here was in 1982.
There was a women's theater group I was beginning to get involved with, and sometimes they would hold meetings at De Robertis.
I was shocked. I had never met anywhere for anything unless it was the principal's office because I was in trouble or the bar (which was certainly a place to meet but not for meetings). So stepping both into the unknown of this group of women, none of them from here, and a bakery I somehow thought was against the family law to enter (the wonderful cake beyond our self-esteem and wallets), it all felt very foreign.
I got used to going in but it still took years to order a pastry.
Now it's a place I meet others at often. Old friends, former classmates, even blind dates. In this picture, I'm meeting with Robyn and Joyce whose writings and struggles to write urge me forward.
Still have trouble ordering pastries, though.
De Rebertis Pasticceria
176 First Avenue
New York, NY 10009
(212) 674-7137
