NY Times Famous Roses Coffee Shop

E handwritten sign on the wall of Rose's Luncheon (no room for the "ette" on a storefront this narrow) is meant to be noticed. It's near the front door, opposite the eight-seat Formica counter and just above the Alka-Seltzer and Bayer dispensers, and it reads, "We Believe in God." Then there's the dusty gumball machine filled with fossilized Chiclets, the old letter-tile menu on the wall and, not least of all, the fact that no cash changes hands when the old guy at the end of the counter finishes his meal and amicably takes his leave.

When the subject of the place's history comes up, a lively argument erupts about whether Rose's Luncheon is, in fact, in the Bedford Park section of the Bronx or in Norwood, but no one gets too exercised trying to count the years Rose's has been around. "Too long," said a sighing Kathy, the co-owner and the successor to Rose herself, as she added to the departing customer's tab on a chit she keeps behind the counter.

A few things are certain: When you order tea with sugar at Rose's, they go heavy on the sugar. When you say thank you, it's returned with a bright "You're welcome, honey" that makes you think that the person behind the counter wasn't expecting such good manners from a stranger. Rose's may qualify as a charming relic of a lost New York, but to people there on a wintry day, it's just the place to go for a hot lunch.