AP Photo/Columbia Pictures
Dining at the Russian Tea Room was New York's ultimate power meal spiced with romance - until it closed. On Nov. 3, 2006, the Russian Tea Room reopens to the public after a makeover. In the classic 1982 comedy "Tootsie," a cross-dressing Dustin Hoffman, right, made the scene there with his stupefied agent, played by producer Sydney Pollack.
The Russian Tea Room Reopens
AP Photo/Kathy Willens
A samovar stands in the main dining room at the Russian Tea Room, where employee Alban Eltari sets a table on Oct. 31, 2006, during preparations for the restaurant's reopening. The renowned restaurant, known for attracting deal-makers and celebrities, stood empty on New York's West 57th Street for four years.
The Russian Tea Room Reopens
AP Photo/Kathy Willens
Chefs prepare pork and wild mushroom golubtzi (stuffed cabbage) in the kitchen Oct. 31, 2006 at the Russian Tea Room, in a rehearsal for the restaurant's reopening. The Tea Room originally opened in 1926 as a haven for expatriate Russians who fled the Bolshevik revolution.
The Russian Tea Room Reopens
AP Photo/Kathy Willens
Russian Team Room sous chef Jeremy Flowers, left, and chef Gary Robins, center, sample caviar provided by Roberta Sbardella of Petrossian Paris on Oct. 21, 2006, while preparing for the renowned restaurant's Nov. 3 reopening.
The Russian Tea Room Reopens
AP Photo/Kathy Willens
Russian Tea Room chef Gary Robins makes notes on two types of caviar, Iranian persicus caviar, shown at left, and Spanish trout caviar, on Oct. 31, 2006, at the Russian Tea Room in New York.
The Russian Tea Room Reopens
AP Photo/Kathy Willens
Russian Tea Room employee Alban Altari gathers a place setting as he prepares the main dining room on Oct. 31, 2006.
The Russian Tea Room Reopens
AP Photo/Kathy Willens
The elaborately-decorated second floor dining room of the Russian Tea Room features a golden tree with hanging carved glass bulbs, shown Oct. 31, 2006.
