"Upstairs there is a beautiful oak bar, salvaged from the Bowery and restored. There are three dining rooms, one with a working fireplace. And in the summer there is one of the Village's loveliest sidewalk cafes. And there is a real kitchen, which has garnered all kinds of acclaim, including the 1998 Village Arts Award for "inspired cuisine." There is also a performance space downstairs where the tradition of theater, performance, music and poetry is alive and well. As Mayor Edward Koch said in a proclamation celebrating the café's 10th anniversary in 1987, it has become "a culinary as well as a cultural landmark." " (description taken from corneliastreetcafe.com)