Sheila Lukins and Julee Rosso opened a small food shop called the Silver Palate at 274 Columbus Avenue (near 73rd street, now the site of Birdbath Bakery) in 1977, and later co-authored a book called The Silver Palate Cookbook. The shop and the book were hugely influential — the recipes were exciting and flavorful but still accessible to New Yorkers who wanted to try cooking at home.

Ilana Pergam Previdi, who lived on the Upper West Side in the 1970’s and 80’s, was a fan, and told us about a time when the cookbook may have even saved her life.

“On Feb 9, 1992, I was mugged at gunpoint on the 1/9 train on my way to work an overnight shift at ABC News. The mugger, angry at the paltry amount of cash I had turned over, put the gun on me, said he would kill me, and then asked what was in the two shopping bags I was carrying (apparently still hopeful that I would be a fruitful target). I replied, ‘Chicken soup and cookies. You can have the chicken soup, but I spent all day on the cookies, and I’d appreciate it if you left them.’ The cookies were Linzer Hearts from the Silver Palate Cookbook, and I was sending them to my sister in college for Valentine’s Day. Not only was my life spared, but I saved the cookies!”

To participate in Throwback Thursday, please send us a photo, preferably by email to westsiderag@gmail.com. The subject line of the email should be “Throwback Thursday.” In the email include the photo and a brief description of who is in it and where it’s taken and when.

The best way to send an older photo, if you don’t have your images scanned, is to scan them into your computer or take a photo of the photo with a phone or digital camera. We’re not looking for perfect clarity, just a good sense of the image and some information. If this isn’t an option email us and we’ll figure out how to get a digital version of the image. (And yes, we’ll even accept photos from after 2000.)

Check out our other Throwback Thursday posts here.