Admittedly, it's not easy to describe the shape and extent of New York's eighth congressional district. In THE SCRAPBOOK's brand new edition of Michael Barone's Almanac of American Politics 2000, the district is characterized as being three-fifths in Manhattan, two-fifths in Brooklyn, comprising in its Manhattan parts "the Upper West Side from 59th Street north to Morningside Heights and Columbia University: the venerable apartments along Central Park West and West End Avenue and Riverside Drive, and the brownstones on the cross streets which house some of America's most idealistic and dedicated liberal-to-radical voters."
But, while taking away nothing from Barone and his co-author Grant Ujifusa, THE SCRAPBOOK finds infinitely more charming this gastronomically oriented description -- "from Nathan's to Zabar's" -- offered by the Democratic member who represents the district, the shall-we-say roly-poly Jerrold Nadler. His office placed a want ad with that description in the Hill last week.