Tom's Restaurant
Senator John McCain often ate at Tom's when he visited his daughter Meghan when she was a student at Columbia. Likewise, Barack Obama frequented the restaurant as a student at Columbia.
In popular culture
Tom's Restaurant was the locale that inspired Suzanne Vega's 1987 song "Tom's Diner."
Later, its exterior was used as a stand-in for the fictional Monk's Café in the 1989–1998 television sitcom Seinfeld, where comedian Jerry Seinfeld's eponymous character and his friends regularly convened to dine. The interior shown on the television show, however, looked very little like the real Tom's, as indoor scenes were filmed on a set in Los Angeles. Early Seinfeld episodes showed the entire neon sign; later, the "Tom's" portion was cropped out, or dimmed, showing only the "RESTAURANT" wraparound. Even though the interior and exterior have undergone minor remodeling since the show, the distinctive sign has remained the same. Tom's is featured in "Kramer's Reality Tour" conducted by Kenny Kramer. Tom’s can also be spotted in the background of Adam Sandler’s 2000 movie, Little Nicky.