September 11 attacks: Windows on the World chef on his near-miss on 9/11

Michael Lomonaco escaped with his life on Sept. 11, 2001 all because of a detour on his way to work and a pair of busted reading glasses.

It was also an extremely demanding job — the “restaurant,” spread across the 106th and 107th floors of the North Tower, was actually a few dining and drinking spots rolled into one, serving as many as 1,000 customers a day. And that meant Lomonaco typically put in long hours, arriving at 8:30 a.m. and working through dinner. It also meant he had little time to attend to personal chores.

When the first plane hit at 8:46 a.m., Lomonaco was still at LensCrafters. “We were minutes away from being finished . . . They were probably about to sell me a new frame,” he says. Suddenly, he was jolted by the crash. “I just thought, ‘Could that be the subway?’ It turns out it was the impact of the first plane.“ The lights flickered and then went out in the store. And within a minute or two, the building’s security team arrived and advised that the concourse was being evacuated.

9:03 a.m.: The second plane hits the South Tower But Lomonaco didn’t make it back to the scene. Instead, he was one of many bewildered New Yorkers on the street when the second plane hit at 9:03 a.m. “I heard the roar of the jet engines. I looked up at the moment of impact,” Lomonaco recalls. And then, he realized the full gravity of the situation: “This is an attack. We’re under attack.

In the aftermath of 9/11, Lomonaco helped set up the Windows of Hope fund to support the families of Windows employees who died, along with the families of other Trade Center food-service workers who perished. Eventually, he got to realize a dream and establish his own restaurant in Porter House, a steakhouse with an upscale, gourmet-centric approach. In many ways, the Midtown establishment, which is celebrating its 15th anniversary this year, is a continuation of Windows on the World, since Lomonaco borrowed some culinary ideas he began exploring at Wild Blue, the restaurant-within-a-restaurant at the Trade Center dining spot. Lomonaco also brought aboard key staff people he had at Windows.

Great story and a great chef! ❤️🗽

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