Entertainment

My New York: Paul Shaffer

Once again, David Letterman has upstaged Paul Shaffer, his sidekick of 27 years. Just as the faithful bandleader releases his memoir, “We’ll Be Here for the Rest of Our Lives: A Swingin’ Show-biz Saga,” Dave went and stole the spotlight with his intraoffice tomcatting. Shaffer’s book covers his early years at “Saturday Night Live,” his time with the Blues Brothers, what it’s like at “Late Night” (sorry, nothing about sexy assistants) and the music legends he’s played with. The native of Thunder Bay, Ontario, has lived here since 1974, when he landed his first Broadway gig, playing piano for Doug Henning’s “The Broadway Show.” Now he splits his time between the Upper West Side and Westchester. This is his New York.

1. Gramercy Park Hotel, 2 Lexington Ave., at 21st Street

“I lived at the Gramercy Park Hotel for about 10 years. It was terrific. It was a pleasantly run-down hotel of the ’70s and ’80s with a mix of older, rent-controlled apartment dwellers, Europeans and new wave and punk bands. The room service was great, the hamburger was terrific, and they had a doctor who made house calls.”

2. Gallagher’s Steak House, 228 W. 52nd St., at Broadway

“I’ve been going there since my days as a Broadway musician in 1974. I love the oxtail soup, and the chips at the bar are dangerously delicious.”

3. Lincoln Center

“My favorite architecture in the city. And although I was initially worried, I see by the new Alice Tully Hall that they’re doing a marvelous job with the re-imagining and reconstruction.”

4. Central Park’s Bethesda Fountain and band shell

“The places I used to go when I first got to New York. I love the circle of conga drummers that would gather, and I love the performances in the Bandshell. I remember that fountain from the movie ‘Godspell.’ I played on the movie’s soundtrack. That represented the center of New York to me.”

5. Caffe Cielo, 881 Eighth Ave., at 52nd Street

“There’s a Paul Shaffer salad on the menu (‘Insalata Paul Shaffer’), with hearts of palm and endive, chopped, with an oil and lemon dressing. No silly lettuce to get in the way.”

6. The Blue Note, 131 W. Third St., at MacDougal Street

“I’ve seen so many unforgettable jazz artists there. I saw Dizzy Gillespie there — one of the great icons. He was just as good as everybody says.”

7. Grand Central Terminal

“It’s great to sit in any one of the restaurants there. I love Michael Jordan’s. And you can look up at the ceiling and find the two little tiles that were untouched during the renovation, and see how dark that ceiling used to be when everybody smoked. The whole place is absolutely gorgeous now.”

8. Cafe Fiorello, 1900 Broadway, at 63rd Street

“An Italian place just across from Lincoln Center. I take my kids there [and apparently friends such as Richard Belzer, left] because they love the thin-crust pizza. My 10-year-old son can finish an entire one all by himself.”

9. The Ed Sullivan Theater, 1697 Broadway, at 53rd Street

“Growing up, ‘The [Ed] Sullivan Show’ was tremendously important to me. It brought me world-class entertainment every Sunday night up in Canada. Now that I appear there with David Letterman every weeknight, I’ve come full circle in the most wonderful way.”

10. Iridium Jazz Club, 1650 Broadway, at 51st Street

“I’ve played there a number of times, most notably with my mentor, Tisziji Muñoz. He’s a spiritualist and an avant-garde jazz guitarist in the spirit of John Coltrane, and I’ve been playing with him since my college days in Toronto in the late ’60s. He plays like no one else. He takes you out, and if you’re not careful, he’ll leave you there.”