Golden era restaurants & cuisine of the era

[green papaya]

these old restaurant photos with old fashioned prices make me hungry, this is the type of food I like to eat

 

[1930artdeco]

Ok I am ready for lunch now!

 

[LizzieMaine]

Thirty cents for three pork chops is a pretty rich meal for somebody earning twelve dollars a week, but I can't fault the menu. I'll take that kind of food any day of the week over prissy "New American Cuisine."

 

[green papaya]

Pig's knuckles and red cabbage, Pig's Feet & Kraut isnt very common on todays menus?

but you can still find those dishes if your city has a chinatown

I also used to eat beef brain / calf brains often as a kid, but seldom see it for sale at the market.

 

[fashion frank]

Seeing the "french roast 10" cents makes me think of "brother can you spare a dime"
Corned beef hash and egg ,I used to eat that a lot as a kid ,and I agree with Lizzie " I'll take that kind of food and day of the week " over what most people eat now a days.

All he Best,Fashion Frank

 

[Fading Fast]

While I didn't see it on the menus in the photos - what seems to have all but gone away today, but was a staple then, was chop steak. Chop meat grilled on a flat top (gets a great char) usually served with mash potatoes, gravy and some kind of vegetable. Loved that dish and just don't see it anymore.

 

[EliasRDA]

Its possible the brains have gone away due to mad cow scare of the what, 1990's? I know that since I was stationed in Europe in the early 90's I've been banned from donating blood due to mad cow disease being an issue there then. Not that I could anyway due to other issues.

I still eat corned beef & roast beef hash with a couple nice medium fry eggs on the top, add the nominal ketchup & I'm in heaven. My mom raised my brother & I on that when my dad was travelling for his job & money was tight.

Those 2 guys in the first pic, the one hiding behind the barber pole looked bored but the one on the steps looked angry I guess. I wonder what was going through his mind as the photograph was being taken.

 

[BigFitz]

Here's my Great-Aunt and Uncle at a local watering hole for a Friday night fish fry. My best guess is late '40's

[URL=http://s130.photobucket.com/user/firestrat/media/IMG_20150701_0001_zps6ntctufw.jpg.html] [/URL]

 

[LizzieMaine]

Those 2 guys in the first pic, the one hiding behind the barber pole looked bored but the one on the steps looked angry I guess. I wonder what was going through his mind as the photograph was being taken.

"*******' photographers. They never tip."

 

[HudsonHawk]

While I didn't see it on the menus in the photos - what seems to have all but gone away today, but was a staple then, was chop steak. Chop meat grilled on a flat top (gets a great char) usually served with mash potatoes, gravy and some kind of vegetable. Loved that dish and just don't see it anymore.

You just need to move to the South. It's pretty much a staple, up there with CFS.

 

[Stanley Doble]

Organ meats seem to be passe. Don't remember when I have seen liver, stuffed heart, steak and kidney pie, or even ham hocks.

 

[Fading Fast]

You just need to move to the South. It's pretty much a staple, up there with CFS.

Up until the late '80s / early '90s it was reasonably common to find in the NYC area - not at the trendy places, but at the regular-people places. But in the last 15 or 20 years, it has all but disappeared, even from regular-people places. And even from the places that have been around and serving it for 50, 60 or 70 years. I assume it just stopped selling. Good to know it is still a staple somewhere and, next time I'm in the South, I will look for it.

 

[LizzieMaine]

Organ meats seem to be passe. Don't remember when I have seen liver, stuffed heart, steak and kidney pie, or even ham hocks.

I loved heart meat as a kid -- a chopped-heart sandwich was my favorite school lunch for a long time, but I haven't had one in years. We also ate a lot of fried tripe, which I did not like quite so much.

 

[HudsonHawk]

I don't like chitlins. Just thought that needed to be said.

 

[Hercule]

... We also ate a lot of fried tripe, which I did not like quite so much.

Only if it's pickled. Oh goodness, what I wouldn't give for a plate of that right now!

 

[fashion frank]

I dont know if anyone else has picked up on this ,but looking at the picture with the two barbers in it ,Im looking at their sign and noticed the "Bay Rum" on the sign and all I could think of was the Three stooges when they are mimicking Hilter, Tojo and Mussolini and Moe pulls down the wall map and points to the "Bay of Rum" not to mention "rum boogie".


http://www.artofmanliness.com/2010/01/21/diy-bay-rum-aftershave/

http://www.turtlebay88.com/Hite-s-Bay-Rum.html

http://theshaveden.com/forums/threads/making-homemade-bay-rum.34274/


All the Best,Fashion Frank

 

[pawineguy]

Up until the late '80s / early '90s it was reasonably common to find in the NYC area - not at the trendy places, but at the regular-people places. But in the last 15 or 20 years, it has all but disappeared, even from regular-people places. And even from the places that have been around and serving it for 50, 60 or 70 years. I assume it just stopped selling. Good to know it is still a staple somewhere and, next time I'm in the South, I will look for it.

Gallagher's!! Although it features the typical steakhouse prices of today, the chopped steak is still under $25 I believe (not that that's cheap), but when I've been in there I have seen numerous people that clearly go there just for that.

 

[green papaya]

Tommy's Joynt San Francisco

I like to go to Tommys Joynt in SF, it's an old family restaurant thats been around since back in the 1940's, they serve some old fashioned favorites and have very reasonable prices, it reminds me of my first photo the Blossom Restaurant in NYC circa 1935

they have a special everyday, one of my favorites is the Lamb Shank with vegetables and sour dough bun for $8.55

 

[Edm1]

Yeah...chopped steak is all over the south. I ordered it a few months ago at a steakhouse in charleston WV. One I find delicious is osso Buko. I had an old Italian friend tell me it used to be poor peoples food. It was the throw away. Now it is expensive but VERY good.

 

[LizzieMaine]

That's the trend in "foodie" culture -- to take working-class food and turn it into some kind of mutated, overpriced boutique item. But it's been going on like that since long before the foodies came along -- I chuckle every time I hear some chump tourist raving about their fifty-dollar artisanally-caught lobster dinner, since I had to eat so much of the stuff as a kid that I can't stomach it anymore.