Golden era food.

[Biltmore Bob]

And then when I was 12...

I worked High Steel in New York City...

 

[Wild Root]

Junk Food

Oh boy, Junk Food! I used to like it very much (I still enjoy a good soda now and again) but not as much as I used to! I don't snack as much as I did once and I'm so glad I don't. I used to enjoy all the bad stuff you could think of. I find my self enjoying a good ripe peach or gapes. And this month I have had a few of them! Watermelon is also on the top of the list!!! I believe there were plenty people snacking before the war it just wasn't junk food. Snaking I'm sure consisted of peanuts, fruit and veggies. That's what I try and do today. It is way better then a bag of chips.

Getting back to something I wanted to touch on was the Good Humor Man. Most people think of the 1950's when the Good Humor man comes to mind. Well, the idea of the ice cream man goes back farther then the 50's. Ice cream was being sold on the streets in the 20's and through the 40's! The ice cream truck I believe started in the late 30's. Soon as electric refrigeration came around in the 1920's it took off! Most of the upper crust could afford electric any thing seeing that Sears still offered ice boxes all the way into the 40's! But, companies like Good Humor could afford to outfit small trucks to carry this frozen treat to the kids in towns and cities! I love Ice Cream and find it my favorite treat!

Root.

 

[Big Man]

And when I was ...

It was said my grandfather used to tell folks that he had been "working as a farmer" since the day he was born. And when folks would reply, "now you know, Mr. Brown, you didn't work when you were a little baby", he would reply, "I sure did. I was born milking and spreading manure."

Oh well, he thought it was funny, I'm sure ...

 

[flat-top]

"Flattop: growing up in the Bronx, did you like chocolate egg creams?"
Yes Karol!! I LOVED them! Still do. We used to make them ourselves with vanilla syrup purchased from the soda truck that I mentioned earlier! Sometimes, I used to just pour the syrup right into my mouth! I know, kinda gross, but so YUMMY!
flat-top

 

[K.D. Lightner]

Flat-top: I still miss the chocolate egg creams I got there. Sometimes, there are concoctions here that folks try to pass off as that, but no one beats NYC for the eggs creams -- not to mention bagels and lox, or Junior's cheesecake. Oh, boy, then there was Brighton Beach and all those wonderful blintzes and.... I've forgotten what some of those things were called. But, they were good tasting. Knishes, I think that was what they were called.

karol

 

[Wild Root]

Well, this is really starting to be a good thread! I had no idea that it would grow up so fast! Kind of brings a tear to a man's eye to see his babies grow up.

Keep up the good work every one!

Root.

 

[MudInYerEye]

Any of you ladies or gents ever had pastrami from Katz's on Houston and Ludlow? Deadly stuff, but MAN is it good. They've been serving it on that corner since the 1890's.

 

[flat-top]

While visiting my (ex) in-laws in Tennessee, I was fed chicken and dumplings that were just AMAZING. As I was moaning with approval, the grandma who made it kept telling me that it was just "simple food", and was perplexed by my reactions. A little bit later, she told me how chicken and dumplings reminded her of when she was a little girl and the family was poor, and how one chicken had to last them for a few days. The dumplings or dough was added just to make the meal heartier.
I'll miss that Southern cookin'! Cracker Barrel actually serves chicken and dumplings, and it's good, but nothing like the real thing!
flat-top

 

[K.D. Lightner]

I love to try foods from other cultures and/or other parts of the country. I lived with a Houston woman who was handicapped. Several of her caregivers were African American women, who would bring some Southern food and share it with us. My mother visited at that time and, at the age of 82, had her first taste of collard greens. She loved them and has attempted to duplicate what our caregiver gave her, but, of course, has not done so yet. (I think it was the lack of a ham hock). Another caregiver from New Orleans who made chicken gumbo for me. I had never had it before and loved it!

At work, we have a goodly number of Filipino people who bring dishes to our potlucks that I adore: pansit, lumpia, chicken adoba, pan du sol. Not to mention the Mexican foods one can get in San Diego. Whatever will I do when I return to Des Moines?

I never had foreign foods or even Southern food when I was young. There were no Chinese restaurants (there was one in downtown Des Moines, when I was in my 20's), no sushi, which is my absolutely favorite food in the world.

In Iowa in the 40's and 50's, it was pretty much white bread. But, also some good things they just don't have today.

karol

 

[Slicksuit]

Karol, Flat-top...I found a kit for egg-creams on the internet. It sounds like it's authentic, containing 2 containers of Fox's U-Bet Syrup and an instruciton book with history and recipes.

I might try it out myself, what do you think?
Here's the location to buy the product: http://www.newyorkfirst.com/gifts/1002.html#
For those that like to outfit their home in vintage, it might be a good addition.

 

[flat-top]

OUCH!! $59 is pricey for that. The glasses are great though! U-Bet WAS the brand of syrup that I used, but you can buy that in a regular store. Just mix seltzer, flavored syrup and milk and you have an egg cream!. Even if it doesn't turn out perfect, it'll still be good!
flat-top

 

[Wild Root]

Yeah, you're pretty much buying the glasses and the book at that price. But, don't egg creams have egg? Or is it mixed in the goop.

Root.

 

[flat-top]

Nah, no eggs, just milk, seltzer and syrup. I don't know where the "egg" comes from!

 

[Wild Root]

That's interesting. I wonder what the history on the egg cream came from!

Any one here knows the story as to how a treat called an egg cream that has no eggs got the name?

Root.

 

[Zach R.]

The explanation on this site makes sense.

 

[Slicksuit]

It might also be because the white head that forms on the drink resembles lightly whipped egg whites.

I take it back about the egg white kit...what a rip! I would be better off just getting an old-fashioned seltzer bottle (which would probably yield better results) and the syrup.

 

[IndianaGuybrush]

Any of you ladies or gents ever had pastrami from Katz's on Houston and Ludlow? Deadly stuff, but MAN is it good. They've been serving it on that corner since the 1890's.

Katzs is awesome, and still one of the best Hot Pastrami sandwiches you can get in NYC. They will ship a salami anywhere in the world, and during WWII I believe, came up with the slogan, "Send a Salami to your Boy in the Army!"

As far as commercially available cheesecake goes, Juniors is the best, and it's an Old-School brooklyn staple, it's been open since 1950.

As far as steaks go, I've yet to eat a steak better than the Dry-Aged porterhouse available at Peter Luger's right here in brooklyn. Luger's opened in 1887, so it was well established by the 30s. The inside is no nonsense, with butcher block tables and gruff german waiters who wear their aprons nice and high!

Brooklyn is also home to the best pizza parlor (DiFara's) and the best hot dog chain (Nathan's). Brooklyn born and raised and damn proud of it!

 

[MudInYerEye]

Your taste in cheesecake is impeccable. And yes, Peter Luger's is the be-all-end-all of old-time steakhouses. Best steak in the world!
Regarding egg creams, there are very few joints left in the city to get an authentic one. My faves are at Gem Spa at St.Marks Pl and Second Ave, and Ray's on A between Seventh St and St.Marks Pl.
But where is DiFara's?!!

 

[jitterbugdoll]

I prefer my egg creams made with real cream--that's how we serve 'em up at the soda fountain and they are a treat!

Whenever we would visit my grandmother, who lived in Georgia, she would cook the best meals. Aside from the usual Southern delicacies, she was known for serving sliced cucumbers in a bowl of cider vinegar with pepper. I always liked that, as it was so refreshing on a hot, humid summer day!

I also vividly remember her Lemon Icebox pie (my favorite) and her apple pies. She was somewhat innovative in the kitchen and always put a secret ingredient into the apple filling. We never could figure out what made it so good--but guess what she used? Tang!

 

[SHARPETOYS]

When I was little!

My granny made Chicken & Dumplings and corn bread every week I can almost taste it. Yes she raised her own chickens and large garden.