Terms Which Have Disappeared

[Fading Fast]

Are there any real cafeterias left? By that I mean a kind of restaurant where you pick up a tray, go down the serving line and select what you want to eat, the server puts it on a plate, you take it and go on to select a desert (calories don't count eaten away from home) and a drink and pay for it at the end. The local Ikea store has a little one but the selection is not very large. The meatballs are very good, though, no matter what's in them. But I don't think any of the downtown lunchtime cafeterias are around anymore--not that I ever ate in one.

They exist, kinda, in two ways, at least in NYC.

The last finance firm I worked for had an employee cafeteria that was exactly what you are describing - and I loved it. The food was good (not great, but some individual items were), the service overall good as you became friends with most of the employees as you saw them almost everyday (and sometimes twice a day at breakfast and lunch) and the variety outstanding. I loved it as I'm a throwback guy, but it also was fun to have so much variety to choose from and I liked the process itself (walking around with your tray to different stations, etc.). Many of the larger NYC firms have these type of cafeterias for their employees. I'd take business friends from other firms to our if, say, a meeting ended right before lunch and, quite often, they'd want to schedule the next meeting so that they could eat lunch there again.

There are also a lot of cafeteria-like places open to the public (mainly catering to the business lunch crowd) where you grab a tray walk down a short line, pay at the end and either eat there or take out. But they aren't really like old-style cafeterias (like the ones I just described a paragraph above) as these will have a limited selection (normally oriented toward a few types of food like salads and soup or style of eating like "healthy") and at some points in the short line you'll serve yourself. Also the seating tends to be limited (not like the large seating areas of the old cafeterias or the employee ones noted above).

Back in the late '80s / '90s, I worked for Union Bank of Switzerland's NYC investment bank and the cafeteria was outrageous. Apparently, the business culture in Switzerland is different than here and providing a beautiful lunch cafeteria with outstanding food is the norm. The NYC UBS one was on the 28th floor of its tower (no basement digs for this one as most US firms do) with panoramic views of the city, marble inlayed decor that was stunning and food that was very high end (and generously subsidized by the company). Everything from a humble turkey sandwich to filet mignon (yup) was of very high quality and very thoughtfully prepared and presented. When I left for a better career opportunity - I missed the cafeteria greatly. I used to buy our family's Yule Log cake for Christmas from the dessert section of the cafeteria - still the best one we ever had.

 

[Fading Fast]

I loathe the day when the original Banana Republic sold out to that stupid Gap. ....

That stupid Gap has now been there for twenty five years. I get mad every time I go by it. And, yes, Banana Republic lost its soul when it was absorbed into the Gap borg.

 

[LizzieMaine]

I remeber seeing a Bickford's still operating in Haverhill, Mass. some years back, and being astounded that it still existed. Bickford's was a leading player in the lunchroom-cafeteria business in New York and New England during the Era, but it faded out in the '70s and I hadn't seen one in ages until stumbling across the Haverhill location -- which, the internet informs me, is no longer operating. They were neat little places -- completely unpretentious, cheap prices, and food that while in no way memorable always filled you up.

 

[2jakes]

That stupid Gap has now been there for twenty five years. I get mad every time I go by it. And, yes, Banana Republic lost its soul when it was absorbed into the Gap borg.

Banana Republic is still around but what made it unique including a vintage jeep in the
front of the entrance is gone.

Ticked off, I made a comment to the salesclerk (although it wasn’t her fault)
“It’s a pity what they’ve done to BR....now it looks just like any other shop in the mall!”

She smiled and said, “Sorry-bout-that!” without really meaning it.

That was a little like pouring salt on a wound.
So I left.

All I have are the BR catalogs to remember how it used to be!

 

[BlueTrain]

Food that is soft and bland pretty well describes the kind of food that I grew up eating in the 1950s. That was also what was available in ordinary restaurants, too, of the "Blue Plate Special" variety. And you reminded me of the last place I ate that might be described as a cafeteria: the hospital. I guess that would be genuine hospital food. But there was a difference between that and "classic" cafeteria food, which would also have been the sort of food you might have eaten in a college dorm cafeteria or dining hall. My memory isn't too clear on it, because I didn't go to the hospital to eat in the cafeteria. But there were "stations," also at the school my daughter attended for a couple of years. There was a salad bar, there was a station for this, a station for that and so on. In other words, there wasn't just one long line with a fairly limited number of selections, which, however, might have differed from day to day. I suspect it was all still soft and bland and that's still pretty much the way I like it.

 

[BlueTrain]

Concerning Banana Republic, one of their problems was that they were essentially a high-end surplus store, also carrying spin-off safari clothing and accessories like luggage. All well and good but perhaps the market for that stuff wasn't as big as all that. Other stores that sold basically the same kind of things didn't last that long either, like Hunting World in New York and the original (yes, the Original) Abercrombie & Fitch. Plus in Banana Republic's case, there isn't enough good surplus to fill up the pipe line, really.

Another retailer like that is Filson, which is still around and even has stores here and there now. I used to look at their catalogs and tell myself that one day I'd buy this and that and then one day, all the old "classic" things were gone. They still have a few things in the catalog they were selling ten years ago but these days they're going for a different market, presumably a market where people actually buy things.

 

[2jakes]

Concerning Banana Republic, one of their problems was that they were essentially a high-end surplus store, also carrying spin-off safari clothing and accessories like luggage. All well and good but perhaps the market for that stuff wasn't as big as all that. Other stores that sold basically the same kind of things didn't last that long either, like Hunting World in New York and the original (yes, the Original) Abercrombie & Fitch. Plus in Banana Republic's case, there isn't enough good surplus to fill up the pipe line, really.

Another retailer like that is Filson, which is still around and even has stores here and there now. I used to look at their catalogs and tell myself that one day I'd buy this and that and then one day, all the old "classic" things were gone. They still have a few things in the catalog they were selling ten years ago but these days they're going for a different market, presumably a market where people actually buy things.

Actually the original owners Mel & Patricia Ziegler were doing great. But the Gap
offered them a "deal they couldn’t refuse.”

 

[Zombie_61]

Are there any real cafeterias left? By that I mean a kind of restaurant where you pick up a tray, go down the serving line and select what you want to eat, the server puts it on a plate, you take it and go on to select a desert (calories don't count eaten away from home) and a drink and pay for it at the end. The local Ikea store has a little one but the selection is not very large. The meatballs are very good, though, no matter what's in them. But I don't think any of the downtown lunchtime cafeterias are around anymore--not that I ever ate in one.

Here in southern California there are some businesses that have a smallish cafeteria within their confines, but for a stand-alone restaurant we mostly have places like Golden Corral which prefer to be known by the yuppified euphemism "buffet".

 

[2jakes]

Here in southern California there are some businesses that have a smallish cafeteria within their confines, but for a stand-alone restaurant we mostly have places like Golden Corral which prefer to be known by the yuppified euphemism "buffet".

Ahhhh...Golden Corral and the “all-you-can-eat” including Pepto-Bismol!

 

[BlueTrain]

How is buffet "yuppified"?

 

[Fading Fast]

Actually the original owners Mel & Patricia Ziegler were doing great. But the Gap
offered them a "deal they couldn’t refuse.”
View attachment 78494

That picture brings back memories.

In NYC, I remember at least three BRs that had jeeps in the stores. The store's vibe was very cool and seemed to echo - might even have been a tie-in at the time to - the movie "Out of Africa" (nicely done movie, especially for the '80s).

Couldn't have been cheap to put a jeep and all those other "safari" decor details in every store.

 

[Upgrade]

I believe that Woody Allen reopened an Automat for filming in Radio Days.

Following that, the "L&L" Automat made a brief recent appearance in the pop culture stage with Agent Carter. It was nice to see a period piece on primetime, but even with the support of the popularity of Captain America, it closed on a cliffhanger after two seasons.

 

[Fading Fast]

I believe that Woody Allen reopened an Automat for filming in Radio Days.

Following that, the "L&L" Automat made a brief recent appearance in the pop culture stage with Agent Carter. It was nice to see a period piece on primetime, but even with the support of the popularity of Captain America, it closed on a cliffhanger after two seasons.

Loved all the vintage in that show, but the storylines fell apart in the second season to the point of being painful. But as you noted - great vintage details throughout. I remember a very cool two-tone cab that showed up quite often.

 

[2jakes]

The kid that stays behind to view the ocean.
This brings back memories!

 

[Zombie_61]

How is buffet "yuppified"?

As I remember, and I could be wrong, all of this "political correctness" nonsense started in earnest around the same time the term "yuppie" came into common use, so I tend to connect the two as an unofficial campaign to change the world to fit their "middle-class but pretending to be upper-class" mindset. "Buffet" sounds more upscale than "cafeteria", so in some minds it seems it's somehow more dignified to eat at a buffet than a cafeteria, even though they're essentially the same thing.

Another example from semi-recent years is the pretentious term "wrap" used for something served wrapped in a tortilla. There was already a name for that: "burrito". Calling it a "wrap" doesn't change that, and also hints at racism in my opinion. I realize language is in a constant state of evolution, but some changes are simply ridiculous and unnecessary.

 

[scottyrocks]

Are there any real cafeterias left? By that I mean a kind of restaurant where you pick up a tray, go down the serving line and select what you want to eat, the server puts it on a plate, you take it and go on to select a desert (calories don't count eaten away from home) and a drink and pay for it at the end. The local Ikea store has a little one but the selection is not very large. The meatballs are very good, though, no matter what's in them. But I don't think any of the downtown lunchtime cafeterias are around anymore--not that I ever ate in one.

Many highway rest stops have them. Hospital cafeterias, too.

 

[LizzieMaine]

Another example from semi-recent years is the pretentious term "wrap" used for something served wrapped in a tortilla. There was already a name for that: "burrito". Calling it a "wrap" doesn't change that, and also hints at racism in my opinion. I realize language is in a constant state of evolution, but some changes are simply ridiculous and unnecessary.

There are also class issues: for A Certain Type of Person living in parts of the country without a significant Hispanic population, a "burrito" is some greasy thing full of beans and meat-flavored protein sold at gas stations and bowling alleys and other places frequented by overweight people with tattoos and bad teeth. Certainly not something That Type Of Person would ever care to eat. A "wrap," on the other hand, is wholesome and healthy and full of hormone-free chicken and organically-grown kale, and would never leave ugly spots on one's ecru-colored Land's End sweater.

 

[Upgrade]

Buffet tends to imply that you serve yourself while a cafeteria implies someone behind the counter to hand the food over to you.

Theoretically, a buffet also has an all-you-can-eat mentality while a cafeteria has separate prices.

 

[Fading Fast]

Buffet tends to imply that you serve yourself while a cafeteria implies someone behind the counter to hand the food over to you.

Theoretically, a buffet also has an all-you-can-eat mentality while a cafeteria has separate prices.

These were the distinctions I remember growing up and, at least in Central Jersey, neither was upscaled as there were a lot of lower-priced "all you can eat" buffets advertised in not-fancy places (pictures white lit signs with flexible black letters slid into tracks saying "All You Can Eat Buffet $5.00" at a strip center restaurant - and a letter or two might have fallen off and not been replaced for months or more).

To be fair though, there was a Marriott a few towns over that had a reasonably upscaled restaurant (and definitely upscaled for my town) that had a "upscaled" Sunday buffet brunch. But again, cafeterias and buffets competed for the regular-guy's food dollar in my town.

 

[LizzieMaine]

Buffets around here are strictly a proletarian thing -- your choice is all-you-can-eat Chinese, all-you-can-eat fried seafood, or all-you-can-eat KFC. I can't even begin to imagine what an upscale "all you can eat" place would be like. All-you-can-eat avocado toast?