Paul Freedman, Ten Restaurants That Changed America

[Suzanne F]

Chez Panisse, Antoine’s, Howard Johnson, Schraffts, Mamma Leone, Delmonico (not the original, of course), The Four Seasons

[Sneakeater]

I would say Delmonico's counts up until Oscar's Delmonico closed in I think 1977. The current Delmonico's, which if I remember right opened during my first stint as a downtown laywer in the early '80s, doesn't count as "Delmonico's", IMO.

[Lex]

I remember eating at Mama Leone's in 1974-75. These were the dark ages when restaurant information was hard to come by. My wife and I had matinee theater tickets and we were just kids. All of 25 or 26. "Go to Mama Leone's! It's great. A real old time place!"

 

What did we know? We went. I remember sitting in a large room being served big plates of sub mediocre food. We never went back. From that point on I learned the lesson that you need to be careful when taking other people's advice about restaurants.

[Wilfrid]

Closed in 1994, I see.

[StephanieL]

None, as most of them pre-date me. Most of the HoJo's were gone when I was a kid, and my parents knew that Mamma Leone's was a tourist trap.

 

I'd like to go to Antoine's for the hell of it. Chez Panisse I could take or leave.

[Sneakeater]

My parents always presented Mama Leone's to us as the greatest Italian restaurant in America. It was such a treat to be taken there as a boy.

[Suzanne F]

Agree with Sneak. I went to Mamma Leone with my parents before going to the theater. And then with Paul on an early date, more than 40 years ago. My parents liked it because of all the "free stuff" they gave you before the meal: celery, olives, breadsticks, etc., and there was a big wedge of cheese on the table to be cut into as desired. And maybe there were free zeppole or some such after? The only thing I remember from going with Paul was that we ate so much (even though it was not great) that stepping down from the sidewalk into the street was painful.

 

But I still remember the redfish topped with crabmeat that I had at Antoine's in the mid-1980s. The lunch I had at Chez Panisse a few years ago was just eh.

[Lippy]

My one experience at Mama Leone was similar to Lex's, but ten years earlier, with a date as naive as I was. I remember the waiter's description of the wine he recommended: "It's dry but not 'arsh." It was an Orvieto.

 

My meal at Chez Panisse was good, but not any better than what I cook on a good day, given similar ingredients.

[Sneakeater]

I'm not saying Mama Leone's was good. I'm saying that as an 8- or 10-year-old in love with Red Sauce Italian, told over and over again how great it was, I thought it was a treat to be taken there.

[Rail Paul]

Schrafft, Longchamps, H&H AutoMat, these were magic places. Embellished by memory.

[Wilfrid]

Antoine's was a lot more interesting and entertaining than Chez Panisse.

[Suzanne F]

Antoine's was a lot more interesting and entertaining than Chez Panisse.

[rozrapp]

Has anyone ever stayed in a Howard Johnson motel?

Back in the 1950s, when my family took vacation road trips, we usually stayed at inexpensive mom & pop motels. However, every once in a while, we would stay at a Howard Johnson Motor Lodge (as they were called). A real treat because they were so much more expensive and "posh." And, of course, we ate at the adjoining restaurant.

[Suzanne F]

 

Has anyone ever stayed in a Howard Johnson motel?

Back in the 1950s, when my family took vacation road trips, we usually stayed at inexpensive mom & pop motels. However, every once in a while, we would stay at a Howard Johnson Motor Lodge (as they were called). A real treat because they were so much more expensive and "posh." And, of course, we ate at the adjoining restaurant.

 

Same with us.

[Rail Paul]

Howard Johnson, Tom Carvel, Fred Harvey, and a few others recognized that consistency was critical to travelers. You knew what you would get. And what you wouldn't (ptomaine, for example).

 

Ray Kroc, among others, aced that message.