As a Chicagoan the idea of ordering a hot dog at a sit-down restaurant that offers an entire menu of items is an odd concept since there’s a hot dog stand every few blocks. I do remember ordering frankfurters at Friendly’s in my CT hometown, though.
I worked in the Flatiron Bldg in the 80s. Bought many a fried egg (break the yolk) and cheese on a Kaiser from Lou and his wife, washed down with many cups of coffee light. (Robert, I’m also the one who commented a while ago on the Cammareri Bakery’s lard bread 🧡😋)
My comment about Lunch is more of a question. As a young girl in the early 60s, when we visited my great aunts (2nd generation German) of an evening, they would put out a spread of food for guests, always referring to the snack/meal as a “lunch”. Have you ever heard of lunch being used in this way? (Austen called it supper.) I assumed it was called lunch because of my great aunts’ German/farmer upbringing, or from the type of foods served: cold cuts of meats and cheeses; plates of freshly-washed lettuce leaves and thin-sliced beefsteak tomatoes; potato salad and/or coleslaw; small serving bowls of mayonnaise, mustard and ketchup; breads and rolls; and a fresh-baked cake and cookies. I always looked forward to those lunches! Your article has a different track, but, like the lard bread one, brought back fond memories! Thank you!
I think it might be a different branch of this history (no hotdogs), but New Haven has Louis' Lunch which serves its signature burgers late into the night despite the name.
I grew up in San Antonio, went to school in 2 small Texas college towns, and kicked around Austin (when Austin was still weird and small and cool) and Dallas in my 20s. This makes me rack my memories to see if I can recall any such "lunch" joints. The one and only joint that immediately came to mind, except it took me a while to remember the exact name, was Liberty Lunch in Austin. I only ever knew it as a music venue and it was so sad when they closed and tore it down to make way for more modern plans. I had many great times there and had no idea what the full history of it was or even explored it, until reading this Mix today. I found this on Wikipedia, with an interesting article in the references.
Fascinating, I feel like this history could be a book in itself. There’s also Louis’ Lunch here in New Haven, CT, which opened in 1895 and claims to have invented the hamburger. https://louislunch.com/
You get around! My son went to college in New Britain, CT. I enjoy your well-researched historical and contemporary pieces. It makes me realize I have many places to go I wasn’t even thinking about. But most of all, I enjoy the dialogue you and Mary Kate have here, when all you have to do is look up and speak face to face. It’s the equivalent of the great love letters between literary icons of the past. Thank you for perpetuating some fine traditions. 💌
I love the poem about the lunch. Still true now!!
I don’t know about you, but I could use one of these places near my job- it would be so much better than paying $18 for a salad.
I'm currently in New Haven, home to Louis' Lunch (https://louislunch.com/) since 1895. But they serve hamburgers instead of hot dogs!
One bar that has a great hot dog is Old Town Bar north of Union Square.
Andrea Strong just published a great piece on aging fish on her Substack, The Strong Buzz, and mentioned Theodora. You should check it out!
As a Chicagoan the idea of ordering a hot dog at a sit-down restaurant that offers an entire menu of items is an odd concept since there’s a hot dog stand every few blocks. I do remember ordering frankfurters at Friendly’s in my CT hometown, though.
I worked in the Flatiron Bldg in the 80s. Bought many a fried egg (break the yolk) and cheese on a Kaiser from Lou and his wife, washed down with many cups of coffee light. (Robert, I’m also the one who commented a while ago on the Cammareri Bakery’s lard bread 🧡😋)
My comment about Lunch is more of a question. As a young girl in the early 60s, when we visited my great aunts (2nd generation German) of an evening, they would put out a spread of food for guests, always referring to the snack/meal as a “lunch”. Have you ever heard of lunch being used in this way? (Austen called it supper.) I assumed it was called lunch because of my great aunts’ German/farmer upbringing, or from the type of foods served: cold cuts of meats and cheeses; plates of freshly-washed lettuce leaves and thin-sliced beefsteak tomatoes; potato salad and/or coleslaw; small serving bowls of mayonnaise, mustard and ketchup; breads and rolls; and a fresh-baked cake and cookies. I always looked forward to those lunches! Your article has a different track, but, like the lard bread one, brought back fond memories! Thank you!
🥪🌭🎂
We stopped in at Broadway Lunch on a holiday road trip and really enjoyed it too. The dogs were great but so were the onion rings. Good spot!
I think it might be a different branch of this history (no hotdogs), but New Haven has Louis' Lunch which serves its signature burgers late into the night despite the name.
S&P Lunch! The cottage fries are perfect.
Thank you so much for this - I am such a fan for hidden food stories that are hiding in plain sight!
I grew up in San Antonio, went to school in 2 small Texas college towns, and kicked around Austin (when Austin was still weird and small and cool) and Dallas in my 20s. This makes me rack my memories to see if I can recall any such "lunch" joints. The one and only joint that immediately came to mind, except it took me a while to remember the exact name, was Liberty Lunch in Austin. I only ever knew it as a music venue and it was so sad when they closed and tore it down to make way for more modern plans. I had many great times there and had no idea what the full history of it was or even explored it, until reading this Mix today. I found this on Wikipedia, with an interesting article in the references.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liberty_Lunch
Fascinating, I feel like this history could be a book in itself. There’s also Louis’ Lunch here in New Haven, CT, which opened in 1895 and claims to have invented the hamburger. https://louislunch.com/
You get around! My son went to college in New Britain, CT. I enjoy your well-researched historical and contemporary pieces. It makes me realize I have many places to go I wasn’t even thinking about. But most of all, I enjoy the dialogue you and Mary Kate have here, when all you have to do is look up and speak face to face. It’s the equivalent of the great love letters between literary icons of the past. Thank you for perpetuating some fine traditions. 💌