Department Store dining...any memories?

We always ate at the restaurant on first floor. Loved the celery dressing with beef or chicken gravy. Grilled nut bread. Chocolate ice cream cake ball.
The bakery,which was quite extensive was on same floor. Delicious butter mints in LOTS of flavors. They were little round flat candies with fork lines across top like on peanut butter cookies.
The store had many levels but we loved to be in the Front Street Level and go UP the escalator to the basement. We thought that was the funniest thing. I can taste it all now.
Lazarus was such a great family owned store. I was born and raised in Columbus but was lured to Indiana and worked for Lazarus here for 20 years. Lazarus family would come to Indianapolis to visit with employees at Christmas. So sad to see it go to Lazarus-Macy.

quote:

Originally posted by lleechef

Cakes, what's a Green River?

Lleechef, Sugar;
You need to hie yourself to The Wilton Candy Kitchen in Wilton, Iowa and ask Mr. Napoulis (sp.?) what goes in one of those. Ten to one, he will answer "Oh, a little bit of this and a little bit of that," with a twinkle in his eye.
He can also make you a Green Lizard and a Hadacol. Betcha never learned about those in culinary school!
Livermushlessly, Ort. Carlton in Slow-Rainy, Grey (As Has Been The Norm Lately) Athens, Georgia.

There used to be a local department store called Doerflinger's that had a tea room on the mezzanine. We'd order cherry or lemon Cokes and have chicken or egg salad sandwiches (always cut into four triangles) with potato salad or coleslaw, and look down on the shoppers on the floor below.

Back in the 50's we had 2 soda fountains in small town USA, Akron, Iowa. As I remember it, the one had an actual Green River machine. Green River was/is a lime flavored syrup that was mixed with seltzer to make a soda pop just the way CokaCola was. I never remember seeing Green River bottled.

Cakes

quote:

Originally posted by Cakes

Back in the 50's we had 2 soda fountains in small town USA, Akron, Iowa. As I remember it, the one had an actual Green River machine. Green River was/is a lime flavored syrup that was mixed with seltzer to make a soda pop just the way CokaCola was. I never remember seeing Green River bottled.

Cakes

In the 50's Green River was distributed in one gallon glass bottles, just like Coke syrup. The concentrated syrup was stored in a Green River Machine, which was a storage container provided by the company. To make a Green River, the soda jerk would add seltzer water to some syrup in a glass. Green River sodas made with vanilla ice cream were a popular fountain creation. Get one today at your local Ed Debevic's. I remember Green River in glass bottles in the 60's and only recently in cans and plastic bottles.

Just had another flash of a memory....not exactly a department store restaurant memory but....there was once, eons ago, a department store in Columbus, Ohio, named Moby's. They had what was probably like a deli and made their own potato chips, which smelled delicious.

Mom would shop at Moby's occasionally on Friday and would buy a piece of "Thuringer," which was really Lebanon Bologna, and would pop it into the oven and heat it through for our Friday night supper sandwiches. That and their potato chips were really treats, as we didn't get to eat out very much, and so anything that came in from a deli was as much a treat as eating out. Moby's has been long gone from the scene in Columbus.

As someone said a few messages back, "progress." Columbus has lost a lot of stores in the last 50 years; Moby's, The Boston Store, Morehouse-Fashion, some others I can't remember the names of, and now Lazarus and Big Bear are biting the dust!!! Progress, indeed!

Didn't mean to get so far off the topic. Sorry.

Donna

quote:

Originally posted by pdxyyz

Would eating at Ikea count?

do you have to assemble the food by yourself as well? and can you just throw the food out when it breaks mid-meal and not really feel bad that you wasted money?

just curious....

Hee hee! I laughed at the Ikea post!

I was reminiscing about a bad first date that I had soon after coming to NYC. Having grown up in L.A. and gone to school in IA, the lunch counter at Woolworth's held great mystique for me. Add the Civil Rights history in "My Soul is Rested," and what wouldn't be more appealing?

The tall, lanky, boy-nerd (hey, I was a girl nerd) who invited me out to eat turned up his nose at the idea. "Eating at a department store? Who would want to eat at a place that doesn't specialize in eating?"

Well, I wasn't looking for gourmet- I was looking for history. We had a lame date and I went to eat at Woolworth's later on.

--Valerie in NYC

I worked in a bank on the square in downtown Charlotte for many years. Across the street was an Ivy's department store where there was a restaurant called the Tulip Terrace. The food there was fabulous, and you could usually get things that weren't available to the lunch crowd anywhere else. I remember a raisin bread/cream cheese sandwich that was delicious. The ambience at the Terrace was urban chic, and occasionally it was a nice change from burgers and "down home" eating.

Sadly, they closed Ivy's a long time ago, and converted the building into downtown condos with selling prices in the stratosphere.

Where was Moby's in Columbus? I can't recall location but I do remember the name but not the chips. Don't forget the Union. Didn't they have a little snack bar?

quote:

Originally posted by lleechef

Cakes, what's a Green River?

A Green River is a flowing body of water. There's one in Wyoming and one more that I know of in Utah. There's even a Green River that's a town on the Green River in Utah. I remember having country fried steak in a truck stop in the Green River that's a town back in 1979. As I recall, it came with mashed potatoes and gravy, and green beans.

quote:

Originally posted by Donna Douglass

Just had another flash of a memory....not exactly a department store restaurant memory but....there was once, eons ago, a department store in Columbus, Ohio, named Moby's. They had what was probably like a deli and made their own potato chips, which smelled delicious.

Mom would shop at Moby's occasionally on Friday and would buy a piece of "Thuringer," which was really Lebanon Bologna, and would pop it into the oven and heat it through for our Friday night supper sandwiches. That and their potato chips were really treats, as we didn't get to eat out very much, and so anything that came in from a deli was as much a treat as eating out. Moby's has been long gone from the scene in Columbus.

As someone said a few messages back, "progress." Columbus has lost a lot of stores in the last 50 years; Moby's, The Boston Store, Morehouse-Fashion, some others I can't remember the names of, and now Lazarus and Big Bear are biting the dust!!! Progress, indeed!

Didn't mean to get so far off the topic. Sorry.

Donna

Don't forget the gone but not forgotten Union.

quote:

Originally posted by clothier

A quick Columbus question, if I may?

Why are all those stores closing? Did a big national retailer come in and put them out of business?

All but Lazarus closed years ago. The most recent was the Union, and that closed in the 1970s after being bought by Halle's of Cleveland. The Lazarus store that is closing is the original in downtown Columbus. There are still at least five other Lazarus stores (all part of Federated, and now called Lazarus-Macy's) in Columbus at malls and shopping centers.

quote:

Originally posted by Ort. Carlton.

quote:

Originally posted by lleechef

Cakes, what's a Green River?

Lleechef, Sugar;
You need to hie yourself to The Wilton Candy Kitchen in Wilton, Iowa and ask Mr. Napoulis (sp.?) what goes in one of those. Ten to one, he will answer "Oh, a little bit of this and a little bit of that," with a twinkle in his eye.
He can also make you a Green Lizard and a Hadacol. Betcha never learned about those in culinary school!
Livermushlessly, Ort. Carlton in Slow-Rainy, Grey (As Has Been The Norm Lately) Athens, Georgia.

Ort.,
Again YOU are correct. I STILL don't know what a Green River is and have even LESS of a clue about the Green Lizard and a Hadacol. And again YOU are correct, I never heard of this stuff in culinary school in Paris. Where's Anne Willan? Oh! She's at the Greenbriar, never mind.
Livermushlessly also in the cold Arctic, awaiting the Iditarod.
lleechef

Moby's was located on North High Street near either Long or Spring Street. As for The Union having a snack bar, I don't know as we couldn't afford to shop The Union back when they were located downtown. In later years when I worked I shopped The Union at Graceland and Kingsdale and they didn't have snack bars in those stores.

Saw in the Dispatch this morning that two more Lazarus stores are closing. Westerville and one other, can't remember which one. Sad.

quote:

Originally posted by clothier

when does the great race start?

and are you volunteering to do anything this year?

Saturday March 6 in Anchorage is the ceremonial start. They run down 4th Ave. and wave to everyone then head out to Campbell Park. From there they pack everything back up in the trucks and head out to Wasilla for the REAL race start on Sunday. From there it's 1049 miles to Nome. Follow the race at www.iditarod.com
Not volunteering for anything this year, we were gone too much during the organizational stages.

DITTO Kland01s!

Christmas shopping down in the loop and a lunch at Marshall Fields. Also, saw Santa while my brother and I were there. I remember the great tree in the middle, fantastic!

No clue if it is still there. I know Marshall Fields is still around but the last time my wife and I went to the loop store was about 7 years ago before we moved to Denver. The candy shop they had was also awesome, the best Turtles in the world!

Don

quote:

Originally posted by oldfrt



Christmas shopping down in the loop and a lunch at Marshall Fields. Also, saw Santa while my brother and I were there. I remember the great tree in the middle, fantastic!

That jogged a memory. When I was about 6, our local Halle's in Cleveland held a "Breakfast With Santa" in the toy department one Christmas season. It was lots of fun; I was shy around "Santa" and I think the breakfast was pancakes and hot cocoa, although I can't be too sure....

quote:

Originally posted by RubyRose

Time: 1950’s – the day after Thanksgiving

Cast of characters: Aunt Betty (who didn’t have any children), my cousins Joann, Carol and me

Costumes: Our best Sunday dresses, hats and white gloves; our glamorous “career woman” aunt in her mink coat and blazing red lipstick

Setting: Philadelphia PA

After an exciting morning riding the train around the ceiling of Lits Bros. toy department, gazing in store windows and visiting Santa and the animated Christmas village at Gimbels, we wearily sunk into the striped chairs, soft lighting, big linen napkins and wood paneled walls of the John Wanamaker tea room. Our meal never varied - a cup of soup, triple-decker tea sandwiches with ham salad and pimento cream cheese fillings, a pot of tea and a dish of chocolate ice cream and orange sherbet for dessert. After lunch, we would go see Wanamaker’s lighted fountain display accompanied by organ music and then off to see the animated elves making our gifts in Santa’s workshop.

That trip was always Aunt Betty’s Christmas gift to us and we felt like fairy princesses sitting in that luxurious tearoom. I can see it like it was yesterday.

Yes! Yes! Wanamaker's Crystal Tea Room! And we used to go to this Christmas display at Lit Brothers http://members.aol.com/robotweb/village.html I may be Jewish but I was enthralled by it!

There was nothing like that shopping experience at Wanamaker's in town.

The May Company we went to in the 1970s had a U-shaped diner in the basement. The basement was a clearance center where everything was hung askew and grown women elbowed eachother over huge piles of marked-down clothing. The flickering florescent lights and anachronistic trio of perfectly rounded scoops of tuna, chicken and some mystery salad over lettuce added to the surreal atmosphere.

Sometimes the pre-teen girls from their "charm school" had a fashion show for the lunch crowd. Years later, when my mother registered me for the same "charm school" (talk about anachronisms), the diner was gone, so we had to be "live mannequins" posed out on the floor in humiliating late 70s teen fashions. You had to stay perfectly frozen while strange men tried to make you crack a smile as you prayed to every saint you could name that no one from school would come in. The only good part was scaring the bejesus out of small children.

But eating out was always a thrill for me, more thrilling in its rarity. So I remember the pre-packaged little ham sandwiches on hamburger buns from K-Mart, doled out from a refrigerated case right in the middle of the store, as fondly as just about any other meal I ate as a child.

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Originally posted by Kristi S.

quote:

Originally posted by lamertz

served in white milk glass chicken shaped crock.

I want one of those, too! Where can I get one?

Milk glass is a collectible...check out Ebay.

http://search.ebay.com/search/search.dll?cgiurl=http%3A%2F%2Fcgi.ebay.com%2Fws%2F&krd=1&from=R8&MfcISAPICommand=GetResult&ht=1&SortProperty=MetaEndSort&query=milk+glass+chicken

quote:

Originally posted by pdxyyz

Would eating at Ikea count?

Had exactly the same thought. It's a bit zooey there on a weekend, but on a nice slow weekday, a plate of Swedish meatballs in a Nordic-themed cafeteria that overlooks the freeway, is about as good as it gets right now. Wonder how my kids will remember eating at Ikea??

quote:

Originally posted by lleechef

quote:

Originally posted by Ort. Carlton.

Originally posted by lleechef

Cakes, what's a Green River?

Ort.,
Again YOU are correct. I STILL don't know what a Green River is...
lleechef

Green River is a lime flavored green colored pop that's been around since 1919.

You can find Green River at: www.beveragesdirect.com/products/greenriver/

quote:

Originally posted by Ort. Carlton.


He can also make you a Green Lizard and a Hadacol. Betcha never learned about those in culinary school!

Thank you chicagostyledog for the info on Green River! I never heard of it.

Now can anyone tell me about the two that Ort. mentioned....Green Lizard and a Hadacol?

I was nursing a champagne and foie gras hangover and skipped it entirely.

quote:

Originally posted by lleechef

quote:

Originally posted by Ort. Carlton.


He can also make you a Green Lizard and a Hadacol. Betcha never learned about those in culinary school!

Thank you chicagostyledog for the info on Green River! I never heard of it.

Now can anyone tell me about the two that Ort. mentioned....Green Lizard and a Hadacol?

"A Green Lizard is a very popular drink on the north slope of Alaska, which is technically alcohol-free. You mix a bottle of NyQuil and 16oz of Sprite." This will take care of your runny nose and solve all your problems for the evening. Just don't drink and go mushing. Halacol is a potent alcoholic elixer. Mixing Halacol and a Green Lizard could be a dangerous combination.

quote:

Originally posted by chicagostyledog

quote:

Originally posted by lleechef

quote:

Originally posted by Ort. Carlton.


He can also make you a Green Lizard and a Hadacol. Betcha never learned about those in culinary school!

Thank you chicagostyledog for the info on Green River! I never heard of it.

Now can anyone tell me about the two that Ort. mentioned....Green Lizard and a Hadacol?

"A Green Lizard is a very popular drink on the north slope of Alaska, which is technically alcohol-free. You mix a bottle of NyQuil and 16oz of Sprite." This will take care of your runny nose and solve all your problems for the evening. Just don't drink and go mushing. Halacol is a potent alcoholic elixer. Mixing Halacol and a Green Lizard could be a dangerous combination.

Isn't that a Professor Longhair song "..since I put my name on the Halacol list..."

There was a department store in downtown Allentown PA called Hess's that had a restaurant named The Patio... they were famous for their kids hamburgers that were served in a toy metal oven, models who would show off the latest fashion (including the bathing suits during January) , and their mile high strawberry pie that was at least 8" tall and just loaded with fresh strawberries . Unfortunately, they fell victim to over expansion and closed their doors.

I think I missed the department store dining boat, but does museum dining count? I used to love having lunch at the cafeteria while visiting the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia. It is still the image that comes to mind when I get a whiff of greasy hamburger aroma. There was something so neat about going through the line with your tray and selecting what you wanted, and the sandwiches were smartly packaged in waxed paper with the word "HAMBURGER" OR "CHEESEBURGER" printed on it repeatedly like a decorative element.

Are there any Clevelanders out there who remember the Silver Grille (at the downtown Higbee's if I remember correctly) I was there as a kid whenever we went Christmas shopping downtown and was always impressed by the elegance. It must have closed ages ago, along with all 6 of downtown's department stores. My favorite was going to Halle's seventh floor to see Mr. Jingaling every Christmas (guess since it's still snowing up here my mind is still on Christmas)