Oldtimers: What was fast food once like? Do tell!

My first stop in New York after getting off the train from New Haven in Grand Central was always the Nedicks stand for a couple of hot dogs off the roller grill and an orange drink.

Michael Hoffman


My first stop in New York after getting off the train from New Haven in Grand Central was always the Nedicks stand for a couple of hot dogs off the roller grill and an orange drink.

 
As fate would have it, that corner where the big Nedick's was...down by back entrance to tracks 20-21...is now a McDonald's.
 
They probably closed in late 70's or early 80's. Someone bought the brand and reopened a Nedick's counter down in Penn Station, but it wasn't close to original.

Now that's really sad.

Michael Hoffman


My first stop in New York after getting off the train from New Haven in Grand Central was always the Nedicks stand for a couple of hot dogs off the roller grill and an orange drink.

 
Hmm - Does Tad's steakhouse count as fast food?  (Quality wise - for sure, and probably speed of service vs. many traditional FF places).  Ate at one near Times Square several times in my early days visiting NYC - left quite an impression. 
 
On a trip last year, I was quite surprised to find that location still in existence, but didn't have the nerve to revisit it after some 40 years. 

mjambro


Hmm - Does Tad's steakhouse count as fast food?  (Quality wise - for sure, and probably speed of service vs. many traditional FF places).  Ate at one near Times Square several times in my early days visiting NYC - left quite an impression. 

 
Tad's makes me think of Rodney Dangerfield's line from Caddyshack...
 
"Tell the cook this is low-grade dog food…this steak still has marks where the jockey was hittin' it."
 
http://hark.com/clips/hnj...e-jockey-was-hittin-it

There were only two fast food chains in London, Ontario when I was in elementary school.
 
One was White Horse Carry-Out, which was the local franchisee for Kentucky Fried Chicken. I knew of only one location but there could very well have been one or two more.
 
The other was A & W. London had four of them in the sixties although I'm not sure how long each had been open. On occasion my parents would stop to patronize the one in West London on Springbank Drive. It looked a lot like this one:
 

 
I loved it of course and would get a Teen Burger and a root beer. One time though my father came back from a fishing trip and he and his buddies had evidently stopped at the A & W because he had two of the mugs in his possession. I'm sad to say though that he didn't obtain them properly. He actually bought them. It's been almost fifty years and I still have them.
 
The Chicken Delight on Wharncliffe Road may have been the next to open around 1965. I thought it was very cool, albeit a bit pricey for me at the time. It lasted around fifteen years before closing up and I quite miss the Chicken Delights now because there are none within hundreds of miles.

 
 

 

 
 

iluvcfood
 The A&W Root Beer was a drive up joint where they roller skated to your car with your orders.

I've heard of drive-ins with roller skating waitresses but I thought that this might have been a feature at the odd California drive-in that was romanticized and immortalized in movies. But if even A & W had them, roller skating waitresses must have been a lot more prevalent than I'd previously thought.  I wonder though if that was a phenomenon confined to California? When did roller skating waitresses disappear from the scene then?
 

 
 
 
 

Our A&W drive-ins here in Michigan had rollerskating waitresses, but not in the winter. It was the only way to get your food, since they had no counter or drive-through. You pulled into a parking space next to a menu and speaker, ordered your food, and it was skated out to you on a tray that mounted on your car door (with the window down).
 
Rollerskating wait staff has not disappeared. Sonic does it.

Tony Bad

mjambro


Hmm - Does Tad's steakhouse count as fast food?  (Quality wise - for sure, and probably speed of service vs. many traditional FF places).  Ate at one near Times Square several times in my early days visiting NYC - left quite an impression. 

Tad's makes me think of Rodney Dangerfield's line from Caddyshack...

"Tell the cook this is low-grade dog food…this steak still has marks where the jockey was hittin' it."

http://hark.com/clips/hnj...e-jockey-was-hittin-it

I do so miss Rodney; I heard his last interview on Howard Stern a day before the heart operation from which he never woke: 
 
"Afraid?  No!  The worst thing that could happen is that I'll never wake up.  What a way to go!" 
 
And that's the way he went.

Being in a small Texas town, we had the chains, A&W and Dairy Queen. We also had KN Root Beer.
 
The best fast food place was a local merchant, Watson's Drive In.  Watson's is still at its original location today. 
 
Then we got Sonic Drive In and Whataburger.

Hepcat

iluvcfood
 The A&W Root Beer was a drive up joint where they roller skated to your car with your orders.

I've heard of drive-ins with roller skating waitresses but I thought that this might have been a feature at the odd California drive-in
that was romanticized and immortalized in movies. But if even A & W had them, roller skating waitresses must have been a lot more prevalent than I'd previously thought.  I wonder though if that was a phenomenon confined to California? When did roller skating waitresses disappear from the scene then?

Steak 'n' Shake opened their first location in Normal, IL, about 50 miles east of Peoria, in 1934., the same year I was born.  I can remember Steak 'n' Shake using roller skating waitresses during the summer in the '50s and '60s, even though they have always had a counter if you wanted to go inside.  Generally the counter is used by the older folks, and the kids eat in their cars.

felix4067
Our A&W drive-ins here in Michigan had rollerskating waitresses, but not in the winter. It was the only way to get your food, since they had no counter or drive-through. You pulled into a parking space next to a menu and speaker, ordered your food, and it was skated out to you on a tray that mounted on your car door (with the window down).

I could be wrong but I don't remember the A & W's in London having the speakers in the early sixties.
 

felix4067
Rollerskating wait staff has not disappeared. Sonic does it.

Cool! Another reason to look up a Sonic next time I'm in the Detroit or Port Huron area.
 

Davydd
 

So what was "fast food" before the chains? To me it was the drugstore soda fountain. Just about every drugstore had a counter with stools and many had a few tables with chairs. The food was basic such as hot dogs, grilled cheese sandwiches and cold sandwiches.

I take it this was in Indianapolis. What years though?
 

Found this circa 1966 menu for Red Barn.  FYI:  the chicken dinner had 3 pcs. + fries. 
 

Jim, you should send that menu to the producers and writers of the CBS comedy "How I Met Your Mother".  I'm thinking they could get some serious mileage out of "Big Barney".

In 1965 in San Jose, CA, Kentucky Fried Chicken sold beef hamburgers. They came with lettuce, onions and tomatoes and Thousand Island dressing. They only sold them about a year or two.
 
In the late 1960's Taco Bell sold a loose meat burger on a bun (the loose meat was the same as the taco meat), sprinkled with shredded yellow cheese and topped with a sauce similar to the Mild Border Hot Sauce, called a Bell Burger. Later in the 1980's it returned as the Bell Beefer with more ingredients.
 
In the late 1960's regular McDonalds hamburgers were 15 cents (they once had a sale and sold them for 12 cents). When Big Macs first came out, I think they were 55 cents.

When I was ten the McDonalds on Berlin Turnpike in Newington opened directly on the route from our house to my Grandparents....and I must admit I was instantly hooked.
The ten cent fries were absolutely real...so real that my sense memory of the place includes the constant Whoomp! of the potato guillotine creating more skin-on shoe string fries.
The burgers, though probably the same as what I now consider unthinkable, were rapturous...to the extent that I started hoping, praying and lobbying that we would stop on the way home, before we were even in the car to leave the house.
Security became a reluctant nod from my dad...reluctant because he hated that it ws mostly "Hoods" that hung out in the parking lot...It asn't until much laterthat I discovered he had been a hood himself.
When I was allowed to stay home from these frequent visits (older sister), I was an emotional wreck until I heard the crinkle of paper bag as they came through the door. The strutting wink of that ungodly burger head is etched forever in my memory as the only thing on my mind more often than I care to admit.
But then, like every ten year old today, I didn't know or care that the proliferation of McDonalds meant the end of too many mom and pop dog stands, soda shops, and burger spots, childhood obesity beyond measure...the end of pride in product and pleasure in a summer or after-school job...and the beginning of so much bad and end of so much good....but, when I was ten, Mcdonalds was crack, pot, heroin, video games, tv and porn all rolled up in a paper wrapper...and it owned me...

wingmanBBF, that's a terrific post.

Our local Sonic in So Indiana has roller-skating car hops...but only in good weather.
I agree with Michael in his comment on Wingman's Post...read that while watching the scenes at the drive-in  in the movie "American Graffiti" and you will really touch a historical nerve for us 50's kids.

wingmanBBF


When I was ten the McDonalds on Berlin Turnpike in Newington opened directly on the route from our house to my Grandparents....and I must admit I was instantly hooked.
The ten cent fries were absolutely real...so real that my sense memory of the place includes the constant Whoomp! of the potato guillotine creating more skin-on shoe string fries.
The burgers, though probably the same as what I now consider unthinkable, were rapturous...to the extent that I started hoping, praying and lobbying that we would stop on the way home, before we were even in the car to leave the house.
Security became a reluctant nod from my dad...reluctant because he hated that it ws mostly "Hoods" that hung out in the parking lot...It asn't until much laterthat I discovered he had been a hood himself.
When I was allowed to stay home from these frequent visits (older sister), I was an emotional wreck until I heard the crinkle of paper bag as they came through the door. The strutting wink of that ungodly burger head is etched forever in my memory as the only thing on my mind more often than I care to admit.
But then, like every ten year old today, I didn't know or care that the proliferation of McDonalds meant the end of too many mom and pop dog stands, soda shops, and burger spots, childhood obesity beyond measure...the end of pride in product and pleasure in a summer or after-school job...and the beginning of so much bad and end of so much good....but, when I was ten, Mcdonalds was crack, pot, heroin, video games, tv and porn all rolled up in a paper wrapper...and it owned me...

Do you write for a living? Tight man, tight. RL

Michael Hoffman


wingmanBBF, that's a terrific post.

WOW! Michael Hoffman, Mayor Al, RF Legends and Scrumptious Chef...Thank you so very much for your encouragment. As to your question...not a professional writer...just the son of a latin teacher/grammar nazi who would return my letters from college with corrections...curse for a child...blessing for an adult.
It's so refreshing to be on a board with Big Guns who encourage, rather than haze and bully, neophytes like myself.
It actually makes me want to share more of my personal, though very limited, knowledge of road food.
In fact, it may even prompt me one day to reveal my deepest secret....Teressa Bellisimo's actual, orignal recipe and the strange way it came to fall into my greasy fingers.....

wingmanBBF, now you have me interested.
 
Welcome and Happy New Year!
 
Scot's was my introduction to fast food.  Well in reality it was McFarland's which soon became Scot's.  We'd stop there three times a week after swimming lessons when we were young. We were not the driver.
 
Outdoor wooden picnic tables with pigeons looming overhead.
 
Scot's had the McDonald's feel, but we didn't get McDonald's until a few years later.
 
Scot's went the way of land being more important than the occupant, but if it were in existence today I'd still be eating fish sticks out of a paper basket along with a chocolate malted.  The only difference is I wouldn't have to be sharing it with my brother.  I would share with a pigeon once in awhile.

I recall when a White Castle opened up across the street from my elementary school in the early 1960's, my older brother came home one day and mentioned he had eaten there. When my parents asked what he had, he said, "5 hamburgers." My mother practically screamed out, "YOU ATE 5 HAMBURGERS????" thinking of them as regular size burgers. It took several minutes for my brother and I to calm her down by explaining to her the size of the burgers.

wingmanBBF
But then, like every ten year old today, I didn't know or care that the proliferation of McDonalds meant the end of too many mom and pop dog stands, soda shops, and burger spots, childhood obesity beyond measure...the end of pride in product and pleasure in a summer or after-school job...and the beginning of so much bad and end of so much good....

 
Not only well written but very true as well.
 

wingmanBBF
It's so refreshing to be on a board with Big Guns who encourage, rather than haze and bully, neophytes like myself.

 
But we can do the latter as well if you step out of line.
 
 

I'm 39, but have been a foodie for at least 35 years, so here goes.
McDonald's has always tasted the same. The only thing that changes is the price inversely to the size of the burgers. Simple McD cheeseburger is still one of my life's thrill. I loved McPizza for the short while it was around.
 
Harvey's burgers have remain unchanged. High in soy but the best around. Buns have changed over the years, fries changed a couple of times. They used to serve deep fried okra and briefly teamed with Church's Chicken in the 90's. One downtown from here was next to a Swiss Chalet and would deliver orders over fifteen dollars. Best. Pickles. Ever.
 
A&W: Made a huge comeback in my hometown of Hamilton this year. Still great stuff, but I remember the Teen Burger having real bacon, not precooked, it was a lot greasier and saltier than it is now. The onions were diced back then, instead of the thick slices they put on now.
 
Taco Bell: I was at the grand opening in town in '81. I was vegetarian to boot, the irony was delicious. The tortillas used to be real and flour like, not the rubber dental dam they wrap with now. Meat was greasier, more mysterious, but otherwise the same. Saucy bean burrito and taco bellgrande are the dinosaur ghosts of my childhood (started eating meat in '82). No drink refills, sauces were in cup packets, not squeeze packets, no late night drive thru. And they served red/white wine and beer up until 1989.
 
Wendy's: same quality unchanged. Hate the Baconator, miss the salad bar.
 
 

You're up in the Hammer? I went there a few years ago to hang out with a few Xbox buddies I play hockey with. We stayed at the City Motor one night. We just went through a few cases of Lakeport and Macklay's watching cops arrest druggies every few hours...good times! It was a complete dump, but it had to have been an awesome motel when it was first built.

I still can't get over that Taco Hell serves fries there.

Around 1971  I had a passion for hitting two food stands together whenever I was nearby ... Hot Sam and Orange Julius at the Tel-12 mall in Southfield Michigan. 
On a hot summer day, getting in out of the heat and having a big, cold Orange Julius drink and a couple Hot Sam's pretzels with mustard was like goin to heaven.

My goodness, Sonny, i remember those places well!

Where I grew up, in Poughkeepsie, NY, in the era stretching from about 1939 to 1950, there was lots of fast food - altough we never thought of it in that exact term.
 
Every saloon had a free lunch on the bar - wursts, salads, boiled eggs, pickled eggs, pickles, cold meats, roll mops, bread, pretzels, clams, oysters, and much more. Not every saloon had all of the items listed above - the choice in any given place  was usually quite limited by ethnicity, season, or just the whim of the saloonkeeper. This was really fast food - men (very very few women) would rush in, chug down a shot and a beer , grab some free lunch and rush out again. When I was about 12 years old my father started to occasionally take me to a bar and I'd load up with whatever was available while he gabbed with his friends, placed a bet on the horses, and had a beer. I can't say children were especially welcomed but they were tolerated  if they behaved.
 
We also had several diners and lunchrooms where you could get a quick meal (take-out was available in some places, but not commonly used).  The quickest meals were things like a bowl of stew or soup, a cold sandwich, a hot open-face sandwich or  a slice of cake or pie. Unless we had to wait in line they could always get us in and out in 10 minutes or less-  how fast do you want? 
 
And, of course, there were food carts and trucks serving hot dogs and hamburgers and cold sodas and such. It seemed like any event that could draw fifty people would be sufficient to bring out the carts and trucks. 
 
The only specifically fast food place I remember was the White Castle on Main Street. As I remember they only served those little square hamburgers and french fries - nothing else on the menu - and they were very fast.
 
Pizza (apizza in those days) was not considered fast food. Alloys ( dating from 1928 and still in business and still very good) was the only pizza joint I was aware of until about 1950 when the whole pizza craze really started to boom. At Alloys we ordered our pizza (a square pie), sat at the bar or a table and waited about 15 minutes while the pie was freshly prepared. ( I think we could usually get a slice of pizza served immediately at room temperature - I guess that's about  as fast as fast food gets.)
 
Every grocery store (we did have two or three  proto-supermarkets) had a display of little pies  and such - wrapped in wax paper.  They were a popular source of a quick snack.
Cheers, John 

Boy did that release a flood of memories.

I'm in my late thirties but do remember fast food as a treat as opposed to the norm.
 
That being said, my parents loved it, especially Wendy's. I do remember that tasting so much better in the late 70's- early 80's.
 
I stopped eating fast food but it doesn't sound like I'm missing much.

seafarer john


The only specifically fast food place I remember was the White Castle on Main Street. As I remember they only served those little square hamburgers and french fries - nothing else on the menu - and they were very fast.

In the mid/late fifties, about once a week my grandmother would come by and pick up my brother, mother and I and take us to White Castle. They had car hops, no roller skates though. There was a car wash next door, Carzapoppin, with a fascinating neon sign that consecutively lit up little car shapes. Free entertainment as we ate in the car. Still get The Crave every few weeks and for $4.99 including tax, I get 2 White Castles, a double cheeseburger and a small coffee. Quite the bargain these days, with a little nostalgia, to boot..
 
I think it was the early sixties when first Wetson's and then McDonald's appeared, eventually followed by others like Steer In and Burger & Shake. We would walk over from the High School for lunches of 15 cent burgers, 10 cent fries and 20 cent shakes.
 

 
Pizza (apizza in those days) was not considered fast food.  

Around fifth grade, we were allowed out at lunch time and a few times a week, we would "hop" the 6' chain link fence and go to a bare bones bakery about five minutes away. He sold pizza, 15 cents a slice. We would usually get a 30 cent slice but some of the wealthy big eaters might get the 60 cent slice (half a pie :-) I can still taste it when I close my eyes.
 
Like Michael said, a flood of memories...

MacTAC

In the mid/late fifties, about once a week my grandmother would come by and pick up my brother, mother and I and take us to White Castle. They had car hops, no roller skates though. There was a car wash next door, Carzapoppin, with a fascinating neon sign that consecutively lit up little car shapes. Free entertainment as we ate in the car. Still get The Crave every few weeks and for $4.99 including tax, I get 2 White Castles, a double cheeseburger and a small coffee. Quite the bargain these days, with a little nostalgia, to boot..

I think it was the early sixties when first Wetson's and then McDonald's appeared, eventually followed by others like Steer In and Burger & Shake. We would walk over from the High School for lunches of 15 cent burgers, 10 cent fries and 20 cent shakes.

Around fifth grade, we were allowed out at lunch time and a few times a week, we would "hop" the 6' chain link fence and go to a bare bones bakery about five minutes away. He sold pizza, 15 cents a slice. We would usually get a 30 cent slice but some of the wealthy big eaters might get the 60 cent slice (half a pie :-) I can still taste it when I close my eyes.

Like Michael said, a flood of memories...

That too triggered a flood of memories.  Thee were several Carzapoppin around NY/LI, where was yours?  The Wetson's I frequented was on 25A in Roslyn; the building is still there as a car rental office.  http://goo.gl/HY7Hs
 
In my youth I worked for a short time at 'Pizza Drive' delivering pizza on a bike. They had a store on 63rd Drive in Forest Hills and another on Woodhaven in Middle Village. And yes, pizza was 15 cents a slice way back then (almost 50 years ago). 

kozel

That too triggered a flood of memories.  Thee were several Carzapoppin around NY/LI, where was yours?  

I didn't realize there were more than one. Did they all use that particular signage? I enjoy old neon signs.
 
It was behind the still there White Castle on Hempstead Turnpike in West Hempstead, at the west end of Front Street. Between the lamented A&S to the east and the lamented Cooky's Steak Pub to the west.

MacTAC

I didn't realize there were more than one. Did they all use that particular signage? I enjoy old neon signs.

It was behind the still there White Castle on Hempstead Turnpike in West Hempstead, at the west end of Front Street. Between the lamented A&S to the east and the lamented Cooky's Steak Pub to the west.

I swear the one on Woodhaven & Yellowstone in Queens was one and I believe I saw that there was one in Manhattan and another in Yonkers as well. Don't remember if it was neon but it was pretty garish. Google "carzapoppin" and it comes back with a few hits. These links may interest you especially the last one.
http://www.bbb.org/new-yo...-forest-hill-ny-38294/
http://www.trademarkia.co...car-wash-72438133.html
http://westhempsteadnowan...-shoppers-village.html

kozel

MacTAC

I didn't realize there were more than one. Did they all use that particular signage? I enjoy old neon signs.

I swear the one on Woodhaven & Yellowstone in Queens was one and I believe I saw that there was one in Manhattan and another in Yonkers as well. Don't remember if it was neon but it was pretty garish.

Thanks for those links kozel. The neon I was referring to wasn't their main sign, but a separate additional feature, a series of very crude car silhouettes that would light sequentially to represent a car moving through the car wash.

MetroplexJim



.........Back then McD's weren't even the biggest bargain in town; that was the Red Barn about a mile south that sold a 3 piece chicken dinner w/fries for $0.59!

(Of course all that was at a time when I was earning $0.85/hr. as an after-school stock-boy/soda jerk at our local small town drug store)....................

Just for fun let's say make $20 an hour these days. Your 3 piece chicken dinner with fries should cost you $15 these days going on you roughly spending 3/4 of your hourly pay for a chicken dinner back in the day.

MilwFoodlovers

MetroplexJim



.........Back then McD's weren't even the biggest bargain in town; that was the Red Barn about a mile south that sold a 3 piece chicken dinner w/fries for $0.59!

(Of course all that was at a time when I was earning $0.85/hr. as an after-school stock-boy/soda jerk at our local small town drug store)....................

Just for fun let's say make $20 an hour these days. Your 3 piece chicken dinner with fries should cost you $15 these days going on you roughly spending 3/4 of your hourly pay for a chicken dinner back in the day.

 
Except that $0.85/hr was likely minimum (not average) pay.   Today, minimum wage ranges between $5-$9  (average wage is about $25/ hr) with an average minimum wage of about $7/hr, so that chicken dinner should be about $5 - not easy to find today.  

mjambro

Except that $0.85/hr was likely minimum (not average) pay.   Today, minimum wage ranges between $5-$9  (average wage is about $25/ hr) with an average minimum wage of about $7/hr, so that chicken dinner should be about $5 - not easy to find today.   

Some states may have a lower minimum wage, but federal, which trumps state, is $7.25. There are exceptions, of course...most notably for tipped employees (e.g. servers), whose minimum wage is $2.13 per hour. Average hourly wage in the US as of December was just under $20.00.

felix4067

mjambro

Except that $0.85/hr was likely minimum (not average) pay.   Today, minimum wage ranges between $5-$9  (average wage is about $25/ hr) with an average minimum wage of about $7/hr, so that chicken dinner should be about $5 - not easy to find today.   

Some states may have a lower minimum wage, but federal, which trumps state, is $7.25. There are exceptions, of course...most notably for tipped employees (e.g. servers), whose minimum wage is $2.13 per hour. Average hourly wage in the US as of December was just under $20.00.

 
Actual average US wage is about half way between - $23.73 (as of 12/31/12).
 
http://ycharts.com/indica...verage_hourly_earnings
 
Typical US minimum wage does tend to be about $7.25 (along lines of the Federal guidelines, as you pointed out), but there are a number of states with lower minimum wage levels.
 
http://en.wikipedia.org/w...e_in_the_United_States
 
Still, to be consistent between minimum wages, that 3-piece chicken dinner would need to be about $5.03 - not easily found today.  
 
 

Average wage? 23.73? Where? And what am I doing wrong in the work force?

Sorry...I chose to get my statistics from the US Department of Labor. Seemed like a reliable source. 
 
Federal minimum wage is not a "guideline", by the way. It's a law. Which means states can put their minimum wage at whatever they want, but under federal law they have to  pay a minimum of $7.25 per hour or face consequences.

MetroplexJim must be a really old fart because the minimum wage in 1962 was $1.00 per hour.

When I became a union carpenter back in the 60's my wage was $5.85 per hour.  And my mortgage was $98.30 per month.

felix4067


Sorry...I chose to get my statistics from the US Department of Labor. Seemed like a reliable source. 

Federal minimum wage is not a "guideline", by the way. It's a law. Which means states can put their minimum wage at whatever they want, but under federal law they have to  pay a minimum of $7.25 per hour or face consequences.

Not exactly true - "The Act applies to enterprises with employees who engage in interstate commerce, produce goods for interstate commerce, or handle, sell, or work on goods or materials that have been moved in or produced for interstate commerce."
 
There are exceptions.   Example - small (particularly local) businesses that only sell intrastate can pay less than the federal level as long as it meets the state minimum.

MetroplexJim


Back then McD's weren't even the biggest bargain in town; that was the Red Barn about a mile south that sold a 3 piece chicken dinner w/fries for $0.59!

(Of course all that was at a time when I was earning $0.85/hr. as an after-school stock-boy/soda jerk at our local small town drug store).

 
Apparently that three piece chicken will cost about $6-7 today (vs. typical $7.25 US minimum wage).
 
 $5.79 at Bojangles - http://www.bojanglesflori...u-chicken-biscuits.htm
 
$6.25 (two sides) at Lees - http://www.leeschicken.net/lees-chicken-menu/
 
$6.99 at Popeyes - http://www.allmenus.com/i...-popeyes-chicken/menu/
 
$6.99 at KFC (two sides) - http://www.kfcplainfield.com/menu.html

The original Hardee's Big Twin (early 70's charco-broiled) burger was the ultimate.  I had a friend who always freshly prepared them for me.

And of course
http://www.roadfood.com/Forums/Long-Gone-Regional-Chains-m14711.aspx
 

Felix-tongue in cheek comment on my part. In the food industry, seeing that type of money is unheard of unless you are a chef, manager, etc.....dont doubt your statistics at all!

There was a chain steakhouse in the 70's, here in Milwaukee called Nino's. Its the only one( besides KFC) that Dad would take us to. I always, as a young kid-no matter where we went, ordered fried shrimp. But the steaks were pretty decent, they offered a 3 compartment metal container of dressings for your salad( I believe French, 1000 island and blue cheese-way before the ranch craze)and the waitresses wore leather half aprons. Always loved going there. Bob and I moved to Sheboygan in the late 90's, and there was the last Nino's up there. Still the 3 compartment salad dressing thing-waitresses wearing the leather half apron, but the food just wasnt the same.....

White Castle---Order 20---.12each 

rneiner


White Castle---Order 20  

And a Diet Coke?  

No ice.

We didn't have "fast food" back then, but we did have drive-ins and burger joints...and Doggie Diner...along with a variety of sit down restaurants...
 
ALL food places cooked to order as the orders came in...Karls in Hayweird, Mels in San Francisco, 1/4lb in San Leandro, Zim's in San Francisco, The Patio in Oroville, PDQ in Petaluma, Prings in San Leandro, Howies in Union City, Banchero's in Hayweird...
 
The very first "fast food" place I ever saw was Jerk In a Box in Huntington Beach (CA) and it was a shock with all their paperware & cups garishly festooned with their name...WTF is a "Jack-Cola" ?  (I said to myself)... this was about 1967 or so, maybe 1968...
 
A couple of years later a McDonalds was opened in the East Bay near us, and we'd grab a few burgers before feeding our horses every afternoon, and yes, they were pathetic...which is where the "Where's The Beef" Tv ad got it's inspiration from...

Our local drugstore still had a soda fountain & lunch counter...life in the SF East Bay was good in the 1950's...
 
And remember: Tuesday is Red's Tamale day...!!!
 

The first Roadfood fast food I remember is Bun n' Cone in the Catskills...

http://countryweekend.blo...011/08/floods.html?m=1

Hopefully they are doing well. I remember so vividly because spending summers of my early youth being acquainted with nature (snakes bats trees quiet no people up on the mountain darkness at night ) meant the trip into town was the only reassurance that other people still actually existed.

It was a great place to have a vanilla ice cream and stay far enough away from my sinister sister so she would not try to tap her chocolate ice cream on my vanilla and upset me.

I guess it was what is called a " stand" by folks who say stand. When I think of stands...I think of the carnival.

When I was a kid we used to go out for pizza instead of having it delivered, and as an earlier poster mentioned, Pizza Hut used to be a sit-down restaurant with waitress service.  Domino's showed up in the Philly area in the late 80's, and even though there are far better pizza options around here, being able to call and have a pizza delivered was a great thing for kids too young to drive and stranded in an unwalkable suburb.  I have to give Domino's credit for forcing mom & pop pizzerias to offer fast delivery - I recall some mom & pop places did deliver before Domino's, but the 30 minute guarantee forced them to up their game!

I've always wondered what those meat flavcored lumps on a Domino's pizza really were...
 
EWe didn't do that many pizza's a s a kid, and in my later (teen) years Pinky's in Hayweird was one of the best...another good one was in San Lorenzo on Hesperian Blvd...
 

When I was a kid in Dodge City we had a Sonic and an A&W. Both were very good. I used to be able to buy bag of fries for 50 cents from Sonic. They packed in about a pound of fries in there. A&W was the first fast food burger I ever had. I loved it.
 
JMHO
 
David O.

boyardee65


When I was a kid in Dodge City we had a Sonic and an A&W.

If you really were an old timer, you'd remember Delmonico's, Long Branch and Lady Gay were the only RoadFood spots in town 
 
Sonic reminds me of a place by us in the early/mid fifties called Fiesta. They had telephone handsets at the immediate parking spots for your order which was brought to your car by a carhop, though not on roller skates. Great when coming back from Jones Beach. They had booths inside with handsets also. The usual fast food burger menu but I remember loving their flagship Fiesta Burger similar to, but much better than a Big Mac. Really miss that place...

Davydd


MetroplexJim must be a really old fart because the minimum wage in 1962 was $1.00 per hour.

I just turned 65 ( the "new 45" ); the year of my $0.85/hour was 1962 and I do recall quickly receiving a raise to $1.00, then to $1.25 after I got my driver's licence in 1964. 
 
I hit the big time in 1966-68 when, as a member of the U.S.W., I made $2.46/hour working summers in a steel mill.  At that point it became Arby's (back then they were wonderful) for FF lunches.