Every city has its local institutions—and small New England cities tend to be particularly devoted to their own. But hometown pride only partly explains the wild popularity of The Friendly Toast in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. There’s the décor: the bright red walls of this kitsched-out eatery are a veritable gallery of mid-century Americana, with plastic sculptures of Dick and Jane perched over the open kitchen, “Enjoy Life With Miller!” signs, and KFC-brand shades on the hanging lights. There’s the late-night schedule: open 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Monday through Thursday, but 24 hours all weekend, never shutting its doors from Friday morning through Sunday night. And then there’s the food. The Friendly Toast serves the most eclectic array...
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Photograph from lauromaia on Flickr The “Mother Road”—or what’s left of it—turns 82 today. Which reminds me, serious eater robincat asked in Talk about serious eating options along the historic highway. There are only a handful of replies so far. Come on, people! There's gotta be more great food along this route. Get your kicks on in Talk....
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I was in Seattle for a funeral—a crappy one—one for an 18-year-old nephew. Went to the potluck and did not eat, headed out to the hotel, and stopped into a new place called the Steelhead Diner just off of 1st Avenue near Pike Place Market. It ruled. Real dungeness crab cake with the big pieces of crab and no visible filler, served with sauce Louis from the '50s, but perfect. A plate of my dad's bresaola, perfectly sliced, dressed with great olive oil and fresh peaches. Wow ... fuck figs....
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By now you've either seen last night's Sopranos or the news coverage this morning of what was the series finale. If, like me, you were wondering where the infamous final scene took place, where it was that the cinematographer lingered so lovingly over those onion rings, Jason Perlow of Off the Broiler enlightens us: Holsten's in Bloomfield, New Jersey: Opened in 1939, going there is literally like being sent back in a time machine to observe the social habits of pre-WWII and 1950’s American youth. The menu of ice cream treats and food items it serves are totally retro. This is not by design like one of the newer established 50’s chains like Johnny Rockets or Cheeburger Cheeburger, but...
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Rhode Island gave us the diner. Who knew? According to the New York Times, "The Naugahyde and Formica restaurants that sizzle with breakfast all day long, and where the waitresses call you 'Hon,' had their start in Providence more than 130 years ago." Remarkably, "an estimated 75 to 80 diners and lunch counters still dot the state." Not only are the three diners mentioned in the story old and cool-looking, but two are owned by serious cooks trained at Johnson & Wales. (Diner contact info after the jump.)...
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