Hamburger Construction Company – Ocean City, NJ – 1979 Photo

We wrote about Ocean City, New Jersey’s Hamburger Construction Company in 2008.  This 1979 photo of the 2-year old establishment was recently added to the Library of Congress’s roadside architecture archive.

Side note:  The King’s Tomb walk-through attraction on the roof of neighboring Playland was one of the scariest things 9-year-old me ever did (though as an adult i doubt it would have been anything but kitschy.)

http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/mrg.10039

Knobby’s – 1970’s – Indianapolis, IN

Knobby’s began as a drive in, opened a second location that was Polynesian themed called The Kahuna Lounge on Shadeland and at some point was a full fledged restaurant based on this extensive menu.

Their final location closed in 2001. 

I wish there was a description for the Mainlander Dinner because I am here for it.

Coco’s Famous Hamburgers – 1975 – West Coast

Coco’s Famous Hamburgers has been a going concern in 1948, though I’d never heard of them – and for good reason.  They are exclusively on the west coast of the United States in California, Oregon, Washington and Arizona.

This 1975 menu has them serving up pretty standard coffee shop fare:  Burgers,  soup, salad, entrees and all day omelettes.  I’ll have to make a note to try a Coco’s burger next time I find myself on the west coast.

The Chopping Block – 1975 – St. Louis, MO

The Breckenridge Hotels Corporation developed hotels in 11 states.  The Chopping Block restaurant resided in at least one of them in April 1975 when this menu is dated.  Though we can likely place this one in the St. Louis area because of “Crepes Mehlville”, named after a town that is part of the St. Louis metropolitan area.

A concise but appealing menu with solid fruit, salad and sandwich options.  I am a little leery of the Banker’s Steak Sandwich chiefly because it’s so plain.

I think I would have liked a meal at The Chopping Block.

 

The Ground Round – 1979 – Nationwide

The Ground Round still lives, albeit in 16 locations as of 2020 instead of its peak in the 90s with 200+ locales.  An early nationwide fast casual chain famous for free baskets of popcorn at the tables and an early adopter of the specialty burger in a sit-down restaurant envrionment.

Howard Johnson’s chain of restaurants and motels founded the Ground Round in 1969.  Perhaps the restaurant was most famous in the early years for providing patrons with shelled peanuts and encouraging them to throw the shells on the floor once they consumed the peanuts inside.  The rise in prominence of peanut allergies and the liability created by the discarded shells led to their eventual demise.

A look at this 1979 menu reveals it’s not all that different in offerings from a Howard Johnson’s of the era.  Though HoJo’s sure didn’t have Bingo the Clown every Sunday.

The Splendor of Caesar – 1976 – Ramada Inn

I so wish I was able to track down the location of this Ramada Inn where the restaurant was Roman themed.  It would make sense in Las Vegas, in the shadow of Caesar’s Palace, but we all know it was probably someplace far less explainable.

Apparently the Romans loved Shish Kabob.

(Eddie) Webster’s West – Mid 1970’s – St. Louis, MO

There’s a nice writeup and the below photo of the establishment that housed Eddie Webster’s West restaurant in St. Louis from 1972 until no later than 1980.  It was, for a long time prior, McCarthy’s.

There’s a lot to unpack here.  Alaskan Ice Cream Cocktails? Are the cocktails from Alaskan recipes?  Is the Ice Cream made in Alaska? They all seem like pretty standard drink recipes.

If you’ve ever watched a movie set before the Colonial era you’d see flagons of wine and other drinks being poured.  Webster’s was ready to serve you a flagon of wine.

An alluring menus of steaks, chops and seafood follows taking special note of the Champagne Dinner for 2 and the walleyed pike, a specialty of the Great Lakes region.

 

Stouffer’s Top Of The Riverfront – 1979 – St. Louis, Missouri

This menu brings us two of my favorite things:  A trusted name in classic American foodservice, Stouffers, and a rotating restaurant!

Stouffer’s Top Of The Riverfront rotated atop the 30th floor of Stouffer’s Riverfrton Inn hotel in the shadow of the famous St. Louis arch.  It opened in 1969 to much fanfare and our menu dates from 1979, as evidence by the prices and the attachment of a small addendum to the menu noting that beef prices had spiked causing a $1.00 surcharge on all steak items on the menu.  That occurred in 1979, hence our conclusion that this is the likely time of of our menu.

Stouffer’s is a trusted name in cuisine, most known today for its frozen entrees in your grocer’s freezer, but had a network of quality hotels and restaurants in major cities throughout the United States – Restaurants beginning in the 1920’s and hotels beginning in 1960.

The menu is fancy without being quite fine dining.  Special note to the survival of Rarebit as an appetizer.  It had mostly fallen out of favor by 1979 on menus BUT Stouffer’s still makes a rarebit frozen entree as of 2020.

I also like how they skip mention of shrimp altogether and just call them “scampies”.

The hotel and the Top of the Riverfront restaurant closed in 2014.

 

 

The Prime Minister – 1970’s – Location Unknown

This menu caught my eye immediately because of its cover caricature of Winston Churchill.  The inside didn’t disappoint.  In addition to listing the food and a nice mission statement about the kind of man the Prime Minister is and the food he expects, the menu is chock full of notations and admonitions of the era.

The coffee is “special blend”.

The Saganaki, a Greek flaming cheese – “it is delicious”

They deny responsibility for loss or exchange of personal property, so hold on to those purses tight.

Roquefort cost extra if you want it with your dinner salad (yes!).

My personal favorite:  “For festive dining may we suggest you read our wine list.”

Now to the food itself:  Shrimp De Jonghe is a dish I’d all but forgotten about but it appears here available as both an entree and appetizer.  A simple casserole of shrimp in garlic, sherry and butter sauce w/ some breadcrumbs sprinkled on top.

Four of the six sandwiches are variations of hamburgers alongside a reuben and a sliced steak sandwich.  Note the restriction on ordering sandwiches on Friday or Saturday evenings during dinner hours.  This used to be a fairly common restriction.  The two big dinner nights of the week a restaurant needed to make it’s money selling entrees.  On the other hand they were happy to feed you a hamburger on a weeknight.

On the entree side please not the Wiener Schnitzel which could be upgraded to “ala Holstein” for 30 cents extra.  This preparation topped your fried veal with a fried egg, anchovies and a caper sauce.

The prices place this menu squarely in the heart of the 70’s and the location may have been in Indiana, though many restaurants have called themselves the Prime Minister. I would like to have visited this one.

 

 

 

 

Black Angus Lounge – 1970’s – Location Unknown

There are so many restaurants called “Black Angus” it’s difficult to nail down which location you’re talking about, if it was part of the chain that started in 1964 that endures today or if it was an independently owned restaurant sharing the name.

The best indication that this is a part of the chain is the one picture included.  However, this is by happenstance.  The full menu had specials stapled and clipped to it.  The hand–written beef stew special was written on the back of a photo advertisement which shows Black Angus brand steak sauce varieties next to the ketchup.

 

I can make out “Hot” and “Smoke” varieties from the picture.  Maybe the other one says “Western”?   Good looking onion ring though!  I also like the steers and branding marks in the table design.

Typical of the casual steakhouses of the day the menu has something for everyone and some delightful graphics.  After all they can sell the beef so cheap because their Uncle is a cattle rustler!

Daniel’s – Daytona Beach, Florida – 1980’s

Just a dessert and after dinner menu at Daniel’s.  The menu faintly identifies it’s location as 548 Seabreeze Boulevard in Daytona Beach, Florida.  Today that is the location of a nightclub called Molly Brown’s.

A few clues as to the dating of this menu:  Haagen Dazs ice cream is prominently featured.  That was a very 80’s flex on a menu.  The presence of mostly flambeed dessert likely rules out the 90’s as does the pricing – especially the $40.00 pour of Louis XIII cognac (today those are about $125 +/- for a pour).

I am guessing mid to latter half of the 80’s for this one.  No idea if Daniel’s was a full service restaurant or just an after dinner spot.  If you know please let us know!

Mader’s Restaurant – Milwaukee, WI – Early/Mid 70’s

Mader’s Restaurant dates to 1902, is still in operation in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and promised it’s the “#1 Ranked German Restaurant in Milwaukee”.  A city whose history is steeped in and intrinsically linked to the nation’s beer supply claiming this to be the best place to hoist a stein and enjoy some brats, well, that’s a bold claim.

But our diner must have been enthralled because they not only kept the menu – they kept a placemat!

I am guessing this undated menu is circa early 1970’s based on the prices, possibly closer to the mid 70’s.  The Roast Pork Shank, identified as 4,000,000 sold since 1902 on this menu, remains the featured item on their 2020 menu.  Ich habe hunger.

Casa Gallardo – St. Louis – Early 1980’s

The long and storied history of Casa Gallardo, its founder Ramon Gallardo and its eventual demise are chronicled in great detail by Lost Tables and it’s worth your time if you’re interested.

The Cliff’s Notes version:

Ramon Gallardo worked his way up in the restaurant industry, got a Small Business Administration loan to open his own place – Casa Gallardo, to much success in 1975.  In 1979 General Mills bought the restaurant, turned it into a chain to compete with Chi-Chi’s and El Torito and kept him on board to run the operation.  GM sold it in 1985 and Gallardo left the company.  He went on to operate other restaurants in the St. Louis area and is now retired.  Casa Gallardo’s last restaurants closed their doors in 2012.

 

Elegance – Location Unknown – Late 60’s/Early 70’s

This one is a bit of an intriguing mystery.  No surprise that the history of a restaurant whose name seemed to be “Elegance” is difficult to track down.  The menu doesn’t really yield any clues as to region or identity either.

Regardless of where this restaurant was it is a stellar example of continental fine dining.  Based on the menu prices this was likely circa late 1960’s or early 1970’s.   One of my favorite dishes, Steak Diane, is featured.

All the hallmarks of fine dining of the era are featured:  tableside salads and entrees and flambe desserts.  I especially love the late supper menu which almost assures this restaurant was located in a major city and in or near a theater district or similar supplier of post-show/event dining.

If you know where this restaurant may have been, let us know so we can add those details.

Halls Ferry Inn – Florissant, Missouri – Mid 1970’s

Well this is an interesting one.  Based on the prices it appears to be circa mid 1970’s.

Halls Ferry Inn was established in 1967 and closed its doors in 2011, was subsequently purchased by Lozell Stiles who transformed it into a Jazz Cafe and when things weren’t working out promptly burned the place to the ground a few months later.  Five years probation and $1000 fine hardly seems like a deterrent to future arsonist restaurateurs.

The availability of Cold Duck by the glass and the assurance that they serve only real butter and reserve their right to refuse service to anyone gives you the firm sense that you are, indeed, deep in the heart of the 70’s.