# Diners, Dives, and the Woolworth's Lunch Counter



## Kathleen (Feb 13, 2011)

I've said before that I'm nostalgic for things that are no longer around.  Today, I was thinking of the old diners that are long gone, a few drive-in places, and the Woolworth Lunch Counter.  

In doing a search for recipes from a few places from my younger years, I happened across a lot of history that had not been on my radar when I was very small: They ranged from food trends to social-injustice.  For me, I have very fond memories of several drive-ins, a couple of diners, and lunch with my grandmother at Woolworths!

In my search, I found the recipe for Woolworth's ham salad and had to make it.  I remember the ham salad having small diced mini-cubes of ham, so I made sure that mine did as well.  (Mother said the cubes were larger, so I suppose she will be recreating her own memory, but my cubes were small.   )  It came out nostalgia-worthy.  I will say that I added less salt than memory recalls, but Frank does not like a lot of salt.  

What was missing was potato chips on the side and a banana split that I popped a balloon to determine what I would pay.  The site has other Woolworth recipes, so I may have to re-live the Frito pie.

What recipes have you found or recreated from your memory?

~Kathleen


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## PrincessFiona60 (Feb 13, 2011)

KathleenA said:


> I've said before that I'm nostalgic for things that are no longer around. Today, I was thinking of the old diners that are long gone, a few drive-in places, and the Woolworth Lunch Counter.
> 
> In doing a search for recipes from a few places from my younger years, I happened across a lot of history that had not been on my radar when I was very small: They ranged from food trends to social-injustice. For me, I have very fond memories of several drive-ins, a couple of diners, and lunch with my grandmother at Woolworths!
> 
> ...


 
Mine is the Woolworth's Patty Melt on Caraway Rye.  I've tried recreating and I've ordered from other places, but it's just not the same.

Tuna Salad in a tomato half...need the right tuna salad.

And the old A&W root beer in the frosty mug, with onion rings.


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## AnnieDrews (Feb 13, 2011)

I wish I had some of those little silver metal bowls they served sundaes in...that really made it!!


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## Kathleen (Feb 13, 2011)

*Pop's Root Beer Stand's Spanish Sauce*



PrincessFiona60 said:


> Mine is the Woolworth's Patty Melt on Caraway Rye.  I've tried recreating and I've ordered from other places, but it's just not the same.
> 
> Tuna Salad in a tomato half...need the right tuna salad.
> 
> And the old A&W root beer in the frosty mug, with onion rings.



Those are all good!  I like Waffle House's Patty Melt.  I do not think I ever had a patty melt at Woolworths.  

My favorite root beer stand was a place called Pops.  You could get the frosty mug there and they had terrific onion rings.  Breaded onion rings, not battered.  They used a similar breading on their fried mushrooms.  The BEST thing at Pops was something called a Spanish dog.  

In the last year, I happened across a recipe from a guy who said he worked at Pops.  It was pretty much as I remembered it and brought back good memories.  Pops has been gone for more than 30 years...including Pop himself, so I will pass on the recipe exactly as it was shared with me.

*Spanish Sauce from Pop's Root Beer Stand*

2 pounds of lean ground beef
3/4 cup of water
2 cups of Hunt's ketchup
4.5 teaspoons of chili powder
2 tablespoons of white vinegar
1/4 cup of onion that has been diced finely
1 teaspoon of salt

Do not cook hamburger meat first.  Mix the raw hamburger and everything else in a pot and stir well.  Simmer for 1 hour.  Spoon over steamed hot dogs or just eat it on a bun by itself.

Kathleen's Note: Root beer required as paired drink.


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## PrincessFiona60 (Feb 13, 2011)

KathleenA said:


> Those are all good! I like Waffle House's Patty Melt. I do not think I ever had a patty melt at Woolworths.
> 
> My favorite root beer stand was a place called Pops. You could get the frosty mug there and they had terrific onion rings. Breaded onion rings, not battered. They used a similar breading on their fried mushrooms. The BEST thing at Pops was something called a Spanish dog.
> 
> ...


 
Wonder of wonders, I've been looking for this sauce.  Had it in Illinios when I was in first grade at Harvey's.  Harvey's was a soda fountain...it's in the bare edges of my memories, but I remember having hotdogs with this on it or something very like it.  Thanks!  I copied and pasted it.


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## Rocklobster (Feb 13, 2011)

Sponge toffee.


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## Kathleen (Feb 13, 2011)

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Wonder of wonders, I've been looking for this sauce.  Had it in Illinios when I was in first grade at Harvey's.  Harvey's was a soda fountain...it's in the bare edges of my memories, but I remember having hotdogs with this on it or something very like it.  Thanks!  I copied and pasted it.



If not quite right, I have the Dogs and Suds recipe for their Coney sauce too!



Rocklobster said:


> Sponge toffee.



What is it?  Where did you get it?  And most importantly, how do we make it???


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## PrincessFiona60 (Feb 13, 2011)

My questions exactly!


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## Rocklobster (Feb 13, 2011)

I used to get it at a local corner store. You could get it anywhere in the area. It cwould come in clear cellophane whith no label or writing on it at all. It would cost about a nickle for a fairly large square. Sponge toffee - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

http://www.foodnetwork.ca/recipes/Dessert/recipe.html?dishid=7257


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## LPBeier (Feb 13, 2011)

Oh, Kathleen, I worked at the Woolworth's lunch counter in Regina when I was in University.  making the ham salad was one of my jobs and I was a vegetarian.  But it smelled so good that I snuck a spoonful and was surprised that I liked it!  Thanks for bringing that memory back.  

I mostly worked the sandwich station, but sometimes filled in on grill making burgers, etc.  It was a great job.  The only down part was our uniforms were orange and brown and I lived in the dorm.  I had to dress at "home" as there were no lockers.  I had to cut through the TV room and the guys would wait for me and then follow me out swaggering and whistling the A&W Root Bear music!

As for food, the Kmart cafe had the best grilled cheese sandwiches and crinkle cut fries.


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## PrincessFiona60 (Feb 13, 2011)

Grilled cheese, buttery and with dill pickles...yum!


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## mollyanne (Feb 13, 2011)

KathleenA said:


> ...food trends to social-injustice. For me, I have very fond memories of several drive-ins, a couple of diners, and lunch with my grandmother at Woolworths!....and a banana split that I popped a balloon to determine what I would pay.


Yes! I lived in Perkasie just outside Doylestown Pennsylvania and remember looking forward to visiting the Woolworth's lunch counter just so I could pop a balloon and hope for a free Banana Split! Thanks for reminding me! Check out the prices we used to pay (scroll down to menu)...a Jumbo Banana Split was 39 cents and a sandwich was 30 cents!


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## CraigC (Feb 13, 2011)

The Lum's, Ollie Burger and Pizza Huts, Priazzo Portofino. I wish I could get a hold of those 5 gallon jars of pickled onions my family used to get in Maryland. They tasted like those little cocktail onion but were the size of medium yellow onions.

Craig


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## DaveSoMD (Feb 13, 2011)

I remember Woolworth's tuna sandwich on toast.  

A&W Root Beer in the frosty mug, Oh yeah!  We have an A&W here but you get the root beer in the normal drivethru soda cup. :-( 

Growing up we had a lot of neighborhood "mom & pop" stores. One of them was H&H Dairy and in the summer they had an ice cream call Blue Hawaiian that was this intense blue color and had tiny pieces of pineapple in it.


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## mollyanne (Feb 13, 2011)

When I was about 5 in Ft Lauderdale Fla., my grandmother would walk me to the Howard Johnson's lunch counter for a Frosty. It wasn't like the frosty's you get at fast-food chains now. It was the real deal. And the place was clean. Plus, we're talking the Sunshine State...you can't go wrong with ice-cream in the sunshine! It's gone now. Then, I remember one time we walked into the toy store and she told me to pick anything I wanted. I picked a 6" Ginny Doll and still have it. She only had small change but a big heart 

I remember Lum's. They served Lumsburgers and Hot Dogs Steamed in Beer.
.


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## CraigC (Feb 13, 2011)

mollyanne said:


> I remember Lum's. They served Lumsburgers and Hot Dogs Steamed in Beer.


 
Weinerwald Chicken! The single most detriment to the pigeon populations of South Florida cities! 



j/k
Craig


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## Mimizkitchen (Feb 13, 2011)

Woolworths my God I haven't thought about that in years... We use to call it the "five and dime", I remember having their ham sandwiches (thanks for the link to the recipe Kathleen), and their burgers... I also remember a place called Jahns in Jackson Heights N.Y., it was known for the ice cream, but they had food also... My parents rented the apt. above them and every year on our birthdays my siblings and I would go down and get our free banana split... They were the best... I also remember A&W rootbeer floats in the frosty mugs, and there was a place in Manhatten that was like a cafeteria, where you would put your money in the slot and open the little glass door to retrieve your food... I can't for the life off me remember the name of the place, but as kids we thought that was great fun...


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## LAJ (Feb 13, 2011)

Great post!
I re-created the Awrey's Bakery (Detroit) whipped cream cake. It is a delicious cake with whipped cream in the batter. Very light and a crowd-pleaser. I also make pita bread (my own recipe) that is very similar to the bread of a Lebanese bakery I frequented as a child. I make 50 loaves at Christmas. My son helped roll them out as a child. Now, he and his wife do it together. In the Midwest we had BigBoy restaurants. There are still a few around. (Not good.) But, the original sauce they used for the burgers and sandwiches was spectacular. I found a recipe a few years ago, and added a few of my own spices (from my memory). It tastes the same and is great on burgers or sandwiches.


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## LindaZ (Feb 13, 2011)

I remember the banana splits at Woolworth's - I loved the balloon popping thing. For me it was coke and fries at Woolworth's, nothing like them! I bought my first tube of Peppermint Twist lipstick at Woolworths. 

I also have a memory of Frosty Malts at the May Company in downtown Cleveland. My friend Jackie and I used to call our parents, say we had a school project to do, hop a bus downtown, have a FM, then hop a bus back home. No one was the wiser. Their Frosty Malts were served in a special glass at a little counter in the corner of the bargain basment, only cost 25 cents back then. What a treat, much like the Wendy's Frosty only maltier (is that word?).

Thanks for walking down Memory Lane - with my memory these days, this was quite an exercise - I think I need a nap.


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## LAJ (Feb 13, 2011)

If you ever go back to south Florida, Jaxson's Ice Cream Parlor still stands. It is on Federal Highway south of lauderdale. Like walking into a time machine. Floats, shakes, burgers abd a room full of antiques and penny candy. It is in Dania.


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## PrincessFiona60 (Feb 13, 2011)

Mimizkitchen said:


> Woolworths my God I haven't thought about that in years... We use to call it the "five and dime", I remember having their ham sandwiches (thanks for the link to the recipe Kathleen), and their burgers... I also remember a place called Jahns in Jackson Heights N.Y., it was known for the ice cream, but they had food also... My parents rented the apt. above them and every year on our birthdays my siblings and I would go down and get our free banana split... They were the best... I also remember A&W rootbeer floats in the frosty mugs, and there was a place in Manhatten that was like a cafeteria, where you would put your money in the slot and open the little glass door to retrieve your food... I can't for the life off me remember the name of the place, but as kids we thought that was great fun...


 
Horn and Hardart's?


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## Kathleen (Feb 13, 2011)

Rocklobster said:


> I used to get it at a local corner store. You could get it anywhere in the area. It cwould come in clear cellophane whith no label or writing on it at all. It would cost about a nickle for a fairly large square. Sponge toffee - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
> 
> Christine's Sponge Toffee - Recipes - Food Network Canada



Checked out the wiki and see it was sometimes covered in chocolate.  I'm sure PF will agree that could present a dilemma for the sponge toffee purist and so, as our resident sponge toffee expert, you should make it and send it: Half WITH chocolate and half without.  



LPBeier said:


> Oh, Kathleen, I worked at the Woolworth's lunch counter in Regina when I was in University.  making the ham salad was one of my jobs and I was a vegetarian.  But it smelled so good that I snuck a spoonful and was surprised that I liked it!  Thanks for bringing that memory back.
> 
> I mostly worked the sandwich station, but sometimes filled in on grill making burgers, etc.  It was a great job.  The only down part was our uniforms were orange and brown and I lived in the dorm.  I had to dress at "home" as there were no lockers.  I had to cut through the TV room and the guys would wait for me and then follow me out swaggering and whistling the A&W Root Bear music!
> 
> As for food, the Kmart cafe had the best grilled cheese sandwiches and crinkle cut fries.



I'll bet it was fun work.  Please settle the ham cube size discussion for my mother and me: How big were the ham cubes diced?  

The uniform that I remember was pink and white.  I love pink though it did not suit Edna's personality at all.  That being said, she seemed to point me in the direction of the 1 penny balloons for my banana split!

I loved Kmart's submarine sandwiches.  It was the first place that I had an Italian cold cut sandwich and I thought it was simply the best thing on earth for impromptu picnics.  Sometimes, I would suggest a picnic just to get the sandwich.  I never had Kmart's grilled cheese.  What made them special?


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## FrankZ (Feb 13, 2011)

LPBeier said:


> The only down part was our uniforms were orange and brown...



How is this a downside?


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## Zhizara (Feb 13, 2011)

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Horn and Hardart's?



Auto-Mat?


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## PrincessFiona60 (Feb 13, 2011)

KathleenA said:


> Checked out the wiki and see it was sometimes covered in chocolate. I'm sure PF will agree that could present a dilemma for the sponge toffee purist and so, as our resident sponge toffee expert, you should make it and send it: Half WITH chocolate and half without.


 
Absolutely, make sure they get sent to Kathleen and ME!


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## PrincessFiona60 (Feb 13, 2011)

Zhizara said:


> Auto-Mat?


 
That's what it sounds like Mimi is describing.  I only know about them because I had a set of Horn & Hardart forks I got at a surplus store.


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## velochic (Feb 13, 2011)

I was getting through the thread to post about Automats.  Yes, that is a fond memory.  They were still around when I was a child, but quickly losing ground to fast food restaurants.  Good, fresh, real food fast.  Now that was something.

I make the Horn and Hardt's baked beans which are always a hit. 

I also miss real soda fountains where your soda pop was mixed right there.  They'd always give me an extra shot of syrup in my root beers that made them so sweet I could barely stand it.  Good memories.  I don't even drink soda anymore, but still, good memories.

Oh, and the old soda pop machines where you put in your coin and slid the bottle of soda along the rails out to the little lever and pulled it through.  The coke bottles would hang by their caps on these rails in the cooler.  Miss those, too.


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## AnnieDrews (Feb 13, 2011)

Our A&W/Long John Silver's (why did they combine those??) will give you a frosted glass mug to use to fill your root beer if you want it, but it isn't the same as driving up and getting it served on a tray hanging from your rolled down car window. Oh, and it also doesn't have the little plastic giraffe hanging on the rim of the mug, either. Remember those little plastic animals??


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## PrincessFiona60 (Feb 13, 2011)

AnnieDrews said:


> Our A&W/Long John Silver's (why did they combine those??) will give you a frosted glass mug to use to fill your root beer if you want it, but it isn't the same as driving up and getting it served on a tray hanging from your rolled down car window. Oh, and it also doesn't have the little plastic giraffe hanging on the rim of the mug, either. Remember those little plastic animals??


 
Ours is an A&W/KFC...

Yes, I remember the plastic animals, I had quite a collection of them.


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## DaveSoMD (Feb 13, 2011)

AnnieDrews said:


> Our A&W/Long John Silver's (why did they combine those??)



A&W, Long John Silvers, KFC, Pizza Hut, and Taco Bell are all owned by the same parent company, Yums.


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## CraigC (Feb 13, 2011)

I forgot about Royal Castle. Birchbeer, Orange Julius and the little, .05 hamburgers you could buy in a box, by the dozen. Of course gas was .25 a gallon then.

Craig


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## chopper (Feb 13, 2011)

I can remember going to "the dime store" in Kindergarten after school with my mom for chili.  I remember it as Woolworth's, but it might not have been because I didn't see chili on the menu.  In less Battle Creek Michigan had something different on their menu?  I also would have a chili dog sometimes.  I just loved sitting up at the soda fountain counter to eat!


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## Kathleen (Feb 13, 2011)

AnnieDrews said:


> I wish I had some of those little silver metal bowls they served sundaes in...that really made it!!



These, I have!  They are perfect for small dessert sundaes.  I got four of them on ebay!


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## Kathleen (Feb 13, 2011)

@ MollyAnne - It was only 39 cents if you popped that balloon unwisely!  I once got banana split for one single penny!  That meant I still had 49 cents from my half-dollar to spend on other cool stuff.  Like...Tiger Beat Magazine!  

I loved the HoJo's lunch counters.  Heck, I just liked lunch counters.  I feel sorry or my nieces and nephews who did not have this experience.  Lunch counters are so far and few between.  There is still ONE left in my hometown as part of an old candy store.  Now, it is rather like a museum in to itself and is quite trendy.  Not the same.  A Ginny doll is just adorable.  How cool that you kept it.

@ CraigC - I adored Lums hot dogs that were steamed in BEER.  It made me feel quite grown up.  *preens*

I love Birch Beer, but I had to have the RC with a moon pie.  We have White Castles back toward home.  When I was a child, they were the forbidden food....heck, with my mother, they still are.   

@ Mimi - My aunt worked at the Five and Dime.  It was actually called that on their sign.  Woolworths was across the street from it.  I also remember Kresges in the town to where my parents moved.  It's lunch counter was nice enough but, not being in a tiny town, it did not have the same feel.  That being said, I would love to go back even to Kresges!

Auto-mats were just the most awesome thing on earth.  I remember getting a piece of pie on a glass plate with a metal fork!  I mainly remember it at a train-station.  I was pretty young and absolutely starving.  The pie was from heaven as memory recalls. 

@ LAJ - You do plan to share a recipe with us, don't you?  I miss the Mom and Pop Bakeries too.  One still exists where my parents live, but the owners and recipes changed.  They would make these small iced cakes - larger than petit fours.  The icing was very thin, perfect, and decorated daintily.  It almost cracked and melted when bitten into and the cake was pure magic.  I have never seen anything like it since.  Big Boy restaurants....I had not thought of them in ages.

@ LindaZ - I had you pegged as the flavored lipstick kind of girl.    My first tube of flavored liptint was strawberry glaze.  It smelled like strawberry and tasted like strawberry.  Who cares if it made my lips gooey?  A small price to pay for beauty.  

That Jackie just sounds like a bad influence.    Chocolate malts were awesome.

@ chopper - They had specials for lunch and dinner all of the time.  I seem to recall chili too and remember getting it with two packs of saltine crackers.  It was meaty with beans.  Loved it.  Perhaps it was another lunch counter, but I picture it at Woolworths.  I'm jealous, b/c Grandma made me sit in a booth instead of the twirlie stools.  

There is an A&W drive-in still operating in the town where my parents live called Dogs-N-Suds.  They have a coney sauce.  A recipe that tastes pretty close to it was given to me by a friend.  It differs from Pops (which is my heart's favorite.)  That being said, I'll not turn down a coney dog from Dogs-N-Suds ever.  I got the footlong.  The onions were minced and the dog was steamed as was the bun.  How does one get the mug frosty?

Here is the coney sauce recipe as it was given to me.

*Dogs-N-Suds Coney Sauce*
1 pound ground beef
2 tablespoons prepared mustard
2 tablespoons of granulated sugar
1 teaspoon worcestershire sauce
1/4 teaspoon of tabasco sauce
1 small onion, minced
2 tablespoons vinegar
1 tablespoon water
1/4 teaspoon celery seed
Catsup as needed.

Brown ground beef with onion over a medium heat.  Break up the meat into fine crumbles.  Drain off the fat.  Add everything else except for catsup.  Mix well and then add enough catsup to keep mixture loose.  Simmer partially covered, 1 hour.  Add catsup as needed.  Serve on steamed hot dogs with a side of A&W root beer.  Don't forget to tip the carhop.


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## blissful (Feb 13, 2011)

We (the kids) weren't brought to restaurants during our childhood, I think I missed the Woolworth's balloon popping fun. 
The first restaurant I went to that I remember was when I went on a first date at age 18. 

Here for your viewing pleasure, I scanned it from the original menu, I've saved since my 'almost' first job.
Do you recognize it?


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## DaveSoMD (Feb 13, 2011)

KathleenA said:


> @ Mimi - My aunt worked at the Five and Dime.  It was actually called that on their sign.  Woolworths was across the street from it.  I also remember Kresges in the town to where my parents moved.  It's lunch counter was nice enough but, not being in a tiny town, it did not have the same feel.  That being said, I would love to go back even to Kresges!



I completely forgot about Kresges!  We had on in my home town too.  The main street had a Woolworth's, Kresges, Grant's, and Sears and we had 3 movie theaters too.


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## Kathleen (Feb 13, 2011)

blissful said:


> We (the kids) weren't brought to restaurants during our childhood, I think I missed the Woolworth's balloon popping fun.
> The first restaurant I went to that I remember was when I went on a first date at age 18.
> 
> Here for your viewing pleasure, I scanned it from the original menu, I've saved since my 'almost' first job.
> ...



Is it Friendlys? It looks familiar.  Do you remember what you had? 



DaveSoMD said:


> I completely forgot about Kresges!  We had on in my home town too.  The main street had a Woolworth's, Kresges, Grant's, and Sears and we had 3 movie theaters too.



Sears had a fabulous candy kiosk that had fresh roasted chestnuts during the Christmas holiday.  My little sister was a toddler and crawled to the center of a ring rack and fell asleep.  The clerk plied me with chestnuts while the panicked parents, police, and sales managers searched for her.  Entertainment at its best....because it did not involve me!


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## chopper (Feb 13, 2011)

Blissful, 
We really didn't get to go out much at my house.  I can only remember one Italian place we would go to once every six months or so, and every once in a while Dad would take us to the truck stop for breakfast (again maybe once in six months).  The dime store thing with Mom was different.  I was the last of four children born within four and one half years.  I guess my mom just needed to have fun with the last one home half a day before the next year when she was set to go off to work.  It feels like it happened a lot (the lunch counter thing), but the last time I talked to Mom about it, she said that it probably only happened maybe three or four times.  It was just such a special time for me that it just seemed like we did it all of the time.   I just love childhood memories.  I just know that we went there lots for chili, and sometimes icecream.  I also know that I was her favorite.  I think I will just keep the memories the way they are, and not believe that I was only at that lunch counter three or four times.


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## Mimizkitchen (Feb 13, 2011)

Kathleen, I do believe ours was called Woolworths five and dime... It was in Long Beach N.Y. about 40 years ago, not there anymore... I remember it having a lunch counter to one side of the store... I wonder if it's the same Woolworths everyone else is talking about... I do remember ham salad, burgers, and grilled cheese sandwiches... 

YES PF that's it, Horn and Hardarts... Loved to go there and put my money in the machine... We would go after seeing a broadway show, or seeing the Rockettes Christmas show... Oh the memories...


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## blissful (Feb 13, 2011)

It's Lums.
It's the part of the menu with the Lumdog.


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## CraigC (Feb 13, 2011)

I remember the Woolworths in downtown Miami. Also Burdines had a great bakery.

Craig


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## Kayelle (Feb 13, 2011)

What a wonderful read Kathleen.  Thanks so much for a great thread!!

I too have great memories of Woolworth's lunch counter!! My favorite was their pastry apple dumplings covered with vanilla custard sauce.  They only made them on Wed. so a bunch of us from high school would walk all the way to downtown in our _detested_ Catholic school uniforms to chow down on these delectable treats. I'd always have a lime phosphate with mine..remember those?  The apple dumplings were just out of this world good, and I was so happy to see a recipe for what I remembered at the link you left Kathleen.  I can't wait to make them!!

OLD FASHIONED APPLE DUMPLINGS

Pastry for 2 (10 inch) pie shells

6 med. firm cooking apples
1 tbsp. lemon juice
1/2 c. granulated sugar
 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 c. dark brown sugar
1 tbsp. (1/4 stick) butter

2 c. water
3/4 c. granulated sugar
2 tbsp. (1/4 stick) butter
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/8 tsp. ground mace (optional)
1/8 tsp. grated nutmeg
Cream

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Roll out pie dough to form a rectangle, 14x22 inches.  Cut into 6 
uniform squares.  Core the apples, but leave them whole.  Pour the 
lemon juice into a small bowl.  In another small bowl, combine the 
granulated sugar and cinnamon.  Roll each apple first in lemon juice, 
then in sugar and place each on top of dough square.  Fill each apple 
cavity with approximately 2 tablespoons brown sugar and 1 teaspoon 
butter.  Pull the pastry squares up over the apples and crimp the 
edges tightly; you will have pretty round pastry balls.  Place in an 
oiled 9x13x2 inch pan.  Bake for 1 hour or until apples are tender.  
While apples bake, combine all the sauce ingredients in a medium saucepan 
set over high heat.  Bring to boil and cook rapidly for 1 minute.  After 
the dumplings have baked for 30 minutes, pour the sauce over top of the 
dumplings and bake 30 minutes longer, basting occasionally. 
Serve hot with the cream.  
_____________
Custard Sauce

11/2 c milk
2 tsp cornstarch
1 T sugar
1 egg yolk
1/2 tsp Pure Vanilla extract 

In a heavy 1- to 11/2-quart saucepan, combine 1/4 c of the milk and the 
cornstarch, and stir with a whisk until the cornstarch is dissolved. 
Add the remaining 11/4 c of milk and the sugar, and cook over moderate 
heat, stirring, until the sauce thickens and comes to a boil. In a 
small bowl break up the egg yolk with a fork and stir in 2 or 3 
tablespoons of the sauce. Then whisk the mixture back into the remaining 
sauce. Bring to a boil again and boil for 1 minute, stirring constantly. 
Remove the pan from the heat and add the vanilla. Custard sauce is served 
hot with such desserts as blackberry or cherry-and-apple pie, apple 
dumplings or jam sponge. Makes about 11/2 cups sauce.
__________


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## babetoo (Feb 13, 2011)

pattie melt at dennys thirty years ago. their tuna melt was excellent also. i worked at a soda fountain as a teen. inside the local drug store made chocolate malts my fav. those things at fast food places in no way measure up to those.


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## NoraC (Feb 13, 2011)

Mimizkitchen said:


> ... . ...there was a place in Manhatten that was like a cafeteria, where you would put your money in the slot and open the little glass door to retrieve your food... I can't for the life off me remember the name of the place, but as kids we thought that was great fun...



The Automat.   Great fun!


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## chopper (Feb 13, 2011)

babetoo said:


> pattie melt at dennys thirty years ago. their tuna melt was excellent also. i worked at a soda fountain as a teen. inside the local drug store made chocolate malts my fav. those things at fast food places in no way measure up to those.


If we were closer, we would have to go to Denny's for a patty melt!  I used to go there about 30 years ago too with friends after working all night.  Good memories!


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## Kathleen (Feb 13, 2011)

Mimizkitchen said:


> Kathleen, I do believe ours was called Woolworths five and dime... It was in Long Beach N.Y. about 40 years ago, not there anymore... I remember it having a lunch counter to one side of the store... I wonder if it's the same Woolworths everyone else is talking about... I do remember ham salad, burgers, and grilled cheese sandwiches...
> 
> YES PF that's it, Horn and Hardarts... Loved to go there and put my money in the machine... We would go after seeing a broadway show, or seeing the Rockettes Christmas show... Oh the memories...



I'm sure it is the same, Mimi.  I just found it interesting that my aunt worked at a store that was actually called "Five and Dime" when it was located diagonally from Woolworths, the original five and dime!  Oh, and I would have LOVED to have seen the Rockettes.  What a wonderful memory. 



chopper said:


> If we were closer, we would have to go to Denny's for a patty melt!  I used to go there about 30 years ago too with friends after working all night.  Good memories!



chopper, I love patty melts so you and Babe cannot go without me!  Denny's was good....but...Waffle House served them with fabulous hash browns.

Kayelle, let us know how that turns out when you make the apple dumplings!  I don't think I ever had one at Woolworths....I probably never got past the pies, cakes and banana splits!  Detested school uniforms?  You know there is an entire fan group of those these days.  Did you shorten them by rolling the waistband?  My mother did... or so she says.


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## LAJ (Feb 17, 2011)

I remember the Automats at Sanders restaurants in Detroit. They were fun, as a child.


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## LAJ (Feb 17, 2011)

Denny's used to serve excellant tuna melts. I worked there years ago and I think the key was the sourdough bread.


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## PrincessFiona60 (Feb 17, 2011)

Tuna Melts...yum...I think the secret is garlic butter.


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## LAJ (Feb 18, 2011)

I remember Burdines bakery. It was great!


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## LAJ (Feb 18, 2011)

Lums dogs were very good. In Michigan, the old Lums are now pizza places.


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## taxlady (Feb 18, 2011)

Woolworth's made the best lemonade.


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## Janet H (Feb 18, 2011)

Slightly off topic - love at the five and dime.... lunch counter dates, another time honored tradition

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SwevqcForgM


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## Kathleen (Jul 10, 2011)

*Woolsworth Ham Salad?*

Those this thread was ages ago, I promised others that I would post the pictures of the ham salad sandwich when I pulled it from the camera.  Potato chips and dill pickle slices rounded out the plate.  How I yearned for a basic diner dish!


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## LPBeier (Jul 10, 2011)

Yep, looks just like how I made 'em!


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## Snip 13 (Jul 10, 2011)

Kathleen said:


> I've said before that I'm nostalgic for things that are no longer around.  Today, I was thinking of the old diners that are long gone, a few drive-in places, and the Woolworth Lunch Counter.
> 
> In doing a search for recipes from a few places from my younger years, I happened across a lot of history that had not been on my radar when I was very small: They ranged from food trends to social-injustice.  For me, I have very fond memories of several drive-ins, a couple of diners, and lunch with my grandmother at Woolworths!
> 
> ...



Woolworths in SA only got lunch counters about 2 yrs back. One thing they stopped making by us that I really miss is duck liver pate with orange jelly on top. Tried making it but the taste doesn't come close 
At the moment my favourite woolies meal is Spinach and Feta cannelloni and  there creme brulee


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## LPBeier (Jul 10, 2011)

Snip, we haven't had Woolworth's here for more than 20 years!  I worked in one when I was in Regina and one of my "duties" was making this sandwich!

Wow, your menu seems much more sophisticated than ours ever was!


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## Snip 13 (Jul 10, 2011)

LPBeier said:


> Snip, we haven't had Woolworth's here for more than 20 years!  I worked in one when I was in Regina and one of my "duties" was making this sandwich!
> 
> Wow, your menu seems much more sophisticated than ours ever was!



No Woolies  I would be lost without my monthly Woolworths fix! They have so many American and British foods and loads more! They are the rich housewifes go to when having dinner parties..lol! I treat my family and myself once or twice a month with spoils from there. Can't afford to buy all my groceries there, way too expensive. I do buy most of my fresh fruit and veg by them, the quality is close to home grown and buy my meat in bulk at the supermarket suppliers to make up the difference  Luckily a friend of mine owns her own catering company and lets me buy meat with her at wholesale prices.
There Mac 'n Cheese is made with 4 cheeses and I'm sure it beats your Blue Kraft boxes..lol!
If you come to SA you should try some of the goodies!


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## Kathleen (Jul 10, 2011)

LPBeier said:


> Yep, looks just like how I made 'em!



YAY!  It was a bit different than I remember, but I suspect it was the type of ham that I used.  



Snip 13 said:


> Woolworths in SA only got lunch counters about 2 yrs back. One thing they stopped making by us that I really miss is duck liver pate with orange jelly on top. Tried making it but the taste doesn't come close
> At the moment my favourite woolies meal is Spinach and Feta cannelloni and  there creme brulee



That is a pretty swanky Woolworth!  Our Woolworths is long gone.    While there, it was a five and dime store: costume jewelry, low cost products.  It's part of some terrific childhood memories.


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## Snip 13 (Jul 11, 2011)

Kathleen said:


> YAY!  It was a bit different than I remember, but I suspect it was the type of ham that I used.
> 
> 
> 
> That is a pretty swanky Woolworth!  Our Woolworths is long gone.    While there, it was a five and dime store: costume jewelry, low cost products.  It's part of some terrific childhood memories.



We have many Woolworths Stores, one in every mall and some in the middle of nowhere, we even have Woolworths food sections at our filling stations..lol!
Just comes to show how behind we are, we get things when other countries lose interest in them..lol! They are well known here and sell only the best quality foods, lucky us I guess. On the flip side, we have to watch programs that are 2-3 yrs old on DSTV and repeats all the time!


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## Zhizara (Jul 11, 2011)

Don't feel bad about the TV, Snip.  We get a lot of old stuff too, and much of the newer stuff isn't fit to be watched.


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## Snip 13 (Jul 11, 2011)

I don't  Just drives me nuts having to pay R500 a month for watching the same shows over and over! Luckily we have a dvd collection of about 5 or 6 hundred. Hubby likes collecting them..lol!


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## DaveSoMD (Jul 11, 2011)

A bit of history and how the US  F.W. Woolworth's and the SA Woolworth's are related. 

F. W. Woolworth Company - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


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## Snip 13 (Jul 11, 2011)

Thanks for the link, interesting info


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