Forget fast food... Shun cookie-cutter "concept" chain restauruants...
Forget the trendy hip joint that's here today and gone tommorow...

Where do you go for a traditional dining experiences?

-I still remember my grandfather (in the Hollywood film business since the 1920s) taking me to Musso and Frank's Grill on Hollywood Blvd., where the waiters knew him by name...and the menu seemed straight out of 1940.... Steaks, chops, grilled liver, corned beef and cabbage, and even chicken pot pie. The waiters all wore high collar red jackets and the place was dimly lit with heavy wood paneling like a film noir set.

-Superior Dairy (Hanford, California), the last of the great 1930s ice cream soda joints and temple to the Gods of butterfat. Pink and white Naugahyde for days, waitresses in matching pink uniforms and white ruffled aprons. Amazing shakes and malts blended by hand...and so thick the spoon stands straight...even with the mixing can held sideways. The S-O-S (Superior Over-sized Sundae) serves 2-4, but you can risk death by ice cream and order it by yourself. Hamburgers, grilled cheese, or Ruben sandwiches served with frys and a couple of home-made dill pickle spears. Does life get any better than this?

-Philippe's, home of the French Dipped Sandwich. Since 1908, Philippe's has been feeding Los Angeles hot sandwiches at long communal tables and a stand up bar around the walls, on a floor covered in sawdust. The only place where you can see the political elite of Los Angeles dining elbow to elbow working stiffs and the homeless. There's a news stand by the main entrance like something out of the past. The coffee is STILL $0.10...although everything else has gone up in price. And it's not just French dip sandwiches....the pie is fabulous, the soup of the day is a tradition...and the glass case counter contains such treasures and mysteries as stewed prunes, macaroni salad, kosher pickles, and baked apples.

So what's YOUR favorite culinary journey to the past?

Betty's of Harrogate (or York, for that matter). Been there since 1919, a Yorkshire tearoom with a Swiss twist. It's changed very little in the meantime! It's particularly fun to go to the York one on a Friday evening, just as everyone's starting on their night out (the Stag & Hen parties especially). Watch everybody pile out, half-undressed, on to the street, full of drink, as you sip from a cup of tea, eat some brown bread ice cream and listen to the piano.

(And then go and join them...)

The Cosy Supper Bar on Whitecross Street in London, near where I Used to work. A proper, old-style chippy with giant mugs of tea, formica tables with plastic seats bolted to them, and an all-pervasive layer of beef dripping that's been there since the 50s. Artery-clogging and great - but when will Southerners learn that cod is the wrong fish for this...

Also, the Quality Chop House in London EC1. Way overpriced, but it's an absolute gem of a place. Proper British comfort food, and the restaurant itself should be (if it's not already) registered as a site of historic interest.

http://www.mamasdaughtersdiner.com/

It's only been around since 1958 but when I lived in Dallas, this was the place I went for good home cooking.

Binion's Ranch Steakhouse, Fremont St., Las Vegas: Live/Player Piano Music; Martinis; Oysters Rockefeller; Escargot Bourguignonne; Iceberg Wedge; Caesar Salad; Lobster Bisque; Steak Diane; Steak Au Poivre; Lamb Chops; Porterhouse; Filet Mignon; Crab Legs; Lobster Tails; etc., etc. http://www.binions.com/dining/steakhouse.html

Hugo's Cellar at the 4 Queens, Fremont St., Las Vegas: Tableside Salads; Wine Steward/Sommelier; Veal Oscar; Roast Duck; Rack of Lamb; Tournedos Rossini; Tableside Desserts: Bananas Foster/Cherries Jubilee; Every Lady gets a Rose. http://www.hugoscellar.com/menu.html

Just tried Tommy's Joynt in San Francisco this past weekend. Cafeteria style, but all the old school grub you could want. Also has a really impressive beer selection.

I sometimes miss the more"Continental"type of fancy-schmancy.
Steak Diane done tableside(really easy to make if you have the ingredients and the know how) froglegs provencale,a duck a'l'orange flamed at table.

Also miss old school"chinese"=had a craving for it this past weekend.Impossible to find here in the SGV.

Got to be Earl Abel's in San Antonio:

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showt...eferrerid=4179

If you like the series Twin Peaks, it is not to be missed...and the food isn't bad either.

Best regards,

William R. Sanders
Online Guest Feedback Coordinator
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide

[email protected]

I thought this thread was going to be about places like "School Diners" (I think that was the name) on a side street near Marble Arch in London which I passed many times, years ago.

It was (and perhaps still is) a place specializing in English boarding school food (bangers and mash?) with the waitresses in little French maid outfits and short skirts. And with "Masters" roaming around with canes to smack the bad school boys.

At least according to the ads outside. I was afraid to go in.

Those Brits are pretty kinky.

I always ask my mom to cook "old school" stuff. No need to go out.

I think you're confusing "old school" with "comfort food", unless your mom makes a tableside caesar, escargot, veal oscar, duck a l'orange, tournedos rossini, and cherries jubilee flambe tableside; in which case you are a very lucky young man!

I agree 100% on Binions and the price is nice too. I never ate at Hugos but I will put it on the to-do list. Thanks.

MisterNice

There's a fantastic place in suburban Philadelphia (in Flourtown) called, The Fairlane Grill. Very old school in every aspect. Fountain sodas still poured traditionally, rootbeer floats are probably the most popular drink there, and the staff knew my family and I when we went there a in the 1990s.

Blasts from the Past for me, the following are all regular places my parents and grandparents would take my brother and I to as kids, I view these as "traditional" places.

Topper's Restaurant on Milwaukee Ave in Wheeling, IL - closed

Jimmy Wong's Cantonese Restaurant, IIRC on Wabash in Chicago - closed

Binyon's Restaurant 327 S. Plymouth Court in Chicago - closed

The Old Original Bookbinder's in Philadelphia - original is closed

Two that are still open and sad to say I haven't been to for decades.

The Milk Pail http://www.themilkpail.com/ in East Dundee, IL

White Fence Farm http://www.whitefencefarm.com/chicago/index.htm in Romeoville, IL

FWIW, if looking for Continental fancy schmancy "traditional" classics done quite well in the Chicagoland area, you can try Cafe La Cave in Des Plaines. FYI, there is usually a coupon in the Entertainment guide to get one of the main courses for free. The main dining room is made to look like a cave so quite kitschy but the food and dinnerware (big heavy plates/servingware/silverware) are the real thing. http://www.cafelacaverestaurant.com/

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Murray's, "Home of the butter knife steak," in downtown Minneapolis is my mecca. I hit it every time I am in town. Many of locals cannot believe how I and some of the folks I work with from out east rave about this place. They can't seem to get over the retro decor, but if you can... It is a top notch steak.

Seeing the title made me think of this place:

http://www.schooldinners.com/

That said, I found that many proper restaurants in Budapest and even in rural Hungary still provided very formal service long forgotten in western Europe. For one, the server always served from one's right, no matter how inconvenient it was to get there.