Americana Two

The plates are from Howard Johnsons, which was big in New England in the 1950s and 60s. It was, in fact, one of the first franchise operations (not McDonalds, which wasn't known for franchising but for automation of food preparation). I have a Hojo menu also (steak dinner: $1.75). Hojos was one of the first ice cream vendors to venture into flavors other than vanilla, chocolate and strawberry, and used more fat in the preparation of its ice cream (the magic ingredient in premium ice cream). It was one of the first roadside restaurants, with a recognizable orange roof and the Pieman sign, the logo of which is on my dishes. My family was poor, and so we maybe ate out three times a year then, although there weren't that many restaurants either, so it wasn't as if we were missing much, although I do recall that we would go out and get a grinder sometimes, wrapped in greasy paper, or a fifty-cent stuffed quahog with linguica (points if you know what those are) and bring them home.
If we went on a trip to see the grandparents in Vermont or New Jersey, generally we ate a picnic lunch in the car, packed by my mother, but sometimes we'd stop at Hojos and have a "grilled-in-butter frankfort" or a plate of fried clams. Hojos was famous for its clams, and ordering them was sort of bizarre, considering that we lived in an area known for fresh fried clam plates, the clams served with the bellies attached. Hojo's clams were frozen, and were strips. Heresy. Even though we didn't eat out much, I do remember that we went out for ice cream quite a bit. I remember what a thrill it was to eat there, and the big decision between the hot dog and the clams, although they served a lot of other things too. I wonder if it really was good, or if it was just the thrill of eating something my mother hadn't managed to boil, broil or poach to death.
Somehow, Hojos lost its way, and its restaurants and hotels closed, and its stock was delisted (I have an old stock certificate). There are some old Hojos buildings around, repurposed into banks and other restaurants like IHOPs. I remarked to Sue when she guessed correctly (we grew up down the road from each other) that eating out has become so routine in our society that it's no longer particularly special.

Here's some progress on Americana.

"Hey Zeke, what are you doing?" "Oh, hi Harry. I'm posing for a sampler."

We're sad this evening to say that a wonderful bunny mom and dad, Bunny Lady and Rabbits' Guy, have lost one of their furry little ones a couple days ago, Stanley of the big fuzzy feet. Our best wishes go to the Houseful of Rabbits.