I went on so many road trips as a kid. Restaurant food was a treat, so I was always pretty happy no matter where we went. Pancakes and cheeseburgers had their golden ages in the 70's if you ask me. I miss the department store cafeterias too.
Sambos was great!!!Coming back from a college meet up in san Fransico 4 broke students were starving and broke. We ordered on plate of pancakes and 2 cups of tea. They noticed and delivered to us 4 full breakfasts at no cost!!!!
I have both Straw Hat and H. Salt within easy driving distance. But the latter is not great, they serve mostly breading. Yet they have really good reviews for some reason. I guess the nostalgia is a factor.
The Ground Round, Chi Chi's and Howard Johnsons were all so wonderful. Great memories. Now it's 2024 and they've all been replaced with garbage. I cook most everything at home now.
You are better off cooking at home today, especially with the inflation due to the rotten government we have right now plus you know what goes in your food.
@@Dajuhan2u100% agree, all you see is fat people all over the place today. I took my usual walk yesterday and did not see one kid outside. When we were kids we hated to be indoors. We were on our bikes, playing baseball, building forts, walking into town …. We moved all the time and my mom did not feed us junk food, that was once in a while as a treat ..
It’s a short video so, every restaurant of the 70s weren’t put on this video, that doesn’t mean, the person who made the video forgot to put it on this video, just sayin! 9:44
@@sonyafox3271 Recollection Road: "Let me know in the comments if I missed anything." And people do. That gives RR more material for future videos, kind of like the "Circle of Life" for RU-vid.😁
I was surprised to not see Lums mentioned. In my hometown, we had a Lums right next door to a Beefsteak Charlie's. And down the road was a Ground Round and a Howard Johnson's.
Definitely agree with you on Lums. I am surprised it was not mentioned. Some of their items, like the Ollie Burger and steamed hot dogs, are on the menu at a diner in Hallandale, Florida. I believe it is called the Flashback Diner
Not only do I remember Shakey's Pizza but I remember their commercials on T.V. when I was a teenager. Loves Restaurant was popular for their Barbecued Ribs and Chicken in the 70s sad when they closed and I also remember Happy Steak. Miss those wonderful eating establishments. Thanks for sharing.
I was going to mention Happy Steak and had forgotten about Love's. Have been to Shakey's but we didn't have one where I grew up. On Shakey's theme, we had a chain that was up and down the San Juaquin Valley in CA, "Me-n-Ed's". Great pizza in the day.
Shakey's is still here in Oroville California😃There Mojo Potatoes are awesome😁In Pasadena California growing up I loved watching the piano player🎹Shakey's RULES!!!!!!!🍕👍🏻ROCK ON!!!!!!!🤘🏻🤙🏻✌🏻
Big Boy’s. The original three bun two patty burger with a secret sauce. Good enough for McDonalds to steal the idea for the Big Mac. Heck, The Beatles even ate there. Fine family style restaurant during their fifty year history.
We had Ponderosa, Chi Chi’s and Shakeys. I had my daughter’s birthdays there when she was 3-6 years. We had a guy who played piano. He made balloon figures for the kids. My parents knew the piano guy. Went to Chi Chi’s with coworkers for drinks many times in the 80’s. I went to Ponderosa many times for steak and Bonanza. Chi Chi’s left first. Then, Ponderosa. Our Bonanza was only a year or two old when it closed. Shakeys made it into the mid 2000’s and closed. Miss them all!
I remember those prices! Food wasn't grown with the amount of pesticides and chemicals it is today. It wasn't highly processed. It tasted so flavorful and good! People today have no idea.
Pesticides aren’t grown on food, it was sprayed on produce,fruits and vegetables!Pesticides have nothing to do with most frozen foods! Even back then, fruits and vegetables were still sprayed down to keep pesticides down even back then, it wasn’t as highly heavy handed used as it was today! The biggest issues with a lot of the manufacturing plants were small and, therefore, things for consumption, it got to the point where these small companies couldn’t keep up with the supply and demand.Therefore, the little manufacturing company sold out to the bigger brand manufacturing companies because, the little companies almost went under and, the bigger brand companies brought them out. Then, despite having the recipes these big brand manufacturing companies changed the recipes to make them in bigger batches and, aka/ this is why things no longer taste the same. And, if you do your research and, you haven’t seen it on tv, or watched anything like it on RU-vid, you see what, I am telling you is 💯% true! But, not only did it just happen to our food, it happened to all the goods we buy here in America! My mom used to work at U.S. Shoe and,that was also way a ton of our family and friends lost their job before going into the 80s. Even though some U.S. Shoe factories were still open, they didn’t make near the amount of shoes they once did and most of those U.S.Shoe Plants fully shutdown in the mid 90s. Aka/ some of the those family friends / mostly friends took jobs a little over a hour away in a small town in Indiana.
Pesticides aren’t grown on food, it was sprayed on produce,fruits and vegetables!Pesticides have nothing to do with most frozen foods! Even back then, fruits and vegetables were still sprayed down to keep pesticides down even back then, it wasn’t as highly heavy handed used as it was today! The biggest issues with a lot of the manufacturing plants were small and, therefore, things for consumption, it got to the point where these small companies couldn’t keep up with the supply and demand.Therefore, the little manufacturing company sold out to the bigger brand manufacturing companies because, the little companies almost went under and, the bigger brand companies brought them out. Then, despite having the recipes these big brand manufacturing companies changed the recipes to make them in bigger batches and, aka/ this is why things no longer taste the same. And, if you do your research and, you haven’t seen it on tv, or watched anything like it on RU-vid, you see what, I am telling you is 💯% true! But, not only did it just happen to our food, it happened to all the goods we buy here in America! My mom used to work at U.S. Shoe and,that was also way a ton of our family and friends lost their job before going into the 80s. Even though some U.S. Shoe factories were still open, they didn’t make near the amount of shoes they once did and most of those U.S.Shoe Plants fully shutdown in the mid 90s. Aka/ some of the those family friends / mostly friends took jobs a little over a hour away in a small town in Indiana. 1:42
Sure back then everything was DDT, which has been banned in America, but still produced and sold in central and South America, which we get our fruit from.
Meat tasted better and was safer...before the push for bigger cows from growth Hormone's and pumping them full of anti-biotics. I have had meat from a limited number herd, all natural farm near by, recently.... there IS a BIG difference in taste and texture.
“You’re gonna get spoiled, we’re gonna treat you right, you’re gonna get spoiled at beef steak Charlie’s tonight”🎤🎶 I definitely remember that commercial jingle from years ago growing up in the tristate area. I mostly seen it air on WPIX 11. Thinking back I’m sure one of the reasons they went out of business was the all you can eat steak and shrimp, free beer, and sangria. And if you were 18 back then, it was an inexpensive way to get a good dinner and wasted at the same time bc the drinking age in NY was 18. 😊
When I was living in Huntington Beach in the '70s, I loved it when Dad drove Mom and I to the Crab Cooker in Newport Beach. I always really anticipated having their Manhattan Clam Chowder!! There was an all-you-can-eat buffet in Waikiki. I would go there monthly. Sadly, they closed in the '90s. Their lunch buffets were only $8.xx.
@@incog99skd11Indeed, Dick was not known for being very patience. I lived in San Clemente at that time, less than half a block from his home, and although we were in the same private compound, I’ve never saw him outside when the family and I will drive by, Mr Nixon was a very intelligent man, I certainly admire his resilience.
I was living in Wichita Falls, TX from 2009-2012, I could swear they had a Chi-Chi's there at the time (the video said the last closed in 2003). What I really miss, though, are the Quincy's Steakhouses. Their buttered rolls are AMAZING!!
'Shakeys' is what made me fall in love with pizza. I enjoyed the self playing piano, old 'keystone cops' films from the silent era, and tables decorated like printed newspapers.
We used to stop at Howard Johnson's while on our family roadtrips in the 70s. My grandmother lived in North Carolina in those days and there was a Morrison's near her. I'm sure we ate there a few times. At home in New Jersey in the 70s and early 80s we used to eat at Bonanza, Ponderosa, and Sizzler.
I used to frequent the original Chi Chi s in Richfield, Minnesota up through the 90s. Almost everyone of these restaurants I have been to a number of times. The York Steakhouse as I remember was always inside shopping malls.
We grew up in Sacramento on Shakey's pizza, awesome! What happened to Skippers seafood, I think based out of Washington state. My family loved them too in the 70"s and 80"s.
The original Shakey's J street location is a historical landmark. It's now "Mimosa House". Not sure if you're still local or not--if you are and haven't been, check it out. They kept the basic layout and all of the dark wood. It's pretty cool.
I remember Shakey's Pizza very fondly. The Ground Round had an exceptional burger, and I am a snob about burgers like some people are about wine and cheese. But I would do anything to have Howard Johnson's fried clams again. Thirty years later, and I can almost taste them.
I used to work the grill at Ground Round in Richmond Height Mo. And Howard Johnsons was just down the street . V.I.P. Burger , Mushrooms, Onions, Bell peppers and we had fried clams
I remember Shakey's for the obtrusively loud banjo music. Having a conversation with the family was out of the question, due to the overwhelming din of banjos.
Full menu, lots of tables, frankie packs to go, large NATHAN's ( of Coney I.) had 3 in Manhattan. Included seafood, deli sandwiches etc. 1 large also in Westchester Co. which was the taken over location of 'Adventurer's Inn'. The 43 St Times Sq, was 2 floors 'famously' opened in early- mid 1960s. There was one on east 58 St off 5 Ave. In the late 1970s, I recognized Ralph Lauren eating a sandwich there. Otherwise was glad for occasional rides to Howard Johnson, Ground Round. Pizza & Brew (maybe a more local chain).
Ponderosa was my family's go-to for affordable steak and all-you-can-eat salad bar. I was bummned to see it go. I can no longer afford to treat my family to a restaurant experience considering it costs what I would spend on 2 weeks worth of groceries.
Didn't go to many restaurants, but on my birthday I asked to go to Farrell's and get a Mountain of Fries and a Zoo for the family to share.....of course everyone got a Sasparilla to drink.
Dang I remember eating at Chi-Chi's... when I was a kid. I Miss them. I ate there with my parents a lot.. I remember the chips and dip .and the fried ice cream and apple cobbler.
I miss Margarita night at Chi-Chis....😢...great chicken fajitas too....😊 I worked for Ponderosa back in the day too,hated working Friday nights ,going out for a nightcap and having to open Saturday 🤮. Alot of the Sambos became Dennys if I remember correctly.
I ate at Ground Round numerous times. Good food and decent prices. The majority of the locations in Connecticut changed over to Wood 'n Taps in the nineties. The Bonanza near me was host to a lot of banquets for our local cub scout troop. Sadly, the building became host to one of the last Hooters in Connecticut.
In the 1970's, the Shakey's Pizza we went to in Charlotte N.C. would show films of the Little Rascals on a small silver screen and 2 older gentlemen on a small stage would play old Dixieland music between films. One would play an upright piano and the other played the banjo. It was great to be a kid in the 70's!
My favorite was Sambos. Actually the last one to close was Lincoln City Oregon on the coast. They had a cute souvenier and gift case too. You forgot Farells ice cream parlor.
I remember going to a Sambos in Chicago as a kid just as the civil rights thing was starting. I was quite controversial just to go in and eat there on the north side. I loved the colorful menu. Howard Johnson's had problems with racial relations too if I remember correctly.
Again a short video, so, not every single restaurant was put on this video, that doesn’t mean the person who made this video forgot it! The key is a brief video! 9:44
I was stationed in San Diego in the early 80’s and frequently ate at a chain called Boll Weevil. Really good good food and atmosphere. I always wondered what happened to them.
I was just about to ask about York Steak House and then you covered it. Thanks! My local Ground Round was always fun, as they had a movie screen and projected cartoons all night.
Ponderosa Steak House was my family's "go-to" place just about every Friday night! Both my parents worked, so as a treat (we kids usually did all the cooking on weeknights), we'd pile into the station wagon and off we go to Ponderosa for what seemed like to US, a fabulous steak meal ! LOL!!! We were kids, we didn't know any better LOL!!!
Was there a 'Sambos' on Hennepin Avenue in Minneapolis in the early '80s? My late father & I had breakfast there one morning (I think) prior to attending the Gamble's Store convention...we stayed at a Holiday Inn, and he took me to the IDS building - rode an elevator for the first time to the top floor and experienced the 'UFO Museum', and played early arcade games at a neighboring arcade...played Lunar Lander at the Holiday Inn Lounge while dad schmoozed with other store owners...ultimately leading me to having 5 pins and 5 classic vid games in my rec room today.
I remember Valle's fondly. And who could resist clam strips followed by coffee ice cream. And when I got here Morrisons was a lunch stop two or three times a month.
Shakey's still has a lot of locations in SoCal, so it's not extinct. Although I don't remember them having a buffet style back in the 70's until the Bunch a Lunch was invented and somewhat revived the brand. Love to see an old school look at cafeteria's that are long gone like the old Clifton's and Beadle's in Pasadena.
Ponderosa was good, they even had Bonanza’s Michael Landon doing commercials for the restaurant! Also anyone remember Lyons, they were a breakfast restaurant that was popular in the 1970s!
I remember seeing a lot of these restaurants on television commercials when they all popular and there were several of them here in Oklahoma but I only ate at just a few of them but thanks for the delicious memories.😋🍔🍕🌮🍰😋
I grew up in Nevada, and remember Shakey's and Sambo's restaurants, the latter from the many road trips my folks and I took to Sacramento. I thought Shakeys had the best pizza, and my favorite food at Sambos was pancakes with boysenberry syrup...it was good to be a kid back then 😊.
Shakey's was the place to go for years for pizza as well as a great lunch buffet. They had the best fried chicken I have ever tasted. And the Rojos were so perfect. I yearn for that fried chicken--all others are so pale in comparison.
Shakeys was still here in Anaheim next to Disneyland up until a few years ago! I’m 32 so I don’t know anything about the 70’s but I assume Shakeys was built there in the 70s I’ve been to Sambos up in Santa Barbara and loved it!
View from Timonium, MD (just north of Baltimore. Aparently still the sticks in 1979s). Steak and Ale was there at least from the early 70s. My parents and grandparents loved the alaskan crab leg specials). Two things I remember were the giant kiddue burger (on kiddie menu). Probably seen as tiny in the 2020s, it was far bigger than any mcburger you'd see then. Most other kiddie menus barely bothered feeding the kids. Much later (late 80s) I was 21 and the served me a watered down martini. Sent ut back, but the bartender seemed to think that water was part of thr recipe. Howard Johnson's, also there before me. Grandfather liked taking us there in the 1970s. I think it lasted to 1990 or so but never ate there after 1980... Ponderosa. Don't remember it being new. Went a few times and unimpressed (regardless what the vid said about kids liking it). Gone right around 1990. Shakeys. Never fans of it (including the kid I played with the most, and his parents), but I found it too loud. I was a big fan of Pappyy's (and happy to find one in Jonesville, PA in 1997). Chi Chi's. We didn't get one until 1980. Loved it, and went there on my own through the early 90's. Then the last time IWas there they had ruined the menu, aiming more at young children. Ut was closed within the year. Beefsteak Charlie's. Another 80s latecomerz thistime in the suddenly fancy Towson mall. It was good, and endless shrimp was a thing. Wasn't open long enough for me to find out about the drinks... Ground Round. Showed up in the mid eigties at 'our' mall. I'm not sure I ever ate there, and I don't think it lasted long. I think that was all the ones that were in town. The Steak and Ale was close (right at the locsl highway entrance) and was easily a bigger part of my life than the rest (but I personally liked Chi Chis better and never went to Steak and Ale when older). I'm also pretty sure the S&A had management issues, not sure if that was the local franchise or not.
Recollection Road - You should do a video about the history of dinner theaters/supper clubs in the USA. I live near the Pineville Dinner Theater near Charlotte, NC when I was growing up and people like Bob Denver, Dorothy L'Amour, etc., would perform there. Jayne Mansfield's last performance was at Gus Steven's Supper Club in Biloxi, MS. These dinner theaters/supper clubs were all around the US and at the time you were served a buffet dinner and/or a meal off the menu, and then after dinner you were treated to a show. Nashville had Chaffins Barn Dinner Theater, Greensboro, NC has the Barn Dinner Theater. I think this would be a fascinating subject for one of your videos and there are photos out there you could share.
Oh my gosh, we had a Valle's in our city and spent many an anniversary dinner for my parents there! Delicious! Also, Ground Round...peanut shells on the floor and great burgers...memmmmmorieeeeessss, like the corners of my miiiiind....❤ Nearing 65. Thank you for bringing good times to mind.😊
I remember most of these restaurants. The ones I miss the most are Shakey's and Steak n Ale. York Steakhouse in the malls was also a nice change pf pace from the usual mall fare. That Kansas City strip dinner sign is memorable for me. It was better than Ponderosa or Bonanaza.
