By Eric Wolf Schoen
The machers (Yiddish for ‘people who are supposed to get things done) in Washington, Albany and Westchester claim the taxes on gasoline are going down. As you are so well aware, $5 a gallon for regular is the ‘new norm.’ The Royal Family couldn’t even get a high chair like you see in orthopedist and other medical offices for the Queen to sit on as she stood in discomfort at the window of Buckingham Palace watching the celebration of her 70 years on the throne!
Chaos in the world and what got the most hits when I posted it on Facebook this week? The closing of the last Howard Johnson’s restaurant in Lake George, New York. Though you probably couldn’t afford the gasoline to get go there this summer, the owners of the last Howard Johnson’s restaurant, the one many of you would nostalgically visit on your trek in the summer traffic to Lake George announced they would not be opening for the summer season this year and closing permanently.
Howard Johnson’s. At one time we had four in Westchester all under the orange roofs. One on Central Avenue in Yonkers across from Cross County Shopping Center where Burger King currently stands. One in Tarrytown right off the Cross Westchester Expressway as you would get off the Tappan Zee Bridge southbound. One in Elmsford where Starbucks currently exists across from Burger King. And one in Mamaroneck, which we didn’t get to very often.
Howard Johnson’s was known for their fish frys, all you could eat of their tender golden filet served with french fries and cole slaw and a roll. That was usually served on a Friday night when our Catholic friends would not eat meat. Clam frys, big and little pieces of fried clams and later on Chicken frys, tender pieces of fried chicken were served on Mondays and Wednesday nights, quiet nights in the restaurant business. Dad was a picky eater, but he loved those fish frys. Always a special treat for a Friday night.
My sister and a group of camp counselors from Pinsly Day Camp operated by the Jewish Community Center in Yonkers would walk down Broadway from the camp to the Howard Johnson’s in Tarrytown for the various frys. The staff would panic as they knew these young people would eat the restaurant as they say ‘out of house and home’ consuming large quantities of whatever fry was being offered that day.
Same for the Yonkers HoJo. Students from Yonkers High School would have fish, clam and chicken eating contests, driving the staff equally wild. Nothing they could do. It was advertised as all you can eat so they had to serve them all they could eat. And in all times times I went I never remember them running out!
My favorite birthday party took place at Howard Johnson’s. My parents (mom was one of the first moms to drive) loaded up my friends in our cars for a trip to New York City to take the NBC Studio Tour. They would take you through all the studios from where the local newscasts were broadcast to where Johnny Carson recorded his show. I was little so many shows were still broadcast or recorded at the NBC studios at ‘30 Rock’ before the mass exodus to sunny California.
After the party we came back and had a late lunch at the HoJo on Central Avenue in Yonkers. As one Facebook friend pointed out, it was something special to be invited to a birthday party at Howard Johnson’s. I don’t remember what we ate (probably a frankfurter, clam roll or ‘child’ friendly food) but I do remember the Cake and Ice cream. Now you can’t have a birthday party without a cake and even though there were was a vast selection of ice cream to chose from i remember a coconut cake with white icing, my favorite.
So many ‘Facebookers’ commented on the ice cream. Why was it so good? Howard Johnson’s 28 flavors of thick ice cream had double the butterfat of most competitors’ products. There was a steady list of flavors and an addition or two or three every month. I came to like their Heath Bar Crunch ice cream. I didn’t even know what a Heath Bar was but it was so good.
By the way, the ice cream was only served if my memory is correct in sugar cones. They didn’t have cake cones. What is the purpose of a cake cone? To save some calories. Ice cream like HoJo’s loaded with butterfat had so many calories to begin with. I doubt the fewer calories in a cake cone would make a difference.
Their original 28 flavors included black raspberry, burgundy cherry, butter pecan (Dad’s favorite), butter crunch, butterscotch, caramel fudge, chocolate, chocolate chip, coconut, coffee (my aunt Muriel would sit at the counter and be in ecstasy with her coffee milk shake), frozen pudding, fruit salad, fudge ripple, lemon stick, macaroon, maple walnut, mocha chip, orange pineapple, peach, peanut brittle, peppermint stick, pineapple, pistachio (I could never understand the allure of pistachio ice cream), strawberry, strawberry ripple and boring vanilla. Another friend liked the butter brick ice cream.
I learned the secret to a proper ice cream ‘dip’ at HoJo. The scoop had to be clean. Then they had to dry it off otherwise those nasty ice crystals nobody liked would form.
My research showed 28 flavors but why do I remember 31. Maybe the extra 3 flavors were the special additions of the month. I remember having a banana split one time. So good! After they closed I went to Haagen Dazs at Cross County Center for a banana split. Not only was there no place to sit but It didn’t taste like HoJo. I would have preferred a pop the balloon for your price Woolworth’s banana split than the overpriced Haagen Dazs creation. (The Woolworth Lunch Counter and the fact we had 2 Woolworths at Cross County Shopping Center in Yonkers? We will save that story for another day!)
One friend spent her wedding night at the Tarrytown Hilton and remembered dining at Howard Johnson’s across the street. Her husband had the blueberry pie and she had a hamburger. This was 42 years ago.
Another friend commented that her grandmother would make her eat until she fell off her feet. Several friends raved about the coffee. One friend remarked that Howard Johnson had the franchise on the New York State Thruway. That would be a welcome treat to the overpriced crap sold at Thruway Rest Areas today.
One friend on Facebook had an aunt who had a special freezer stocked with every flavor. Boy would I want an aunt like that. Another friend who worked at HoJo on Central Avenue reminisced about having to answer the phone, ‘Howard Johnson’s Ultra Lounge.’ At night some Howard Johnson’s became an early version of a discotheque. A precursor to Studio 54?
The only Howard Johnson’s you can visit now are motels, part of the Wyndham chain. The Elmsford Howard Johnson’s had a hotel with a pool. They had a day rate. You could rent a room during the day and enjoy the swimming pool and takeout from the downstairs restaurant.
As my sister pointed out, the television show Mad Men had several episodes featuring Howard Johnson’s. John Hamm’s girlfriend had some kind of aversion to Howard Johnson’s.
I wonder why? Howard Johnson’s. This, Too Was Yonkers! They, Too Were America!
An Editorial Note: I received a big response to my column last week about the boss, William O’Shaughnessy. WO always referred to people including their middle name. In his honor I will start my column with my complete name. By the way Wolf is my grandmother’s maiden name!
Reach Eric Schoen at thistooisyonkers@aol.com. Follow him on Twitter @ericyonkers. Listen to Eric Schoen on the Westchester Rising Radio Show alternating Thursday’s from 10-11 a.m. On WVOX 1460 AM, WVOX.com click listen or download the WVOX app from the App Store free of charge.
