THE OLD IS NEW AGAIN
Years ago when I went shopping at a mall the large department stores had restaurants or fancy tea rooms where you could stop for a bit to eat, "have a cup of coffee and" or enjoy a light lunch. Many times I would go shopping with a friend and we would plan on spending some time at the restaurant. It was a great way to have a visit with a friend and have a rest before we continued to bargain hunt. With time, things changed, the tea rooms and those lovely restaurants closed.


Flikr photo by alwynt.

One of the large department stores in my area, Jordan Marsh, had an in-store bakery which featured blueberry muffins. They were the BEST - what I particularly enjoyed about them was, they were loaded with blueberries and were topped with large chunks of sugar. Before I left the mall I would always stop and buy some muffins to bring home. Well, that too changed. No more muffins!!!

People were clamoring for the store to bring back the muffins so finally what they did was open up a casual outside coffee shop where the customer could have a cup of coffee and indulge in a delicious muffin. The shop was very well received but with time that closed too.

In 2004, the Boston Globe wrote a story about the Jordan Marsh Muffin Man:

Baker John Pupek opened his own shop after Jordan Marsh closed its bakeries and Macy's bought the department store in the mid-1990s. His Jordan Marsh Muffin Co. in Brockton has turned out thousands of blueberry muffins a week, as well as other delicacies made famous by Jordan Marsh, since 1998.

Pupek stopped making the muffins in 2004.


I read in the Boston Globe recently that Macy's is bringing back food, in an article titled, Macy's sees food as the way to the wallet:

The owner of Macy's department stores plans to test bistros, gourmet restaurants, and Starbucks coffee shops at some stores in an effort to draw customers and keep them shopping longer.

It worked years ago, it could work again!

I wonder if they'd consider bringing back those Blueberry Muffins?

Until then, I found a recipe for those delicious Jordan Marsh blueberry muffins via Google. I wonder if they taste like I remember?

posted by millie garfield @ 4:36 PM | Permalink | I LOVE COMMENTS >> 20 comments

 
A BLIND DATE
Back in the 40's girls were getting married when they were in their early to mid 20's. I was different, I dated a lot but was not interested in getting married.

When I would come home from a date my mother would ask me, "so how was the date?" My answer usually was, "he wasn't bad looking, he was tall and we had a good time, BUT..." I always managed to find a "BUT."

I had girlfriend who thought the same as I did so I never lacked having a friend to do things with. We went shopping together, went to the theater, spent some weekends in New York City, and did some traveling together. We were happy the way we were BUT my mother, father and relatives were concerned that I was "not settling down." Do they still use that expression today, now it sounds old fashioned to me?

Well, one fine day I received a call from a fellow that told me a cousin of mine had given him my phone number and asked if I would like to go out with him. My cousin was quite a bit older than I was but I felt that if she gave him my number he might be a good date.

In those days it was not uncommon to go out on a double date so it was no surprise to me when he asked if I could fix up his buddy with a friend of mine. I checked with my friend and it was "a go."

On the appointed day my friend who lived across the street from me came over to my house and we awaited the two guys!! What to expect - tall, good looking with great personalities - after all my cousin told me she knew the guy and he was "this and that."


Well, when I opened the door they were NOT good looking and had to be years older than we were!!! Oh my goodness, we were stuck with them for the evening. They looked so bad that we did not want to be seen out with them.

It didn't take too long before my friend said, "I really shouldn't have come out this evening because I'm concerned about my mother. She cut herself with a knife today so I have go see how she is feeling."

Needless to say I never again accepted a blind date referred to me by my cousin, and never fixed up my friend again.

She said her mother cut herself with a knife, but I felt like she knifed me in the back.

posted by millie garfield @ 4:54 PM | Permalink | I LOVE COMMENTS >> 13 comments

 
Millie's Yiddish Class: A Joke

New video: Millie's Yiddish Class: A Joke.

posted by Steve Garfield @ 3:16 PM | Permalink | I LOVE COMMENTS >> 2 comments

 
DINNER AND A MOVIE
As I said in my last post, even though I have Netflix I'll still be going out to the movies with "the girls."



Last night we got together to see "Black Book" which takes place in the fall of 1944, a thriller about the Dutch underground. It kept me on the edge of my seat for two hours and 25 minutes. The film is a melodrama with lots of suspense with unexpected twists and turns. One shocker after another in this movie. I usually don't care for a movie with so much violence but this was so well done I just got caught up in the storyline.

Enough about the movie, now I want to tell you about our experience at the restaurant. which is located near the movie theatre. It's a place that we eat at frequently and the food is always good. This was my first time visiting this restaurant since I came back from Florida.

My friend and I ordered one of our favorite dishes that we have had many times in the past - Grilled salmon with bourbon sauce. When the waitress placed the dish in front of me, it just didn't look right - the fish looked overdone and when I took my first taste, it was dry and bitter.

I got the attention of the waitress, told her about the problem. She asked me if she could get me something else, I said I would like the baked haddock - she said that would take some time to prepare, "was there something else she could get me." I decided I would try the salmon again since my friend wasn't complaining about it.


Dorky Salmon by Denn.

Well, to make a long story short, the dish was just as bad as the first serving.

At that point in time the manager came over and asked me if everything was all right. I explained to her that I have had that dish many times before and it was always delicious. Well, she apologized and thanked me for informing her about the poor quality of the dinner.

THEN, she told me that the restaurant had just switched suppliers and was now getting their fish through a company that delivered the product via CRYOPAK. I assume that means "frozen." By this time my friend said her fish was dry too. The manager asked if we would like dessert and told us we would not be charged for the dinners. At that point I had lost my appetite and was happy to just have a cup of coffee.

I'm glad that I spoke up about the fish, sorry I didn't stick to my guns about having a different dish.

If or when I go back to that restaurant I will be sure to ask if the fish is "fresh."

posted by millie garfield @ 2:10 PM | Permalink | I LOVE COMMENTS >> 13 comments