A Food-Driven Walk Down Memory Lane

Jim Harris-The Southern Voice

·

Follow

Published in

The Southern Voice

·

5 min read

·

5 days ago

--

Listen

Share

If you are nostalgic like me, I suppose we share a fondness for the foods of our hometowns and younger days.

I grew up in Lawrenceville, GA, which, until I was twelve or so, only had a Dairy Queen and a Wishbone Chicken as fast food. Franchise restaurants weren’t coming to little hamlets like ours. Most of our dining took place at the table in our kitchen, or if it was a holiday or we had company, at the dining room table. Absent a special occasion, my Mother did not allow my brother and me in the dining room or living room, with its white sofa. This was probably an intelligent policy with two rambunctious boys in the house.

The options we had, in the day, at the time, didn’t seem as desirable as McDonald’s, Wendy’s, and the like, at least to teenagers. We were forced to see their commercials on television, but only when we ventured toward Atlanta were those seemingly cooler places ever options., and not even always then.

I remember asking for McDonald’s once when we were in Chamblee, a suburb larger and closer to Atlanta than we were. We have McDonald’s at home, I was told. When we got home, the “home version” of Mickey D’s was a burger patty from Gann’s Meat Market on white bread with mustard and ketchup. Close, huh? Looking back, we were so shortsighted not to be thankful for our wonderful choices, which exist only in memories now.

Barbeque is a Southern staple. For a small town, we had a great selection. Blackstock’s, Hoke’s (later Gunter’s), and Crowe’s were all different, but all excellent, not to mention that they treated you like family. In the late 1980s or so, road widening forced Gunter’s to relocate to a brand-new building down the street. It had no holes in the floor, actual heating and air conditioning, clean restrooms, no live rattlesnakes, and more seating.

It was truly wonderful, but I don’t know anyone who didn't have a bit of nostalgia for the old location, with all its shortcomings but plenty of character.

Somewhat of a novelty was the Windmill. Housed in a building that looked just like its name, they served up fried chicken that no national chain, before or since, could hold a candle to. They were also widely known for their chicken livers. I would have to take everyone’s word on that. No livers for me, thank you.

We had Edge’s Cafeteria, a great “meat and three” type restaurant. Located close to the courthouse downtown, it was a popular spot for weekday lunch. It was also home to the bus station. You could enjoy the bells ringing at noon in the First Baptist Church, just across the street. Another downtown option was White’s Grill. Great burgers and fries and catching up on the local buzz appealed to a youngster.

As a kid, spring Saturdays meant baseball, and post-game meant Southern 5 & 10 for slaw dogs. I don’t want to oversell this, but those could have been the most incredible hot dogs in the world’s history. They were on special on Saturdays. If memory serves me correctly, they were possibly four for a dollar. Two dollars got you four dogs, a Coke, a bag of chips, and change back.

Over the years, we had an excellent sit-down restaurant that was Lynch’s, then later Allen’s, and the Dover House. It was a great weekday lunch stop, but it was a special treat to go there on Sundays after church. If there was a new house being built in Lawrenceville after a wonderful lunch, we might just take a drive by and give it a look. Those were good times. There’s now a bank where that hallowed institution once stood. The owners of the Dover House also had a drive-thru spot, the Cupboard, in a former gas station that offered incredible breakfasts and lunches.

The two local pharmacies, Brand’s and the Prescription Shop, both had grills. You could get breakfast or lunch, and they were always busy. An egg salad sandwich on toasted bread was one of my favorite orders. Brand’s also had pool tables downstairs. Both had testers for the tubes that were in our 1000-pound TVs back then. If you have to check your TV tubes, you may as well grab a sandwich while you’re there.

We had no pizza then, but one town over, there was Ken’s Pizza, which was quite a popular destination. They even served “gasp” beer. Unlike many of the stores that sold beer, they usually checked IDs, which was very disappointing to us teenagers.

In the mid-1970s, two locals, the Britts, converted an old A&P store into V&J cafeteria. It was a popular lunch spot. It got a great deal of notoriety in 1977 when Larry Flynt, who was on trial in Lawrenceville, was shot returning to court after having lunch at V&J.

Sometimes, we small-town folks would travel to Atlanta for something special. Occasionally, it would be for shopping, but more often than not, it involved a sporting event. Every kid I knew loved baseball, and a Braves game was the best thing ever. They were seldom contenders, but seeing big leaguers was little short of heaven. Those trips always involved a stop at the Varsity on North Avenue. Double steaks (now referred to as burgers, but no self-respecting Varsity fan would ask for a burger when responding to “What’ll ya have?”) onion rings, frosted orange, peach pies, regular C dog (chili dog), and many other legendary menu items have become quite famous.

Outside, the drive-in had carhops who brought you their wonderful fare on wire baskets that hung onto your car window. If you went inside, you could choose from a variety of rooms for seating. Each had a TV on a different channel (there were only four). Unlike today’s thin models, the Varsity had giant console TVs mounted on the wall. If one had fallen, it would have rivaled an earthquake.

Today, I would not think of visiting Atlanta without a Varsity stop. In all honesty, if I tried it for the first time today, I may not love it as I do. The food is great, but the history makes it so unique and a part of my life. Eating there before my ninth birthday party at Atlanta Stadium, on the way to seeing Aaron’s 715th, before the first World Series game in Atlanta, before seeing Pistol Pete play in person for the first time, it’s a part of so many beautiful memories.

Regardless of where you grew up, I am sure you have the same type of fond memories from back in the day. The influx of chains in small towns led to the demise of so many of these local institutions. I am quite fond of many new foods I was unfamiliar with back then, but I would give a nice sum for a week to revisit those old spots.