I'm back again, with more restaurants that I once went to, but either no long exist or have so changed that it might as well not exist. I'm still in Richmond, Indiana, because I've actually eaten at a lot of places there.
Arthur Treacher's Fish and Chips - This franchise named for the late British actor still exists, I should point out, but not in Richmond, Indiana. The store, which was located on East National Road (U.S. 40) closed more than two decades ago, as did all of their Indiana stores.
When we ate here, I'd always get the Shrimp and Chips, because back then, I didn't eat any other seafood. The shrimp was big, in my opinion (I was young, of course), and oh, so tasty. The chips (French fries to us in the United States) were like none other I'd seen before or eaten since. They were shaped like a curlie or wavy potato chip, but they were more like a quarter-inch thick. In fact, they were closer in size to a broasted potato wedge.
This place was also where I was first exposed to malt vinegar, and I still it use to this day. Of course, while shrimp tastes good with malt vinegar, it tastes even better with cocktail sauce (or with wasabi, as I've recently learned.)
I don't recommend that you use the malt vinegar with the hushpuppies, however. They don't look very good after you douse them, and the vinegar makes the hushpuppy soggy.
If I happen to run across one of their stores in either Ohio or New York, I'll have to visit and try it again.
Howard Johnson's - When I was a child, my parents usually went to restaurants by themselves, because they didn't like eating out with children. I and my wife did not do that for the most part, because we chose to have children, and taking them out to restaurants is part of the deal. Not that I'm criticizing my parents, but I didn't (and still do not) agree with their decision.
When my parents did take me and my sister to a real sit-down restaurant, this is where they took us. I don't remember everything I had here, but we did come here for our birthdays - which meant a free birthday cake.
This restaurant actually catered to children, thanks to the insistence of the restaurant chain's namesake and owner. It's also probably why we were allowed to come here. I won't complain. I liked it - a lot!
This place was one of the few places I would actually eat spaghetti with meat sauce. Most restaurants cannot make a spaghetti dish that is worth eating, let alone mention. But I really liked this one. It was also the first time I had garlic bread with a pasta dish. Usually, I'd eat either saltines (at home) or bread and butter ( at school) when I had spaghetti with meat sauce.
Now, to a lost place in Muncie, Indiana...
Red Sun Buffet - This Chinese buffet restaurant was located near Ball State University, and it was the place that my wife and I introduced our children to Chinese-style restaurants.
It had a wide variety of foods to choose from, including a few sushi items that helped me get to where I liked to eat fish.
Not everyone liked this place. In fact, over the years, I've noticed that some people like to brag about some expensive or critically acclaimed restaurant they went to. At the same time, they like to trash places where working men like to eat. That's O.K., if you want (and desperately need) to impress others, but I eat at a place because I like the food.
I've got more important things to do with my life than to impress others.
As far as Red Sun Buffet went, it was our family's go-to place for a Chinese-buffet-style restaurant.
One fly in the ointment, however, was one sadly common to most Chinese restaurants. Their desserts are usually nothing to brag about. They did have hard ice cream in five-quart containers, however, so I'd at least eat a small cup of mint chocolate chip or Superman ice cream.
More to come later.
Peace be unto you.
