# Foods you miss **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 12, 2009, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-you-miss/521001 "2009-12-12T18:10:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2009, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-you-miss/521001/1 "2009-12-12T18:10:35Z")
I seldom eat breakfast sausages, but I had some Hempler’s ones in the freezer and decided ‘Why not?’ I just had one, and it was ‘OK’. I grew up with Farmer John’s sausages, and it occurred to me that I haven’t seen any since I left L.A. No great loss, since I seldom eat breakfast sausages, and I can always have Jimmy Dean’s sausage patties cut from a chub. But I miss the Farmer John’s that came in that cardboard tray. Knudsen’s cottage cheese. I had some ‘small curd’ cottage cheese this week from one of the regional dairies. Not as good as Knudsen’s; and again, I haven’t seen Knudsen’s since I left L.A. And I’ll tell ya: I could murder a Macho Meat Burrito from Del Taco – if only there were Del Tacos up here. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2009, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-you-miss/521001/2 "2009-12-12T18:27:36Z")
Near my house when I was growing up was an old-fashioned privately-owned convenience store with a grill in the back. The lady who ran that grill made the best hamburgers I have ever eaten, and I hate that that’s gone forever. A close second is Rush’s in Columbia, which I can only get when I’m down there. ---
**Author:** ![Taenia\_spp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b5e925/32.png) [@Taenia\_spp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Taenia_spp)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2009, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-you-miss/521001/3 "2009-12-12T18:41:24Z")
I come from an area where there’s a sizable population of El Salvadorean immigrants. I really want some pupusas right now… ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2009, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-you-miss/521001/4 "2009-12-12T18:54:09Z")
> [@KneadToKnow](#): > > Near my house when I was growing up was an old-fashioned privately-owned convenience store with a grill in the back. The lady who ran that grill made the best hamburgers I have ever eaten, and I hate that that’s gone forever. My dad was stationed in Daggett for a while, and there was a little place called Joy’s outside of Barstow. So here’s the scene: About 1972 or 1973. Mojave Desert. 110º outside. There’s a little structure with nothing nearby, that I can remember. It had a screen door with a wooden frame and one of those long springs to shut it. \… \ Inside, a swamp cooler made it comfortable. There’s a counter, but no booths. I’m spending the Summer with dad, riding motorcycles and swimming in the pool at the airport; and Joy’s is a nice treat. ‘Joy’ made the absolute BEST cheeseburgers on the planet. I’ve no idea what she did. She had a flat grill, and she seasoned the meat out of large shakers. Probably just salt and pepper, but try as I might I’ve never been able to make a burger like Joy’s. A bun, lettuce, tomato, onion, mayonnaise, beef and cheese. But there was something special about hers. And she made a macaroni and cheese salad I’ve never seen anywhere else. Dad transferred to Lancaster, and Joy closed the diner to take care of her ailing mother. Three and a half decades, and I still remember it. Another good burger place was Kitty Hawk Café, at Santa Monica Airport. Huge, greasy, ground chuck. MAN, those were good! They closed, and a new place took over. It’s called The Spitfire Grill now. (The writer of the movie _The Spitfire Grill_ had his office above the diner, and he used the name for the story.) They must have cleaned the grill or something, as their burgers weren’t as good as Kitty Hawk Café’s. There was a café at the airport at California City whose burgers weren’t especially good. Certainly nowhere near as good as Joy’s or Kitty Hawk’s. Heck any number of chain burgers are better. But they tasted like a picnic. Sometimes a ‘picnic burger’ is just the ticket. It burned down, and I never got the chance to go back after it was rebuilt. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2009, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-you-miss/521001/5 "2009-12-12T18:59:06Z")
**Johnny L.A.** , your description of Joy’s (well, without the screen doors and the swamp coolers) fits very nicely with my memories of Aile’s. Maybe Joy and the lady at Aile’s were sisters. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Shark\_Sandwich](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f04885/32.png) [@Shark\_Sandwich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shark_Sandwich)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2009, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-you-miss/521001/6 "2009-12-12T20:11:38Z")
Freshly roasted hatch green chiles. We used to buy them right off of the side of the road in Albuquerque, fresh out of the roaster, and we’d buy 'em by the pound. Haven’t found a good substitute since. ---
**Author:** ![Taters](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/taters/32/2845_2.png) [@Taters](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Taters)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2009, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-you-miss/521001/7 "2009-12-12T20:19:38Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > I seldom eat breakfast sausages, but I had some Hempler’s ones in the freezer and decided ‘Why not?’ I just had one, and it was ‘OK’. I grew up with Farmer John’s sausages, and it occurred to me that I haven’t seen any since I left L.A. No great loss, since I seldom eat breakfast sausages, and I can always have Jimmy Dean’s sausage patties cut from a chub. But I miss the Farmer John’s that came in that cardboard tray. > > Knudsen’s cottage cheese. I had some ‘small curd’ cottage cheese this week from one of the regional dairies. Not as good as Knudsen’s; and again, I haven’t seen Knudsen’s since I left L.A. > > And I’ll tell ya: I could murder a Macho Meat Burrito from Del Taco – if only there were Del Tacos up here. I have a Del Taco right down the road from me. Additionally, they took the Taco Time out of the food court at our mall and replaced it with Del Taco. Sorry, **johnny,** but I think Del Taco sucks. You’re welcome to all of it here in Puyallup. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2009, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-you-miss/521001/8 "2009-12-12T20:26:55Z")
I’ve been to Taco Time. I’ll take Del Taco. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2009, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-you-miss/521001/9 "2009-12-12T20:33:09Z")
When I was a kid, my first exposure to Mexican cuisine outside the home was Taco Cid. I don’t know if the chain is around anywhere any more, but that’s still the Platonic bean burrito to me. ETA: Holy crap! Not only are there still a Taco Cid around, but there’s still one [in\* my hometown](http://tacocid.com/)! - well, close to. ---
**Author:** ![janeslogin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/df788c/32.png) [@janeslogin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/janeslogin)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2009, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-you-miss/521001/10 "2009-12-12T21:57:56Z")
The Korean condiment Kimchi (also spelled Kimchee and Kim chee), I miss it because I can’t eat it because it gives me heartburn or pyrosis or dyspepsy or some such. ---
**Author:** ![pancakes3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ba9def/32.png) [@pancakes3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pancakes3)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2009, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-you-miss/521001/11 "2009-12-12T22:55:57Z")
big league chew. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2009, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-you-miss/521001/12 "2009-12-13T16:37:39Z")
We still have Big League Chew in this neck of the woods, **pancakes3**. ---
**Author:** ![wolfman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a8b319/32.png) [@wolfman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfman)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2009, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-you-miss/521001/13 "2009-12-13T17:39:53Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > I’ve been to Taco Time. > > I’ll take Del Taco. Taco Johns kicks all their asses. ---
**Author:** ![Harriet\_the\_Spry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e56c9b/32.png) [@Harriet\_the\_Spry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harriet_the_Spry)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2009, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-you-miss/521001/14 "2009-12-13T20:47:22Z")
Zapp’s Cajun Crawtators, excellent potato chips seasoned with crawfish boil. Although it is a good thing I don’t have ready access to those. Also, about a million other things from New Orleans. French fry omelettes, with a side of fries, from Camellia Grill were another fave. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2009, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-you-miss/521001/15 "2009-12-13T22:15:05Z")
Mint Skittles. Those were great. And while it’s still around, Pepsi Jazz. I can’t have caffeine anymore. ☹ (I know, I keep whining about it, but I really, REALLY miss caffeine, dammit!) ---
**Author:** ![Infovore](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/infovore/32/420_2.png) [@Infovore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Infovore)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2009, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-you-miss/521001/16 "2009-12-13T22:22:19Z")
Carnation Chocolate Breakfast Squares. Used to love them when I was a kid. Port of Subs sandwiches. The closest one to us is about 90 miles away, inside a gas station. Way better than Subway, IMO. ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2009, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-you-miss/521001/17 "2009-12-13T22:27:08Z")
Sour Cream and Onion Doritos Hershey brand carmels plain and apple ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2009, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-you-miss/521001/18 "2009-12-13T22:37:38Z")
College Inn Chicken ala King in a can. My favorite childhood comfort food - we used to add fresh green peas and serve it over egg noodles. ---
**Author:** ![Kyla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/eada6e/32.png) [@Kyla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyla)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2009, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-you-miss/521001/19 "2009-12-13T22:53:57Z")
For all I spent every day in Bulgaria wanting American food, sometimes I really crave Bulgarian food. Especially vafli (wafers). Oooh, I googled “vafli” just to see what would come up, and some Bulgaria PCV I don’t even know wrote [a detailed ode to how fantastic they are](http://b22blogstars.blogspot.com/2008/03/vafla-of-week-borovets-chocolate.html). It’s true. They are amazing. ---
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2009, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-you-miss/521001/20 "2009-12-13T23:48:25Z")
Is this stuff still made? It was great on scrambled eggs. Gosh, I miss it! [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-you-miss/521001.md?page=2)