amazing, thanks for sharing.
Thanks CocoDan. I missed it too but was in Boston during the tail end of its run, would love to hear some first hand accounts.
One of my favorite memories of the first HJ’s was Alice Wilson who ran the bakery. Every single baked item was mad fresh on site; hot dog and hamburger rolls, all kinds of pies and cakes, breads and dinner rolls. Have never been to a restaurant that equaled it. Alice was the best. My Father was instrumental in introducing the 3D burger (today’s McD’s knockoff Big Mac), and the clam roll. Two of my very favorites were the chicken pot pie and open faced turkey sandwich. I worked the soda fountain when in high school and once got a $2.00 tip for making a great ice cream soda for a customer. A lot of money in 1960.
Enjoyed and had Fun,
CocoDan
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The stuff of food history! For my family way back in the day, HJ’s made the occasional sit-down restaurant meal a possibility. It was a splurge for my grandparents to treat us to a dinner out, but I have distant memories of that from when I was a tot.
A dinner out at a Howard Johnson’s was a rare, and appreciated day away from the kitchen for my grandmother. I’ll bet the same was true for many patrons. In its time, HJ helped to change the way American families ate.
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HoJo’s was also the business that first started franchising. Johnson was a pretty amazing business man. The Quincy Historical Society recently had a program on the history of HJ. Quite good.
Enjoy,
CocoDan
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Just posting to say that Chickadee is still humming! Last night was a first visit for me, and my out of town friends, came all the way out in the heat and humidity to dine with me. The space was very comfortable, and hats off to the 3 tables that chose the outside seating in this weather! I dined early, so this wasn’t after the sun set and the heat dissipated a bit.
I missed the note on the fries, so I’ll have to save that for a future visit. I had a delicious asparagus fatoush salad, the parmesan garlic knots (yum!) and a lovely, refreshing striped bass crudo. For mains, we had a lot of pasta - squid ink, the lumache with wagyu, and and the lobster pasta. I went for the porchetta myself and was not disappointed! Crispy and well cooked, but not overly fatty. Served with a refreshing pressed watermelon side. Good acidity to further cut some of fattiness of the porchetta. We all walked away stuffed and well-sated.
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It has been far too long since I have been there. So glad to hear it remains great!
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Another visit to Chickadee last night with friends was just as delightful as ever. But they also had a wonderful price fixe menu for $65 - 3 courses + a mezze. That was a pretty sweet deal. The price fixe menu was about 90% of their regular menu, so lots of great choices. Excellent mocktails for me as a plus.
We were able to snag a reservation just a few days out, but the room filled up yesterday evening. Highly recommend if you’ve ever wanted to visit or revisit Chickadee. I don’t know if this price fixe option is a permanent addition to their menu.
(I still have not tried their fries..)
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What a steal! What did you eat?
I’ll apologize for not remembering the exact name of the dishes. 2nd course was a rabbit casarecce pasta. I usually would shy away from rabbit, but the pasta was fantastic and rabbit was shredded into pasta. One friend got the red snapper that was in a flavorful broth. I want to go back and order her dish; it was that tasty.
I had an eggplant-pepper salad for mezze, and an app of crispy hen of the woods in pomme puree. That mashed potato was so fluffy and flavorful we all wanted to lick the bowl. Dessert was a sugared pumpkin"cake" like sponge with ice cream and persimmon ribbons. Not one bad dish in the bunch.
Edit: corrected the name of that pasta shape 
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Sounds wonderful!!
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