The Food That Built America

Ok, the show on History channel and it's really interesting to me as it seems I grew up in a different America than most. It's all about the rivalries that created some iconic food items but I never have come across some of these foods.

Recent episodes...donuts...Krispy Creme V. Dunkin Donuts. All I had here in Vegas as a kid was Winchells. Never heard of the others until somewhere in the '90's and they really are few and far between to this day. They are there but they aren't huge. I think Starbucks ate up that market before the others could get in. Although they don't have donuts but they got a foothold before Dunkin and KK, well, I just don't see them around but I will say I don't get everywhere but my job is a delivery person so I do get out a bit and I just don't see KK or DD very often but DD much more.

Soft Serve ice cream...Carvel V. Dairy Queen. I did have a DQ not far from home when I was a kid. Tiny shack that has now been about 5 other restaurants and now is a wing place. There's only two of them I have seen in my travels and I've never, ever seen Carvel ice cream in my life.

I knew as a kid that I was living in a different America, somewhat, but we had McDonalds, Taco Bell, heck, even a Whattaburger for a while, There's a whole part of America that I haven't experienced though and that, to me, is fascinating.

Being a kid in Vegas in the '70's just has to be such a different experience than most kids of that age. This town...excuse me, city, is just different than, well, everywhere else. I know there are KK's all over, probably in casinos which I never go to. There's probably a lot more of DD than I see but then again there''s the Starbucks coffee competition there and I know damned well they have cemented themselves in the casinos.

The show is eye opening to me not just in the stories they tell but it's so weird to see this odd world that I grew up in. Winchell's donuts has IIRC 170 shops, worldwide, that's funny, worldwide. Only 170, and how did they manage to keep those stores open? I do believe there's one still near me, I'l have to check it out. The one close to home is now a Boost Mobile shop.

If I wan't regular donuts I usually go to a local shop. They are closer than any of the chains and heck, there's gourmet donuts like Pink Box chain, I think, which is newer and doesn't play into the story but man, the Elvis PB & Banana is so awesome.

I just got done with my deliveries for this week and one place I go is a large shopping center that is all food. There's so much food in this town that's awesome but yet it still seems that I live in a slightly different America than the rest of you. Am I getting real Cuban food? Or am I getting the Americanized version that's recycled from Little Havana? Even if I went to Little Havana, is that "real" Cuban food?

Sure, we are a large city now and most of what's out there is here, but I've never had Tim Hortons, for example. Growing up here in those years before we became a city, those are my formative years and this show is a real eye opener to what was going on food wise in the rest of the country. Heck I remember getting Chinese delivered as a kid, now that's non-existent. Is that the same for you guys?

Heck, I could do an interesting thread about how different life was for me as a kid as opposed to other kids in the big cities back east or south, wherever. Not just the food aspect. Maybe someday.

I got addicted to watching the burger show (you tube) with George Motz……fascinating history on burgers and regional burgers…..don’t have the history channel though but would definitely watch this.

Ps…watch the burger show as he’s always burning himself 🤣🤣

The thing I miss most is the A&W drive-ins. I grew up on their root beer, and really miss them. I get pretty excited whenever we get out of town and I an A&W!

I was a fan of Mister Donut
I think DD bought them out

the one on breakfast cereals was good. Kellogs vs Post. apparently CW Post stole most of his recipes from the Kellogs.
Corn Flakes was created by accident.

originally posted by: nugget1
The thing I miss most is the A&W drive-ins. I grew up on their root beer, and really miss them. I get pretty excited whenever we get out of town and I an A&W!

MY A&W is now the location of a freeway entrance ramp (Tacoma on 6th Ave and Pearl St. now part of SR 16.) I remember that the french fries were extruded from a machine and all the exact same length. So they were made from french fry dough.

a reply to: TheSpanishArcher

There's a ton of decent food documentaries on Netflix. Most were very engaging, but once you romp thru them you're left completely disillusioned that just about everything we eat is crap. Educational tho!!

a reply to: Akaspeedy

I'll check it out, thanks.

a reply to: nugget1

A&W, there used to be one about a mile from here that was a combo with Long John Silvers. Used to stink of fish but I would stop in every once in a while for a root beer float. It's now a raising Canes with a Freddie's Steakburgers next door which is so very awful I only ate their once and will never go back.

a reply to: ElGoobero

My fave episode was Hershey/Reese's. Reese not only was fired from Hershey but came up with the PB cup in the backyard of Hershey, at a time when PB was largely unknown, but also got them to sell him chocolate. That's so ballsy.

a reply to: schuyler

Looks like the nearest A&W is out in Boulder City and I ain't going out there just for a float.

a reply to: Caver78

Thanks. I'll see if I can find anything interesting there. Sometimes searching on Netflix comes with mixed results.

Ok, just a few minutes into tonight's episode about cookies. Famous Amos was the Monty Python of cookies, where the Pythons got The Who, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd and George Harrison to create a movie company, literally putting up his house to make Handmade Films, just so he could see the film made.

Amos is using Marvin Gaye and Hellen Reddy, brilliant, and he's a black man so big time kudos for dealing with life as a black man, which has to suck.

Never thought about Mr's Fields or Famous Amos, they were just names to me, didn't realize the story behind them.

Try this when searching Netflix…..instead of a word, just type a letter….starting with the letter A…..and see what comes up….I’ve found it brings up shows and movies that wouldn’t come up if you typed a full word…..thank me later ☺️

a reply to: TheSpanishArcher

a reply to: TheSpanishArcher

I grew up in a part of Texas that had so few people that most chains have no desire to open, even along the interstate. The nearest Krispy Kreme or Dunkin is hours away. So i grew up on Ruiz Bakery donuts, owned by some classmates grandparents. They got their donut oil from the Dairy Queen that served every small town. They'd push their fry oil as far as they could, then sell that soapy oil to the Ruiz couple. And let me tell you...i have never had donuts even within the same league as those. I won't get into how good their breakfast burritos were...the glazed donuts were the greatest carb confection to ever exist.

a reply to: bigfatfurrytexan

It just makes us a little different than those who grew up in big cities. There was a mention of Carvel ice cream on a pod I listen to from Miami and I'd just seen the episode about Carvel, which I've never seen ever, and he was asking if it was a regional thing and it sure is but here in Vegas and I swear I live in a different reality, even nowadays but way more so BITD. The whole point of this thread really is I grew up in a different America than most.

I just saw a sign advertising Tim Horton's coffee, now in grocery stores. Maybe so, maybe not, but for me that means nothing as I hate nasty bean flavored water, it's so disgusting. So, that is coming here, slowly, just like White Castle, they came here frozen then opened up stores on the Strip.

Speaking of Carvel V. Dairy Queen, I got a coupon from DQ and decided to try a burger of their. Not very good, I won't go back. It's hard to impress me with a fast food burger and this didn't.

This show isn't always truthful, I think but most of it is. Dave Thomas splitting from the Colonel and creating Wendys? Maybe because of time constraints but that could have been told earlier when it was hinted at.

Ok, probably errors in this post. Had a bunch of tabs with drafts as I'm an amateur "journalist" and try to take care with my words. It takes a lot to put up something with substance and also style. So, whatever, it's posted as is.