Nostalgia (Sacramento, Covina, San Fernando: cottage, company, schedule)

[Lovehound]

Originally Posted by Fontucky

My mom (who wasn't fat) bought one of his gizmos back in the late fifties. It was a stretchy rubber thing with handles, and soon rotted and broke.

Your mom or the gizmo?

[mizzmomm]

To Theatregal: the sub shop you're remembering was called "Matt & Tony's". It was on Victory Blvd (now it's gone, but there is still one in Mission Hills). They had the best subs in the 70s & 80s! We used to get some and then hit the drive-in on Victory. As a side note: Back in the late 70s or early 80s (I can't remember) there was a bad storm and a kid fell into the LA River system. It went right by Matt & Tony's small parking lot on Victory Blvd. The owner, a big, muscular, quiet, kind of scary looking guy that looked more like a mafia boss than a cook - heard about it while working and went outside, saw the kid, and jumped in the raging water and saved him! It was pretty cool - he was quite the hero. Every time after that, when I went in for my favorite pepper steak sub, I looked at his huge "The Rock" type arms and thought "wow, that guy saved somebody's life."

[nmnita]

Originally Posted by Charles

Here's a guy we used to see on TV in LA in the 1960s


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=isLJ024EdMA

yep, I watched him every morning and belived everything he said plus I did exactly what he told us to do. I was in great shape, too bad I stopped watching him. I still exercise though. I go from the bedroom to the office, I do fix 3 meals a day and i love to practice pouring wine every night. Oh and I get exercise from adjusting my recliner in the evenings.

Nita

[nmnita]

Originally Posted by mizzmomm

To Theatregal: the sub shop you're remembering was called "Matt & Tony's". It was on Victory Blvd (now it's gone, but there is still one in Mission Hills). They had the best subs in the 70s & 80s! We used to get some and then hit the drive-in on Victory. As a side note: Back in the late 70s or early 80s (I can't remember) there was a bad storm and a kid fell into the LA River system. It went right by Matt & Tony's small parking lot on Victory Blvd. The owner, a big, muscular, quiet, kind of scary looking guy that looked more like a mafia boss than a cook - heard about it while working and went outside, saw the kid, and jumped in the raging water and saved him! It was pretty cool - he was quite the hero. Every time after that, when I went in for my favorite pepper steak sub, I looked at his huge "The Rock" type arms and thought "wow, that guy saved somebody's life."

thinking about sub shops, I remember the ones on the other side of town (the east side) we had one in Altadena called the grinder. Oh man were their sandwhiches to die for and if you ate enough you probably would cause they were filled with fat and calaries. The other place was in Arcadia, actually there were 2 there: one was Anthony's which was an Italian restaurant with lots of yummy things, the other was called OJs I think (no, nothing to do with the famous idiot, OJ) A few years ago we were in Arcadia (maybe 5 or so) it was still there, had changed hands and was awful..

Nita

[Bluesmama]

I was raised in a dairy farm in Central San Joaquin Valley. We didn't need milk delivered; however, I remember a mobile bakery van that traveled from house to house, and Mom bought breads and donuts from him. There was also the "fish guy" who drove in periodically to sell fish from the back of his panel truck.

We'd vacation in Santa Cruz, where I'd pretty much live at the Boardwalk. I spent a lot of time inside the Fun House, which closed a long time ago. Riverside Street was always alive and congested with cruisers ~ young men dragging the strip to honk at and cat-call at the girls (something that's never seen anymore).

I remember rushing to the TV on Friday evenings to watch the science fiction B-movies. Watched 'Star Trek', too. And 'Where the Action Is.'

Party-lines is what we had until I left home. I was a pain in the butt to some of the neighbors. I'm sure they heard an earful from my childish conversations (but I got an earful of their so-called 'adult' conversations). However, this is how phone lines were everywhere, not just California.

The two hamburger joints in my tiny hometown are still there. And one of them still makes damn good burgers.

I was very young but Beach Boy music was so popular and "fit" the aura of California. I still think of Beach Boy music whenever I watch the surfers in the Santa Cruz ocean.

[jdavid93225]

Originally Posted by mizzmomm

... the sub shop you're remembering was called "Matt & Tony's". It was on Victory Blvd (now it's gone, but there is still one in Mission Hills). They had the best subs in the 70s & 80s! We used to get some and then hit the drive-in on Victory.

I'm not sure which drive-in you're referring to, but it may have been the Victory drive-in, just west of Vineland. I remember that one. I was just driving by there reminiscing about a week ago, thinking about the old places that used to be in the area. There is now a park where the drive-in once stood. Frank's Coffee Shop (Vineland and Oxnard) is now just a memory, having been replaced by a mini-mall. Leon's Steak House was replaced by a CVS pharmacy. Gemco became Fedmart, which later became Target. These last two were at the corner of Vineland and Victory, near where the drive-in was. Further up Vineland, there used to be a Price Club, which later became part of Costco. They built a new store on the other side of the airport, and the old store became a Vallarta Supermarket. That site once had a dairy on it, as I recall. What's funny, though, are the other stores that sprouted up around Price Club back in the day. If I remember correctly, there was T-Shirt Club, Shoe Club, and Frame Club (a picture framing establishment), the latter of which is still there.

A bit further north, at the corner of Vineland and Strathern, there once were three gas stations. Now there are none, though the building from the old "Standard" station is still there as a produce market. The old library has been torn down and another has been built in its place. The old Safeway supermarket has been replaced by something else I can't remember the name of. The old "Rasco" five and dime store has changed names several times, but is still a small discount store.

After the bend, the main part of Vineland became Sunland Blvd., though there was a short extension of Vineland next to the park. At San Fernando Road, there once stood a great hardware store: Roscoe Hardware. It finally closed down a few years back, though it is greatly missed by many of us who grew up in the area. They used to have everything (at least before the big fire there in the late '70s). Across from there was one location of Danny's Dogs, which I remember fondly, though I think I only ate there once or twice. There was also another store nearby called California Sales Outlet that used to have stationery and school supplies, and I remember going there often when I needed things.

Finally, up on Sunland Blvd. near the southbound entrance to I-5, there is now a Bob's Big Boy. It was Dimion's for a while, but before that it was Mr. C's. Across the street from it was a wine tasting room that I believe is now a market.

As I drove up Vineland, I was surprised at how much I remembered from my childhood, not to mention how much things have changed.

[Curmudgeon]

jdavid just had to mention Bob's Big Boy. The one in Costa Mesa, now long gone, was a favorite of us beach dwellers. We'd spend all day swimming and at lunch time, one of us with a car would collect orders, and the money, and drive there, pick up Big Boys, fries and Silver goblets and bring them back. In those days, the 60s, the Big Boys were just that, BIG. By the time I returned from overseas in '69 they'd shrunk. Haven't had one since the early 70s when Uncle Sam sent me east.

A perpetual favorite was and remains The Crab Cooker on the Newport Peninsula with its steamers still on the sidewalk. Kind of a hole-in-the-wall and they don't take credit cards, just cash and checks. Great atmosphere and pretty good food. Still going strong!

[nmnita]

Originally Posted by Curmudgeon

jdavid just had to mention Bob's Big Boy. The one in Costa Mesa, now long gone, was a favorite of us beach dwellers. We'd spend all day swimming and at lunch time, one of us with a car would collect orders, and the money, and drive there, pick up Big Boys, frys and Silver goblets and bring them back. In those days, the 60s, the Big Boys were just that, BIG. By the time I returned from overseas in '69 they'd shrunk. Haven't had one since the early 70s when Uncle Sam sent me east.

A perpetual favorite was and remains The Crab Cooker on the Newport Peninsula with its steamers still on the sidewalk. Kind of a hole-in-the-wall and they don't take credit cards, just cash and checks. Great atmosphere and pretty good food. Still going strong!

i would guess my last one was in the early to mid 70s and yes, we spent many hours eating Big Boys. In the 40s when my dad was over seas we would go every Sunday afternoon (my mom, sister and I) to the oringinal Bobs. In Jr College (PCC) we had lunch at the one by campus at least 2 or 3 times a week and it was a favorite place for dates to take us after movies. They still have one in Albuquerque (nothing like what we remember) and I am not even sure it is called Bobs, but they do have the Big Boy outside.

NIta

[Curmudgeon]

While I was at OCC it was Bob's, Shakey's and French burgers at IHOP. Not to forget a small burger and taco stand down the street from the college. Bob's and Shakey's are gone. Not sure about the IHOP and stand. Guess I'll never know but they're still there in my fond memories.

[Fontucky]

A Shakey's recently opened down the street from me. Brings back fond high school (and before) food memories.