Post #282201 by Humuhumu on Wed, Jan 31, 2007 3:57 PM

I found this great article from the December 6, 1968 issue of Time Magazine, titled "Edibility Gap":

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,844655,00.html

I'm so glad that Time is willing to freely share this old article. Here are some excerpts:

The Hawaiian Hut in Portland, Me., offers its Special Tiki Chicken on this verbal platter: "Truly a dish fit for the gods—beyond description." But any diner could describe it easily—chicken with bean sprouts.

Here's a postcard featuring the Hawaiian Hut I found on eBay:

The most honest and sardonic sell of all is practiced by the Brookline, Mass., delicatessen of Jack & Marion's. Several of the 345 dishes on the overwhelming (25-in. by 36-in.) card carry a star to indicate "a good profit item for Jack & Marion's. Please order."

"The funny, far-out menu is a must these days," states Manhattan Restaurateur Shelly Fireman. "The majority of people who dine out are bored with each other and need something to break down the barriers. A way-out menu gives them something to talk about." Alas, the wit is insipid.

And the menu of San Francisco's Señor Pico describes one bestseller (beef stew) with this line: "It's a real son of a bitch."

Senor Pico's was/is Trader Vic's Mexican chain -- that is the inimitable Voice of Bergeron.

Punctuation is repetitive, leading to this law: The quality of food in a restaurant is in inverse proportion to the number of semicolons and exclamation marks on the menu.