Category Archives: Food and Drink

L.A. Daily Mirror Retro Drinking Guide — Pisco Punch

Posted on December 31, 2024 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2013. Just in time for New Year’s, we’ll take a look at a “lost drink,” making a brief inquiry into San Francisco’s Pisco Punch, made famous by Bank Exchange saloon owner Duncan Nicol … Continue reading →

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L.A. Daily Mirror Retro Drinking Guide – The Queens Cocktail

Posted on December 30, 2024 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2017. Joe Vogel asks if there was a Queens Cocktail. The answer is yes. According to the Jamaica Long Island Daily Press, Jan. 24, 1935, the Queens Cocktail debuted at the Hotel Commodore … Continue reading →

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L.A. Daily Mirror Retro Drinking Guide — The Bronx Cocktail

Posted on December 29, 2024 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2013. Dec. 20, 1934: In case you doubted me (but you wouldn’t, would you?), here’s a recipe for the Bronx Cocktail, from the Amsterdam Evening Recorder, courtesy of FultonHistory.com. In case you plan … Continue reading →

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L.A. Daily Mirror Retro Drinking Guide — The Brooklyn Cocktail

Posted on December 28, 2024 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2013. Yes, the Manhattan cocktail once had competition from drinks named for the other boroughs. Here’s a recipe for the Brooklyn Cocktail, from the Brooklyn Daily Eagle, March 7, 1937. The Brooklyn Cocktail … Continue reading →

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L.A. Daily Mirror Retro Drinking Guide: The Harvey Wallbanger

Posted on December 27, 2024 by lmharnisch

A vintage 1972 iron-on transfer of Harvey Wallbanger himself, on EBay for $12. Note: This is a repost from 2013. We have been looking at some historic drinks for this holiday season. To the millennials in the audience: This is … Continue reading →

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L.A. Daily Mirror Retro Drinking Guide: A Brief History of the Tom and Jerry

Posted on December 26, 2024 by lmharnisch

A recipe for the Tom and Jerry from the San Francisco Call, June 30, 1912. Note: This is an encore post from 2013. Over on Facebook, Christopher McPherson asked whether the Tom and Jerry was named for the MGM cartoon … Continue reading →

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L.A. Celebrates a Wartime Thanksgiving, 1943

Posted on November 23, 2023 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2013. A wartime Thanksgiving in Los Angeles, with many service personnel welcomed into people’s homes for a holiday meal. The Times published cooking tips for war workers, advising cooks who were otherwise engaged … Continue reading →

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An 1890s Thanksgiving in the Kitchen

Posted on November 23, 2023 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2011. Here’s a traditional roast turkey recipe from the “Every-Day Cook-Book and Family Compendium,” written about 1890 by Miss E. Neill. Be sure your fire is bright and clear and watch out for … Continue reading →

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Mary Mallory/ Hollywood Heights: El Cholo Turns 100

Posted on August 1, 2023 by lmharnisch

100 years ago, Alexander Alejandro Borquez and his wife Rosa opened a tiny cafe on Moneta Avenue, serving tasty, homestyle Mexican food. Little did they realize that their modest enterprise would survive a century, becoming one of Los Angeles’ most … Continue reading →

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Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Fine Chinese Dining and Asian American Celebrities’ Restaurants

Posted on May 17, 2023 by lmharnisch

Willie Fung opened the New Moon cafe. Americans fell in love with Chinese food over the decades, drawn to it originally by cheap prices and chop suey, before growing to love more exotic and elegant dishes. At the same time, … Continue reading →

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Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Two Chinese Restaurants in Studio City

Posted on May 8, 2023 by lmharnisch

A matchbook cover for Rickshaw Boy, Courtesy of Mary Mallory. Note: This is an encore post from 2016. Graphics, films, advertisements, music – all demonstrate values and cultures of the time and place in which they were created. Words, phrases, … Continue reading →

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Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Chop Suey Comes to Hollywood

Posted on December 27, 2022 by lmharnisch

Brooklyn Daily Eagle, July 6, 1884. Chinese food has long been popular in the United States, particularly chop suey, and for many it is a Christmas Day tradition. Although stories claimed that chop suey was a special dish created in … Continue reading →

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Found on EBay: 1930 Los Angeles Junior League Cookbook

Posted on December 2, 2022 by lmharnisch

A vendor has listed a rare copy of the 1930 Los Angeles Junior League Cookbook. For $1,760. No really.

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L.A. Celebrates a Wartime Thanksgiving, 1943

Posted on November 24, 2022 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2013. A wartime Thanksgiving in Los Angeles, with many service personnel welcomed into people’s homes for a holiday meal. The Times published cooking tips for war workers, advising cooks who were otherwise engaged … Continue reading →

Posted in 1943, Food and Drink, World War II | Tagged , , | Comments Off on L.A. Celebrates a Wartime Thanksgiving, 1943

An 1890s Thanksgiving in the Kitchen

Posted on November 24, 2022 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2011. Here’s a traditional roast turkey recipe from the “Every-Day Cook-Book and Family Compendium,” written about 1890 by Miss E. Neill. Be sure your fire is bright and clear and watch out for … Continue reading →

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Mary Mallory: Hollywood Heights – Eaton’s Rancho

Posted on November 21, 2022 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2012. The area of Los Angeles now known as Studio City was mainly farm and ranch land up into the late 1920s, when investors founded the Studio City Business District and decided to … Continue reading →

Posted in Food and Drink, Hollywood Heights, Mary Mallory, San Fernando Valley | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

L.A. Daily Mirror Retro Drinking Guide — Pisco Punch

Posted on December 31, 2021 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2013. Just in time for New Year’s, we’ll take a look at a “lost drink,” making a brief inquiry into San Francisco’s Pisco Punch, made famous by Bank Exchange saloon owner Duncan Nicol … Continue reading →

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Found on EBay: ‘What Actors Eat (When They Eat!)’

Posted on December 30, 2021 by lmharnisch

A copy of What Actors Eat (When They Eat!), a collection of celebrities’ recipes by Kenneth Harlan and Rex Lease, has been listed on EBay for $14.99. Copies are fairly rare an in good condition can sell for hundreds of … Continue reading →

Posted in books, Food and Drink, Found on EBay, Hollywood | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

L.A. Daily Mirror Retro Drinking Guide – The Queens Cocktail

Posted on December 30, 2021 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2017. Joe Vogel asks if there was a Queens Cocktail. The answer is yes. According to the Jamaica Long Island Daily Press, Jan. 24, 1935, the Queens Cocktail debuted at the Hotel Commodore … Continue reading →

Posted in 1935, 1937, Food and Drink | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

L.A. Daily Mirror Retro Drinking Guide — The Bronx Cocktail

Posted on December 29, 2021 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2013. Dec. 20, 1934: In case you doubted me (but you wouldn’t, would you?), here’s a recipe for the Bronx Cocktail, from the Amsterdam Evening Recorder, courtesy of FultonHistory.com. In case you plan … Continue reading →

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