JeffB wrote:But in terms of overall quality, sheer numbers and community love for cafeterias, Indiana might be on top. The most cafeterias and basketball hoops per capita, probably.

I think that's pretty much the thesis of the "Tray Chic" book. The cafeterias used to be ubiquitous in Indiana. They are still very plentiful, more so than most places; and I gather from what I read, more popular. Another thesis from the book is that while there are a huge number of great cafeterias throughout the country, there are on balance so many more lousy cafeterias in the world that most people have only negative associations with the word "cafeteria" (think high school, hospital, bus station, etc.) In fact, I learn from the book that Shapiro's changed from "cafeteria/delicatessen" to just "delicatessen" when they opened up in Carmel (a well-to-do northern suburb of Indianapolis). Of course, both locations are cafeterias.

jbw wrote:I can't speak to the cafeterias of Indiana, but I went into deep mourning when the seventy-year old Highland Park Cafeteria in Dallas closed in 1996. They used to line up a half-hour before opening (as if it were a Willie Nelson concert), and by the time I got done with the vegetable casseroles and fruit salads and slaws I never had much room for the carved meats at the end of the line. It almost made me believe being a vegetarian could be a reasonable alternative.

Yes, it's an unfortunate side-effect of the long, food packed line that you can't try everything! There's a method to the order the foods are presented in, though. The hot stuff comes last for the practical reason that if it came first, it would get cold while you went through the rest of the line. The desserts are at the head of the line to psych you out; many people would "Just Say No" to lemon meringue pie if they already have two salads, three vegetables, a couple of rolls and a plate of fried chicken on their tray. But for some reason, if you have a piece of pie on the tray, it won't stop you from loading up on all the other items (although in your case, jbw, the ploy didn't work ).

When I was little, to the exasperation of my parents, all I'd choose at Luby's Cafeteria was dinner rolls and jello. Eventually, cafeterias started me on the chow trail as per all the choices. Some great sense memories:
the musical clinking, clattering of dishware, jiggling jewel-like cubes of jello in parfait glasses...

My staff has been urging me to try Delmonico's for the last year. Since the Indian Express hasn't opened yet, I finally succumbed. I really think all you cafeteria fans need to give it a try. It's a huge selection (I counted 18 hot meat entrees, for example) but nothing looks like it came off a Sysco truck. The comfortable old-fashioned room is filled with comfortable old-fashioned barristers and grizzled city hall hobnoblins.

I had a salad with grilled whitefish, a dab of the shrimp and calamari salad, a grilled tofu mini-sandwich with roasted red peppers, some goma-ae, and a piece of California roll. (Despite my new-age-y selections, there were plenty of old-fashioned favorites for all those old-fashioned barristers including meat loaf, roast pork, fried chicken, mac and cheese, etc). Everything was good. The whitefish had been dipped in a egg batter before it was grilled, which helped it keep its integrity on the steam table. The goma-ae was tangy, the calamari was tender, the mixed greens were fresh and varied. I eyed the soups. Today's chicken gumbo and chicken noodle both looked well above average. I also noticed a lot of people lined up for the grill, where the reuben appeared to be the peoples' choice.

$4.99 per pound: my lunch came to $5.56 with tax.

DelMonico's Gourmet Foods
111 W. Washington (no store front--enter through the office building lobby)
312-345-0707
M-F, 6:30 a.m. -4 p.m.

James Ward's review is here.

JimInLoganSquare wrote:

David Hammond wrote:I had no idea cafeterias were so distinctly Indianian. Gives me yet one more reason, besides Binion's Horseshoe (which does have a cafeteria-like restaurant on the boat), to visit.

Hammond

The cafeteria was the cutting edge at the turn of the last century (circa 1900), and one of the great leaders in that field in Indiana, Laughner's, was right there. I think Laughners may have met its end, but stalwarts like MCL continue. Of course the problem with making any kind of blanket representaion or recommendation is that on the day you visit, they have the 16 year old drop out crew making all the food, rather than the A Team. To ensure you get the A Team, go around 11:30 to 12:30 on a Sunday, when the church crowds are present. That will assure you the cafeteria is showing its best face.

I just found out about Laughners Cafeteria closings last year since I no longer live in Indiana and heard about owner Richard Laughner being in prison - now on parole-, sad way to end a century of the family owned business.

Christopher Gordon wrote:When I was little, to the exasperation of my parents, all I'd choose at Luby's Cafeteria was dinner rolls and jello. Eventually, cafeterias started me on the chow trail as per all the choices. Some great sense memories:
the musical clinking, clattering of dishware, jiggling jewel-like cubes of jello in parfait glasses...

On the Luby’s Cafeteria Line, Every Day Is Thanksgiving.
The Texas chain, which serves turkey dinners year-round, has come to define the holiday for its loyal customers — and not just with its food.

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/20/dini ... =url-share

Just saw this list of recipes from Morrison's Cafeteria:

While Horn & Hardart automats were an institution in the northern U.S., in the cities of the southern U.S. we had our cafeterias: Morrison's and Piccadilly, Luby's and Blue Boar and Wyatt's.

James A. Morrison opened the first Morrison's Cafeteria in Mobile, Alabama on September 4, 1920. This cafeteria's success led to the opening of more Morrison's Cafeterias in cities across the Southeast.

There were 142 Morrison's Cafeterias at the time they were bought by Piccadilly. The entire Morrison's Cafeteria chain was bought by Piccadilly Cafeterias in a $46 million transaction. However, Morrison's still seems to be involved in institutional food service in some areas, at hospitals and the like.

I've had numerous requests for Morrison's recipes, and a few of those requests are not in the Morrison's Recipe Manual. There were a few dishes that were unique to particular Morrison's locations - these dishes were only made at those locations. There's not much hoping of getting those except from someone who was actually employed at the specific location. In over 80 years of operation in over 150 locations, there have to be a lot of ex-Morrison's chefs and cooks and other employees around. Hopefully some of them will read this and help us out with the recipes that we have been unable to locate.

I have been told by former Morrison's employees that sometimes their fruit pies and pecan pies were made with a canned filling. These fillings would have been made for Morrison's by a commercial producer, possibly "Gumpert's" or "Baker & Baker," according to reliable information. There would be no recipe available for these canned fillings. Over the years, Morrison's began buying premade ingredients more and more, replacing some ingredients that were originally made in-house.

Many of the Morrison's Cafeteria recipes from the actual Morrison's kitchen manuals call for something called "Voltex". This was an institutional food service product, a frozen mixture of liquid eggs and margarine that appears to have been made by Fleischmann's. It is no longer being sold. I have been told by a former Morrison's chef that the liquid whole eggs product sold in supermarkets may be substituted using the same weight and ratio as the amount of Voltex called for in the recipes.

You can find links to these recipes here:

7 Layer Salad
Almond Cream Pie
Apple Dumplings
Apple Pie
Au Gratin Potatoes
Baked Fish Supreme
Banana Split Cake
Barbecue
Beef Lyonnaise
Beefsteak Parmesan
Beefy Mac
Blackeyed Peas
Boston Cream Cake/Pie
Boston Cream Pie Filling
Bran Muffins
Breaded Veal Cutlets
Broccoli & Cauliflower Salad
Broccoli & Cheese Sauce
Broccoli Rice (Green Rice) Casserole
Broiled Chicken
Broiled Chicken ala Morrison's
Buttermilk Pie
Caramel Pie
Caramel Pecan Pie
Carrot Salad
Cheesecake
Chicken & Dumplings or Chicken Stew
Chicken a la Morrison
Chili con Carne, Hospital Food Service
Chopped Steak
Coconut Cream Pie
Coleslaw
Corn Sticks
Cornbread & Celery Dressing
Cornbread & Pecan Dressing
Corned Beef with Cloves & Brown Sugar
Country Steak
Crab Cakes
Crabmeat au Gratin
Crabmeat Salad
Cream of Chicken Florentine Soup
Cream Pies (Banana/Banana Glazed/Blueberry/Cherry)
Creole Sauce
Cucumber Salad
Custard Pie Home Recipe
Custard Pie Actual Recipe
Deviled Crab(maybe a tastes-like)
Deviled Eggs
Devil's Food Cake
Dressing Deluxe
Egg Custard Pie
Eggplant Casserole
Eggplant, Fried
Fish Almondine
Fried Chicken
Fried Fish
Fruit & Nut Cake
Fudge Icing
Garden Lasagna
German Chocolate Pie
Glazed Corned Beef
Green Beans
Hot Slaw
Italian Dressing
Jambalaya
Lemon Chess Pie
Lemon Ice Box Pie
Lima Beans
Liver & Onions
Macaroni & Cheese
Mayonnaise
Meatloaf
Mexican Cornbread
Mushrooms
Oil & Vinegar Dressing
Okra, Stewed
Pasta Salad
Peach Cobbler
Pecan Pie
Pie with Pecans
Pepper Steak
Potatoes in White Sauce
Prune Chiffon Pie
Red Velvet Cake
Rice Pudding Custard
Roast Beef au Jus
Rolls
Salmon Patties & Egg Sauce
Shrimp Creole
Shrimp, Fried
Shrimp Salad
Smothered Cabbage
Southwestern Chicken
Spanish Mackerel
Spanish Rice
Spinach au Gratin
Spoon Bread
Squash Casserole
Squash Croquettes
Strawberry Shortcake
Stuffed Peppers
Stuffed Pork Chops
Sweet Carrot Souffle
Sweet Potato Pie
Tampico Dishes
Tartar Sauce
Teriyaki Chicken
Thousand Island Dressing
Tomato Aspic
Toni Salad
"Trout" Almondine
Turkey & Dressing
Veal Parmesan 1
Veal Parmesan 2
Vegetable Beef Stew
Vegetable Lasagna
Waldorf Salad
Yellow Jello
Yellow Rice
No luck with these:


Caramel Pie
Carrot Soup
Grape Jello Dessert
Hamburger Soup
Italian Cream Cake
Mexican Corn Casserole
Peach Cobbler
Plum Pudding with Hard Sauce
Puddings, Chocolate, etc
Spaghetti Salad
Whipped Cheesecake
Zucchini & Tomatoes

I can't comment on cafeteria food, but that site looks like a great resource for obscure recipes. I searched it for a cookie that I've tried to recreate over the years (it's a cookie I remember buying at Seattle's Pike Place market in the 80s and was called a 'Divinity Cookie' ) and totally found some leads!

Thanks for the fun!
- zorkmead

I have some family and Texas, but haven't been there in a while. Luby's was a must every time I visited. I miss it!!

Not surprisingly, Macon, GA is home to many cafeterias. Among them S&S, H&H, Cox, Piccadilly, Dawson's Kitchen, Bears Den and others. IIRC S&S has two locations, one of which was well known for feeding the Allman Brothers when they lived in the "Big House". The smaller operations are mostly soul food kitchens where the menu is limited to the day's "specials".

rmtraut wrote:I have some family and Texas, but haven't been there in a while. Luby's was a must every time I visited. I miss it!!

Luby's introduced my European-born father to chicken fried steak and he never looked back.

spinynorman99 wrote:

rmtraut wrote:I have some family and Texas, but haven't been there in a while. Luby's was a must every time I visited. I miss it!!

Luby's introduced my European-born father to chicken fried steak and he never looked back.

Luby's introduced me to fried okra, liver & onions, and lots of colors of Jell-O to choose from!

rmtraut wrote:

spinynorman99 wrote:

rmtraut wrote:I have some family and Texas, but haven't been there in a while. Luby's was a must every time I visited. I miss it!!

Luby's introduced my European-born father to chicken fried steak and he never looked back.

Luby's introduced me to fried okra, liver & onions, and lots of colors of Jell-O to choose from!

That Liver and Onions was one of my favorites, and I lived in Dallas for 17 years. I asked a store Mgr how the did it and he told me the method.
When chicken livers accumulated, they were used in place of beef.