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Stephen Churay
Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 25 March 2009
Location: United States
Posts: 8369
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| Posted: 01 March 2015 at 12:52am | IP Logged | 1
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Do any of these still exist?
If so, has anyone ever been? I'm curious how the food was as much
as where to find one.
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Emery Calame
Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 16 April 2004
Location: United States
Posts: 5773
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| Posted: 01 March 2015 at 10:46pm | IP Logged | 2
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http://www.hungrybrowser.com/phaedrus/mphandh.htm
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Stephen Churay
Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 25 March 2009
Location: United States
Posts: 8369
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| Posted: 02 March 2015 at 3:49pm | IP Logged | 3
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Thanks for the link Emery. I had hoped that at least one had survived.
I wonder if one could exist today, simply based on it novelty.
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Carmen Bernardo
Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 08 August 2006
Location: United States
Posts: 3666
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| Posted: 02 March 2015 at 5:58pm | IP Logged | 4
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First thought that came to mind when I read about this was that scene from the old Bugs Bunny cartoon where the rabbit kept pulling out pies to splatter on the face of an antagonist (I think this was the old Chuck Jones one set in the high-rise department store).
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Michael Hogan
Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 16 April 2004
Location: United States
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| Posted: 02 March 2015 at 7:44pm | IP Logged | 5
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My father used to tell me stories about going to the Automat in NYC. He always claimed that while not the greatest food, it was reliably hot, filling, and fairly tasty, while remaining economical.
And then there's the story of folks who went in, got a free cup of hot water, added free ketchup, and made tomato soup...
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Ray Brady
Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 16 April 2004
Location: United States
Posts: 3740
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| Posted: 02 March 2015 at 9:16pm | IP Logged | 6
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This looks like as good a place as any to ask a question that's been on my mind recently.
In the recent Agent Carter mini-series, Peggy frequents an Automat, but it's one that comes equipped with a waitress. This struck me as an inherent contradiction, as I've always assumed Automats were entirely self-service.
Am I right that the place Agent Carter eats at doesn't make sense? Were there ever restaurants that combined Automats with table service?
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Michael Hogan
Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 16 April 2004
Location: United States
Posts: 2052
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| Posted: 02 March 2015 at 9:34pm | IP Logged | 7
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If my memory serves, my dad mentioned that Automats had attendants. Not sure if he said they served anything other than a coffee refill.
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Conrad Teves
Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 28 January 2014
Location: United States
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| Posted: 02 March 2015 at 9:44pm | IP Logged | 8
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Apart from someone to refill the coffee, automats had bunches of employees to prepare food and fill the boxes. Recall this scene from the Cary Grant film "Touch of Mink":
That was set in a very popular chain (Horn and Hardart).
Just drop in a nickle to get your food. A nickle! My inflation app says a nickle in 1946 was the equivalent of about 60 cents today. Still darn cheap!
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Brian Hague
Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 14 November 2006
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| Posted: 02 March 2015 at 11:54pm | IP Logged | 9
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"A kiss on the hand may be quite continental, but diamonds are a girl's best friend. A kiss may be grand, but it won't pay the rental on your humble flat, or help you at the Automat..."
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Craig Markley
Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 16 April 2004
Location: United States
Posts: 3969
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| Posted: 03 March 2015 at 10:33am | IP Logged | 10
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I've wanted to experience an Automat for a long time. While not an Automat, I've seen restaurants in Japan (I believe) that has plates of food traveling around the counter on a conveyor-belt for patrons to take and eat.
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John Byrne
Grumpy Old Guy
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| Posted: 03 March 2015 at 11:46am | IP Logged | 11
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I ate at the NYC Automat twice. One of those doesn't count, as I was a DC Xmas party. (Don't ask!)Of the other time, I have a dim memory of the place itself -- glass and chrome* -- and no memory of the food. --------- * Or would that be stainless steel?
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Kevin Brown
Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 31 May 2005
Location: United States
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| Posted: 03 March 2015 at 12:45pm | IP Logged | 12
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When I was a kid between the ages of 7 and 12, I always visited my grandmother during the summer for a week or two. She lived in Kansas City, MO. I'm not sure how old I was, but one year she took me to her place of work to introduce to her co-workers and for lunch we went next door to an automat! All I really remember about it is being amazed at the huge amount of food in front of me!
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