Folksinger Arlo Guthrie immortalized "Alice's Restaurant" in song (1967) and the song was later incorporated into the 1969 film of the same name. Being a child of the 60's and having graduated from high school in the late 60's made me part of an era that included the beginning of Women's Lib, burning bras, Alice's brownies, Haight-Ashbury in San Francisco, psychedelic everything from fabric to drugs, campus demonstrations protesting the Vietnam War and anything else a college crowd could conger up, panty raids, the raw tragedy of the Vietnam War brought vividly into homes being the first war really seen on millions of American household televisions, Biafran consciousness.......ah, the list could go on for paragraphs. It was a time in recent history that showcased the growing pains of multiple societal segments and I was there.
You didn't have to stray far from the university campus in the late sixties and early seventies to find really good food. A host of different kinds of restaurants cropped up then - maybe inspired by "Alice's Restaurant"? Perhaps a legion of "Alice's" grew into adulthood then and decided to try their hands at being restaurateurs. While living in campus married housing, I was hired to work at a then new restaurant called "The Grand Gourmet". I have no idea if it is still in existence in East Lansing, Michigan. At the time, it offered a cutting edge concept of soups, sandwiches, and entrees all made with gourmet meats, cheeses, etc. I was in charge of the dessert menu which featured high-grade, gourmet ice cream sundaes, all sports-theme named - by me - with Michigan State University-related football key-words. Unfortunately, we did not have any desserts featuring the central ingredient in Alice's famous brownies.
Today's restaurants are somewhat reflective of a movement in which creativity, both in architecture and menu, are in vogue. Yes, there are many "mom and pop" eateries and hundreds of chain establishments but there are even more independently owned and operated restaurants that offer upscale and downscale atmospheres with highly varied menu selections. You can eat insects, chemically enhanced foods, flowers, all manner of wildlife meats, seafood choices galore, gold, and, I'm certain, Alice's brownies thrown in there somewhere......just not publicized.
Why am I writing about restaurants, eating and Alice's brownies? Because I think that is one avenue of activity that just may save our sanity between now and November.
Alice B. Toklas, please come and save us!
Ancora imparo
