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Transcript of Taste
Bobo’s Drive-ThruRuby’s Dagwood’s Cafe
1811
Fritz’s Railrode Cafe
30
THE MELTING POT
In 1908 Israel Zangwill coined the term “the melting
pot” describing the new America. This is truer than
ever today; just not in the way that Zangwill had
intended. This now aged, multicultural, America has seen
the birth of a new melting pot of multigrain, multi-meal
Americans. With this food overload much of the industry has
lost its’ charm and character. The food industry has become
dependent on typography to create something irreplaceable.
1
THE DINER IS EVER YBODY’S KITCHEN -RICHARD GUTMAN
THE DINER IS EVER YBODY’S KITCHEN -RICHARD GUTMAN
Three pioneering Kansas diners offer unique typographic
and tasty experiences that you may be missing. Dagwood’s
serves up mama’s breakfast classics in a 60’s diner, Bobo’s
1948 Drive-In dishes up your American favorites with
their car side waitress and Fritz’s 1954 Railroad Restau-
rant delivers your food tableside by toy sized, freight car.
Ruby’s Dagwood’s Café is hidden on a less traveled road Kansas City,
Kansas. The humble façade of this family run breakfast and lunch café
is an understatement to the tasty and comforting food made inside.
DAGWOOD’S CAFE /
DAGWOOD’S CAFE /
A true “diner” is a prefabricated structure built at an assembly site and trans-
ported to a permanent location for installation to serve prepared food. Webster’s
Dictionary defines a diner as “a restaurant in the shape of a railroad car.” The
word “diner” is a derivative of “dining car” and diner designs reflected the styling
that manufacturers borrowed from railroad dining cars.
A diner is usually outfitted with a counter, stools and a food preparation or service
area along the back wall. Those who could not afford to purchase a new diner
often converted decommissioned railroad passenger cars and trolleys into diners.
I walk inside, there are handmade instructional signs and quite a few commercial
product signs such as Coca Cola and 7up. I move into the main dining area and
there is a long line of booths along the right wall. An equally long counter with
permanent stools beneath separates the kitchen from the rest of the dining space. I
sit down and notice the wall of Wonder bread loaves between the kitchen and the
customers. These loaves serve as a décor of sorts. Two women in the open kitchen
are frying bacon, eggs, chocolate chip pancakes and other delicacies on a large flat
top visible to customer. The set up of Dagwood’s is reminiscent of a typical dining
car but is a permanent building. The typographic style of Dagwood’s is established
through the commercial brands that they use. My Dagwood’s breakfast foodie
favorite is the chocolate chip pancake or biscuits and homemade gravy.
BOBO’S DRIVE-THRU /Bobo’s Drive-In sits a few streets over from the Kansas State Capital building in
Topeka. I pull around and park in one of the designated slots, a little confused
as what to do next. Note to self: you must turn your headlights on to signal to
the carhop you are ready to order. This drive-in is quite unlike those of today. he
space is typographically free except for the oversized menus on each side of the
parking plaza. The title typeface is elaborate and of gothic likeness.
BOBO’S DRIVE-THRU /
1950 CARHOP
As more automobiles appeared on
America’s streets during the early twentieth
century, the restaurant business began to
change to meet new needs. Soda fountain
operators began offering curb service for
customers by 1910. Motorists stopped in
front of their stores, honked their horns,
and soda fountain employees called curbies
rushed out to take orders and deliver them.
When drive-ins developed in the 1920s, orders were taken and food was
subsequently delivered on trays and customers ate in their cars. At first,
the tray was simply handed in through the car window to be placed on the
customer's lap. Sometimes people drove off with the trays and a lap tray was
hardly convenient for the driver, so new trays were developed that fastened
to the outside of the car. By the 1930s, the name changed to carhops,
which purportedly referred to their practice of hopping up on cars’ running
boards. By the 1930s, young women were selected to be carhops and were
required to wear outlandish costumes; such as those of cheerleaders or
majorettes. Carhops occasionally navigated around drive-ins on roller skates.
A san serif typeface spells out a menu of fried,
boiled and baked American specialties. Bobo’s
offers its’ wide generational array of people the
option to drive-in or dine in. The tightly designed
indoor dining room is full of character and charm.
To the left are three booths with attached
coat racks at the end. Then to the right
is a “u” shaped bar top with stools and a
peek into the kitchen behind. The same
ball lighting is used in both the indoor and
outdoor dining areas unifying the spaces.
The bold gothic title typeface is not used
inside as to not overpower the small space.
The waitress offers no menu but everyone
can see the large menu posted on the wall.
My foodie favorites at Bobo’s are one of their
classic steak burgers, an order of onion rings
and a slice of their famous apple pie to top it off.
FRITZ’S RAILROAD RESTAURANTFritz’s Railroad Restaurant is nestled in a downtown
Kansas City neighborhood. I pull into the small,
diagonally placed parking spaces directly off of the
busy intersection. My dad used to take my sister and
I to Fritz’s when we were little so I know it builds
special memories that you will not want to miss.
FRITZ’S RAILROAD RESTAURANT/
As I walk into the restaurant the décor is an overloaded motif of trains,
dark woods and wrought iron. There is a bar top directly outside the
kitchen and an abundance of tables and booths that spill over into a
larger room it the back. Sitting down in a booth I picked up the old
model phone to place my order to the cook in the kitchen. By using this
means of taking orders the restaurant only requires one waitress.
THEME RESTAURANT
Credit for the development of the first theme restaurants goes to Paris
cafés and cabarets which opened in Montmartre in the later nineteenth
century. They were primarily drinking spots rather than full-scale
restaurants but they served food also. Like American theme restaurants
today they were built around a concept and created an environment that
appeared to be something other than a mere eating and drinking place.
The menu continues the train theme along with Fritz’s logo and a coordinating san serif
typeface adorned with simple railroad tracks winding throughout the different items.
There is a sound of a train whistle blowing. A little model train chugs around the corner
of the kitchen and makes its way around the ceiling until it reaches its assigned table.
A bar lowers and the box hanging below the train catches on a platform and then
slowly lowers onto the table with my foodie favorites wrapped inside. My foodie
favorites at Fritz’s are one of their classic burgers and a creamy milkshake.