Pumperniks MiamiPumperniks was a Saturday afternoon staple for my family when I was growing up in Miami. It’s the first place I ever ate Matzo ball soup and a brisket sandwich. The experience of eating this food for the first time was enough to make me consider converting to Judaism. Read more

Oh friends! Here is a photo mashup I made just for you! Okay, that’s a lie. I did this entirely for me. It’s about one of my favorite subjects. Sausage and Cheese. As I was perusing one of my favorite sites, Wishbookweb.com, wondering if it’s too late to order that Millennium Falcon in the 1981 Montgomery Ward catalog for only $30.87, I made a discovery. It turns out that as far back as 1947, they were selling those lovely sausage and cheese variety boxes in Christmas catalogs. How intriguing! I needed to know more. So without further preamble, let’s hop in the Tardis and go on a gastronomic voyage of discovery!

Oh, and click the photos for a larger view, in most cases the full catalog page.
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Orlando Grocery 1970sOh, hello Richard Deacon, character actor of such classics as “The Dick Van Dyke Show” and “Invasion of the Body Snatchers”. I had no idea you were a television chef. Was this before or after you were in “The Happy Hooker Goes to Hollywood”? Answer: It was before.

I found a stack of “Orlando Sentinel” Food sectionals from the early 1970s, loaded with adds for local restaurants, grocery stores, appliance stores, etc. I have tons of these, so this is the first in a series. Click the images to make bigger.

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