[.ca] The Automat: The History, Recipes, and Allure of Horn & ... (ISBN 0609610740)

The Legacy of Horn & Hardart:
This is an excellent, well wriitten, and for the most part accurate picture of Horn & Hardart Automats, and their significant impact on the culinary habits of many its customers right up to its demise in New York in the early 1980's and its retrenchment to Philadelphia during that time period. What is inaccurate, is the representation that the last real company owned Automat, located at Third Avenue and 42nd Street closed in 1991. True, there was an entity operating under the trade name of Horn & Hardart at that location until 1991, but the restaurant was only a licensing arrangement, and the food served in the restaurant, such as Macaroni & Cheese, etc. were not the true Horn & Hardart recipies. The real Horn & Hardart recipies were available until 1991 at the only remaining Horn & Hardart Baking Company store, which was located in the Bala Cynward Shopping Center, as accurately described in the book as the last remaining Horn & Hardart location. Also, the recipies in the book, or at least the Macaroni and Cheese recipie, appears not to be authentic. Although the co-author, Marianne Hardart credits a nutritionist will assistance with the recipie, it appears that the recipie is not truly authentic, insofar key ingredients, such as crushed tomatoes and light cream are not included in the recipie. A much better recipie for Horn and Hardart's Macaroni and Cheese is as follows: MACARONI AND CHEESE 1lb. Ziti Rigati 1/8 tsp. Red Pepper 6Tbs. Flour 1/8 tsp. White Pepper 6 Tbs. Butter 4Tbs. Light Cream 6 C. Milk 3C. Grated Sharp Cheddar Cheese 2 tsp. Salt 1C. Crushed Tomatoes 2 tsp. Sugar Boil ziti until barely cooked. Drain and set aside. In a medium saucepan, melt the butter over low heat, blend in flour and cook 2 minutes. Beat in the milk, then the cream and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture comes to a boil and thickens. Remove from heat and cool slightly. Stir in the cheese until melted, then add the tomatoes, salt, sugar and two peppers. Add cheese mixture to the ziti. Pour into a baking pan and bake in a preheated 400* oven until top browns and bubbles. **To Freeze: Pour into aluminum pans, seal and place in freezer. DO NOT BAKE BEFORE FREEZING. **To Bake Frozen Macaroni and Cheese: Allow to defrost before baking. Uncover and place in 400* oven and bake until top is brown and bubbling. I had hoped that this book, which had promised to include the "secret" Horn & Hardart recipies, which were under tight family control, would have been the actual "secret" recipies. However, despite these disappointments, this is an excellent book that gives a detailed history of an American Institution.

Nice, but perhaps an ingredient is lacking:
My Cousin knows the author, so I was looking forward to reading this book. I was delighted to find my cousin quoted on Pg 23(!) but the rest of the book seems to be missing something. It's undoubtedly put together with a great deal of love and affection, but I felt that the book was intended for people who can remember eating at Automats. I never had the privledge, and this book doesn't fill in the details. As another reviewer pointed out there are constant descriptions of the distinctive coffee dispensers, but not one single good picture of one. The recipies are a nice touch, but why stick them here and there? To be really useful they should have been all together. The layout is choppy to the point of being confusing at times. I suppose I would have wanted a book with some more technical nuts-and-bolts information on the mechanical aspect of the Automat, but this book isn't aimed at the hard core diner and restaurant fan. It's a nice light pleasant book, and an affectionate obituary for a sadly past age.

NOT TOTALLY HAPPY:
I must admit that the book is very beautiful and informative. But, if you are buying thinking that it will be chock full of recipes used at the old automats, you will be very disappointed. I grew up with my mom regaling us with her tales of her adventures of being a young nursing student in New York City in the 1950s. She was a farm girl from Alabama, so New York was a true revelation for her. Many of her meals were taken at the automat and she always described the food as being wonderful. I was looking to be able to recreate those dishes, but out of 125 glossy pages of text, the book only includes about a dozen recipes. And as an earlier reviewer noted, I don't think most of them are the authentic recipes from the old cafeteria style restaurants. It does make for wonderful reading though. Just understand that this is mostly recollections, not a true cookbook.

Good nostalgia, inauthentic recipes:
Waiting with bated breath to try the recipe for Horn & Hardart's "authentic" macaroni and cheese, which I remember well from childhood, it was immediately apparent that this recipe is far from "authentic". The original recipe used a large, straight macaroni, while the book's recipe calls for "elbow macaroni". Oops. The original had bits of tomato, the book's recipe omits the tomato. Oops again. I didn't care to try what is clearly misrepresented as "authentic". Having said that, the nostalgia and history aspect of the book is quite good. But having purchased the book for the recipes, this was very disappointing. If you enjoy reading the history of the automat, this book is for you. If you're considering buying the book for the "authentic" recipes, save your money.

But the recipes aren't there...:
As someone who grew up in Philadelphia it was fun reading about my childhood memories. The big problem is the derth of recipes. The original ones. I have been writing to cookbook publishers for years begging for a Horn & Hardart Cookbook. I thought this would be it since it was written by a relative of one of the founders. No such luck. But if you have only heard about The Automat and never eaten there this is a fun read about a very special place.