I loved the Howard Johnson's kids menu. I remember all of the dishes had neat names like Mr. Cluck and Sailor Man. What I find to be interesting is now I hear constantly that today's kids only like chicken nuggets and frozen pizza. At Howard Johnson's the kids menu was just smaller portions of adult food--fried clams, turkey, etc. Generations of us ate it and loved it while sitting at a table and behaving. You had to behave or else mom wouldn't let us have ice cream. Funny, mom is a huge coconut cake fan (yes, the Pepperidge Farm one is excellent and we often enjoy it). However, she had no recollection of it being on the Howard Johnson's menu. She said-I guess they had desserts-but we never ordered dessert. Kids got ice cream with their meal, adults didn't. Mom said portions were generous so you didn't really want dessert. We vacationed at cottages that had a Howard Johnson's within walking distance. It was a big treat to walk over and get ice cream. On some nights when we had a simple supper at the cottage (complete with a kitchenette), we would go over to Howard Johnson's ice cream window. It was the highlight of vacation. I still remember it vividly.

• Reply