Recently I was looking over some of the comments my readers have left over the years and I realized that saying thanks is way overdue.
I’m flattered and pleased that my readers and followers are so kind – and so smart! They have sent praise, suggested new topics, asked good questions, and gently corrected me. They have added to my understanding of many of the places, people, and situations I’ve written about. Some have loaned me images or mailed me books, menus, even restaurant china on a few occasions. Others have shared my posts, bringing me more readers. The number of rude or ugly comments I’ve received is minuscule, probably less than 1 in 1000.
I am grateful.
It's great to hear from readers and I take time to answer queries. I can't always find what you are looking for, but I do appreciate getting thank yous no matter what the outcome.
Restaurant-ing through history 
long live Graham Kerr! do a story about him
If he had had a US restaurant career . . .
We are the ones who owe YOU thanks for enlightening us – Regards – Mark.
Your readers are grateful for your stellar research and all the interesting and informative posts you provide!
Always enjoy your posts! Have a Happy Thanksgiving!
You’re very welcome.
I find your postings to be very interesting and enjoyable to read. I have another interesting (and very sad) story your readers might find interesting. It is a story about a fish- a monstrously large fish I once stared at at close range…
The fish was called Rufus and his fate is unknown to this day…
Rufus was a Pacu (a relative of paranha). I had an uncle who lived in Chicago. He had a tank with two (2) piranha in his basement when I was a child. His paranha were really ugly looking fish. I wouldn’t have wanted to see one in the wild. I was able to get real close with just a thin pane of glass between me and monsters! Rufus looked exactly like a paranha- a monstrously large paranha. The first time I saw Rufus, my eye was less than two (2) inches from his! He was bigger than my torso – ugly and scary.
Rufus lived in a fish tank in Rosemead, CA in a restaurant called Bahookas. He was so big, it looked to me like he couldn’t turn around in his tank! Rufus liked to eat carrots!!!
Bahookas was a tiki bar restaurant. Outside in the parking lot was an anti-aircraft gun. The exterior had a “South Pacific Island” appearance. Inside there was over a hundred fish tanks! The booths were richly varnished and reminiscent of shipboard bunks. Flotsam was everywhere. In one of the fish tank was one-half of a model of a WWII transport ship. The back on the tank was a mirror, so it looked like a full ship! I would just stand there and stare at the model. The fish in the tanks were fed by taking smaller fish from one tank and dropping them in a tank with bigger fish. We made the mistake of ordering our food at “fish feeding time” – my mother lost her appetite! I was there on the last day the restaurant was open – it was a very sad meal.
The restaurant specialized in exotic drinks and barbecue food. On of the menu choices was “yam” – not yams, a single huge yam inside its skin!!!
Rufus was in a Johnny Depp movie – FEAR AND LOATHING.
When the restaurant was sold (to a Chinese immigrant), RUFUS disappeared. The loss of Rufus was very controversial!
You can read most of the story by google:
Google Rufus or Google Bahookas.
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I sent you a suggestion a couple of years ago regarding the 1960(s) waitress uniform for Charlie Browns Restaurants. I’m still interested in finding pictures of the uniform. The uniform was a knee length dress open in the front with a huge white petticoat. The top of the dress looked like a colonial 1770(s) ball gown with considerable cleavage.
I saw the same dress (except the dress color was black) being worn (1983) by the cocktail waitress in the Chula Vista CA Loves Restaurant.
Thanks for the fish tale. Glad I wasn’t there! It seems as though I’ve seen the Charlie Brown uniform but I don’t have an image of it.
Tou and your blog are special! Happy Holidays!