Customer Reviews

The Automat: The History, Recipes, and Allure of Horn & Hardart's Masterpiece

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

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.

This is it! Finally, a history of Horn & Hardart, annotated and with many sharp, detailed photographs. While attractive and of very high quality, it's much more than a coffee table book.

There's lots of first-person anecdotes that fill in the blanks for me. There's a full account of how the business operated, from its humble beginnings to its unfortunate demise. The numbers are very impressive, both in terms of the number of Automats, and the number of people served daily in New York City and Philadelphia. The account of the operation of the main commissary is fascinating , especially the automation of the pie-baking.

But the personal recollections define what the Automats really were all about. The hot-water-and-ketchup-as-tomato-soup story is one I remember the most about how the Depression-era masses found refuge at the Automat. But this isn't all. The famous and the movie stars who frequented the Automats is another very special part of the story. Whether the Automat was part of the plot, or sometimes even the shooting location, you will love reading about it and seeing the beautiful photographs in the book.

Don't forget about the recipes. There's many original Horn & Hardart recipes in the book, even tested by a nutritionist! I will definitely try some of them. I recollect an orchard owner in upstate New York who would transport and sell his fresh produce directly to Horn & Hardart. I seem to recall that he told me they insisted on using real pumpkins for making their pumpkin pie, instead of using the easier ingredient of squash.

This book is the perfect antidote to the events of 9/11. I couldn't help but think how heartbroken and insulted all the gritty former Automat patrons were after witnessing how 9/11 forever changed their city.

As a one-time performer on the Horn & Hardart Children's Hour, I was pleased to see a chapter included on the longtime radio and TV production. I had forgotten all about Mr. and Mrs. Broza, the producers. I was also a regular diner at the Reading Station Automat when I was a kid, and the book really brought back some memories as well as providing lots of information about Horn & Hardart I never knew. It appears to be well-researched and honest, even covering the sad last days of the company, with their union troubles and hit-and-miss attempts to keep up with the market. The recipes are much simpler than I would have imagined, and I anticipate giving them a try. Criticisms: The book is wretchedly over-designed. Dense color screens over photos, opaque text boxes on top of photos, tiny typefaces in white over color or black backgrounds and too many frou-frou typefaces make it a challenge to read. The photos could have been bigger and better. Assuming the photos or illustrations exist somewhere, the book would have benefited from a closer look at the Automat vending machines themselves and the backstage areas, and I don't think there was a single one of the huge commissary kitchens where the food was actually prepared. The authors, for example, mention the unique dolphin coffee vending spouts repeatedly, but fail to provide a decent illustration or photo of one.

This is a wonderful book. It is produced magnificently. Absolutely beautiful. Slick pages, clear pictures, excellent text; a total package.

The inside of the covers has old items with nostalgic prices on it. Oh how they make me miss the automat.

The writing is fine, covering the automat from many perspectives. The business end, the customers end, the attraction of the automat. Famous people tell about their feelings and experiences about the automat. Many many different experiences and views concerning this most unique and popular of restaurants.

If you ever ate at the automat, and miss not being able to go there again, then this book will send you down memory lane something fierce. I remember the automat with great fondness (loved the one near Grand Central Station) and this book really enhanced my memories and made them more vivid.

Even people who have never been to the automat may find this book interesting. It is not overly long, and is well designed with pictures spaced throughout the book, so that it is never a chore to look at or read. Certainly as a gift item, this is a fabulous choice.

The automats are not around anymore, but this delicious book can definitely bring your mind and heart there for a little while.

Look at the pictures of the food behind the glass windows, the spaced out tables, the fronts of the buildings. These photos bring back such memories that I wish I could grab a few nickels and open a few food windows again, sit down and meet some friends.

This book even has recipes from food sold at the automat. Whether or not you will try to cook them, they are interesting too. A very intimate and comprehensive, yet not overly full book. It has the exact proportion of components to make a fantastic memory lane book.

There is no way that you will regret making the purchase of this book. Just make sure that you have a box of tissues nearby, because it is sure to stir such emotions that you just might shed a tear or two, by having it all brought to life again.

Wonderful place to eat, and meet, and a wonderful book for yourself or as a gift.

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.

Five stars for nostalgia, three stars for content.

This book brought back memories and for that it gets five stars. The Automat was the best part of our trips to Manhattan, even beating out the Museum of Natural History. I don't remember the food at all but putting those coins in the slots and picking up my prize will be forever etched in my mind. My main problem with the content is how it is organized. I found it choppy and at times hard to follow. The text can go from the 40s to the 60s and back to the 30s all on one page.
It appears to be a compilation of notes and facts without much order or flow. Buy it for the memories and you'll get what you pay for. If you're looking for more, you'll be as disappointed as you'd be if you tried to get a nickle lunch today.

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.

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.

I was actually looking forward to this book. But it's a real disappointment. It's very small in size, the photos are tiny for the most part and the text and captions are difficult to read. I'm surprised that Clarkson Potter would produce a book like this. I grew up in Philly going to Horn and Hardarts and I was hoping the book would also deal more with the Philly automats, but it is centered more on New York automats and very boring celebrity quotes. Who really cares what Tony Curtis says about eating there. I feel I gottaken...BTW I didnt buy it from Amazon but used from another online book vendor. My advice is save your money. It's not a fun read -- if you can even read it.

I have only the fondest memories of Saturday lunches with my Mom at the Automat; Marianne Hardart brought these memories back to life for me. Her book is a wonderful testimonial to two men whose concept on how to feed and treat their customers is worthy of "rebirth" today. It is a "must read." An added bonus is getting the recipes for some of my childhood favorites.