Anyone Remember the Automat????

I was very, very young when I went to a NY automat with my grandparents. I was fascinated by the little windows of food. I remember putting change into the slot and taking out some kind of sandwich. It had the magical impact of The Replicator in Star Trek. It must of been near Macy's because I recall going there first to buy a dark blue winter coat with big wooden buttons. I also remember a scene in "That Girl" with Marlo Thomas where she gets a hot cup of water and puts ketchup in it to make tomato soup, I'm fairly sure this happens at an automat.

Yes, there is a new one in the East Village. It's very tarted up with lots of neon and yuppie offerings. I think the Mac and Cheese will run you $8.

Green Witch- Yes, I had not experienced this personally, but I remember stories about young people (many aspiring actors) getting themselves some "ketchup soup" at the automat.

I tried it once in my poor college days - yuk! Better to eat the free saltine crackers on the condiment table with a few of those half n' half containers for dunking.

I remember reading about the automat in the $5 a day guide before my first trip to New York with the hamburgers. I was so excited by the idea - and then the reality was amazing. Food behind little windows - a few times I saw them putting new food behind the windows

New York was sooooooo exciting!

I can remember this at Plymouth Planation when I was very young. Believe it or not - at Plymouth Planation, they used to have a cafeteria that you could go to when you visited and it was automat. The sad thing is I remember more about the automat (probably because it was so cool and I got to pick out what I wanted myself) than about the actual Plymouth Planation.

I remember my first trip to the automat, which was preceded by much hype. Not impressed. You put in your money; you get your food. What's the big deal? I remember my food (a sandwich) wasn't that good.

Yes, I was a pain in the ass even back then. Some things never change.

I remember the Automat, and that it was near Macy's. I liked it. I seem to remember pie, but not what kind of pie.

i got a tuna salad sandwich and blueberry pie. about '51

All I remember of the Automat is stories. Dimly.

I used to walk past an automat, but never stopped in.

I remember family adults admiring the technology, but being rather scathing about the quality of food.

Noddy- Maybe I was just a kid, and didn't know any better, but I thought that Automat food was wonderful!

I would expect that it was certainly healthier than the stuff that the kids eat in the fast food joints nowadays!

What's an automat?

Oh... this?

Phoenix--

I'd devoured a story about automats in the Reader's Digest and wanted to go to an automat in the worst way. Unfortunately the nearest automat was probably 120 miles away.

My father attended conventions in NYC and Washington and had a chance to test automat food. He was an adventurous eater and new-fangled delivery systems didn't make up for "candy butcher" food.

You must be talking about Horn & Hardart:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horn_&_Hardart

They even had reasonable Thanksgiving hot meals on Thanksgiving for those that weren't dining with friends or family, or perhaps were working that day.

The workers at the NYC Horn & Hardart all seemed like they worked there a long time. It was a place to sit and eat, and watch the world pass by if one took a seat by the outer glass facades.

It was open 24/7 and was known for its hot serving line, and the little windows with cake, sandwiches, or whatever. Also the coffee server was interesting too.

I think it reflected a time in NYC that harkens back to the black and white movies of the 1940's. It wasn't obviously a "good time" for everyone; however, those who frequented the Horn & Hardarts sensed, I believe, they were experiencing something that would not last forever.

There was another 24/7 cafeteria in Manhattan at that time. The Bellmore on 28th Street and Park Avenue South, where taxi drivers ate, was the cafeteria that Robert DeNiro frequented in his role in the movie Taxi Driver.

Anyway, compare the calm demeanor of patrons in the Horn & Hardarts, of that era, with the sometimes frenetic activity in a fast food restaurant of today.

we had an automat in our back yard.

You got theses packets of things from julie's and sprinkled them on the ground. then after a while there was food to eat like carrotts and lettuce and tomatoes. all you had to do was go out and pick 'em.

No little windows though.

I'd never been in an automat, but I always wanted to as a kid.

Oh yeah, I remember when That Girl made the ketchup soup.

Roberta, I guess for me, not being a city girl, it encompassed the mystique of "the city".

The idea of food appearing in little slots seems magical, to be honest, still does.
I mean, how did it GET there? Are there actually people back there? What's the process? Are they running back and forth, and someone shouts "Blueberry Pie Alert!!!!" when they realize they've let the supply get too low?

God, the excitement, the drama!

So I wasn't impressed. My mother had built up the automat for me. It could not have lived up to my expectations. Not mechanical at all. Put in a coin. Open a window. Take out the food. I wanted something to move. Nothing did.

But my biggest complaint was the food. I was (and am) a picky eater. I like things a particular way. A sandwich is NOT generic. What kinda bread? What kinda condiments? I have very specific ideas about this, and these were not satisfied at the automat. I probably would have been better off with something other than a sandwich, but, hey, I wanted a sandwich.