Forgotten Sustenance: Nutty Cheese Sandwich and New York's Greatest Era

 

New York of the 1950s could be categorized as a worker’s paradise. Liberalism of the era prioritized affordable housing, tuition and healthcare. Immigrants from war-torn Asia and Europe, penniless artists and thinkers from the heartlands came to build their American dream. This was the “Old New York” of the pre-Bloomberg era, a time before capital reigned supreme.  How did these strivers live, and how did they dine? Low-cost diners, public cafeterias, and lost recipes like Date Nut Bread were not glamorous, but sustaining for a day’s work.

The Nutty Cheese Sandwich comprised of Date – Nut Bread, lathered with cream cheese and served with “regular” coffee (cream and sugar, please). Served at Chock Full of Nuts cafes once ubiquitous in the city, it was a Depression-era favorite whose price mirrored that of subway fare: 5 cents in the early 1930’s, and 15 cents in the 1950s.

I made a loaf from a recipe posted by Politico: Lost Foods of New York City: Date-nut bread sandwiches at Chock Full o' Nuts (politico.com)

Everything I needed to make the loaf was in my pantry. I substituted dates for raisins, which I had on hand. The rich aroma of nuts and fruits filled my home as the loaf baked.  Taking a slice of this loaf and layering it with cream cheese made a creation that closely resembled a carrot cake, but with more wholesomeness than sugar. The outside of the slice was crusty, and the inside soft, but substantiated by the nuts and fruit. It was everything a hungry artist would want.

One might say that the fast-food dollar menu replaced the cheap restaurants of bygone decades. But what would your three dollars buy? Four slices of bread, two thin pucks of ground meat, and French fries. You would get your calories, but not a balanced meal. No fruits or vegetables would be served, other than ketchup; or a packet of jelly, if you ask nicely.

What did the cheap restaurants in? Foodservice wages have been fairly stable. Rents have gone up. Business overhead, to pay consultants and managers, has certainly increased in the restaurant sector. But the cheap restaurant relies on volume to stay afloat; I would argue that the critical mass of working-class and middle-class diners dissipated when it became too easy to put a “dining experience” on the credit card: Buy now, pay later versus pay-as-you-go. Yes, that rising standard of living.  In a more money-conscious era, diners would have prioritized nutrition and heartiness; while today, these gaps are filled by eating more.

Coronavirus: Americans’ Independent Streak Began in WWII

One New York Times commentator suggested that anti-mask advocates would’ve spent World War Two shining their headlight beams into the sky to liberate America from civil defense blackouts. They practically did. Through the middle of 1942, bright beachfront lights illuminated silhouettes of American coastal Merchant ships. The leisure economy was back, fueled by war exports to Europe and Nationalist China, and resort owners were loath to give it up. Americans were offended by the bombing of Pearl Harbor in December 1941, but were not yet in the mood for national sacrifice.

 Sheer losses of merchant ships along the East Coast changed the tune. Attacks by Nazi U-Boats began in 1941 before the US entered the War, and peaked in early 1942. Referencing the sinking of dozens of unarmed coastwise tankers, a poster proclaimed to motorists: “Think- Sailors have died to give you this ride”.

Despite the grim loss of life, rationing of coffee, alarm clocks, and sliced bread was lifted quickly upon popular demand. As pointed out by Kelly Cantrell in a dissertation, magazines during the War listed recipes with unrationed substitutes, such as corn syrup for sugar; but also featured lavish recipes- which were practically illegal on the basis of strict ration points. To produce a traditional Christmas feast, it was necessary to pool with another family, stockpile canned goods (against government policy), or purchase on the black market.

In contrast to Britons’ stiff upper lips in the face of Blitzkrieg bombings, Americans have a long tradition of flouting the rules, and it was certainly not limited to members of one political ideology.   

Ramble

The February metro pass is... olive green. That just had to be spoiled for me this afternoon. Anyway, my leisure literature called a big catalog came in by UPS today. Nice, free reading material with colorful pictures. I found my recipe collection from 5 years ago. It's called 50 Recipes, and from 5 years ago. Copyright 2003, CM inc. (old name for Jangoo.) Among them, Paradise Slush, the precursor to Shaved Ice. It's a smoothie in a blender. No point in saying that, however. But here is the uncensored recipe, which does not require you to purchase anything from my website.

Paradise Slush
2lb. assorted fruit
1tbsn. assorted spices*
1 cup yogurt
1.Mix yogurt and spices
2.Put fruit in blender
3.Put on liquefy for 30 seconds
serves 2-3
cinnamon, nutmeg, mint, etc.