Dining Out is a Learning Experience, One Plate at a Time

I was stuffed, along with everyone else in the family.

That was a good thing because Dad knew he’d gotten his money’s worth at the all-you-can-eat fish fry at Berlin’s in Frontenac. We were so full we wouldn’t be hungry at least until we got home.

It seems like there were fish fries everywhere back then. There were buffets, too, which often were glorified fish fries. My Norskie folks called them smorgasbords. It was cool because you took a clean plate each time you went back for more. It was like starting over.

That was about the extent of fine dining in my youth in the 1960s. However, dining out was a big deal in our family simply because we didn’t do it very often. In that era, Mom’s chosen career was to feed us. However, even she needed to get out of the house once in awhile.

We often drove to nearby towns to dine out just for a change of scenery and for the folks to be incognito for a short time, except that we sometimes saw more people we knew than strangers. They must have had the same idea.

My folks tended to avoid places that served liquor, which limited their choices. The better-known restaurants in Red Wing, such as at the St. James Hotel and Nybo’s, must have been too expensive for our family group, which could be as many as seven. Those places were right across the street from each other back then. They were mysterious to me since I’d only seen photos of their interiors.

I really don’t remember eating at restaurants very often in my youth. You know, real restaurants where you got to hold a menu, choose (almost) anything you wanted and have it served to you at your table. When we did eat at a restaurant, it was probably because Mom had coupons for a family discount. Probably on the fish. We certainly wouldn’t get to order steak. Steak was expensive and Mom didn’t want us to realize how a good steak is supposed to look and taste. But we could see and smell the steaks others were savoring so we knew they must be good.

I didn’t know what a doggie bag was until after I got married because everyone I ate with cleaned their plates. There were never any leftovers. It would be risky anyhow, taking some food home only to find out later that one of your brothers ate it. Somehow, I even thoughtyou weren’t allowed to take leftovers home. And there were no doggie bags at fish fries and buffets. You took home only what you could consume on the premises. 

My folks were always wary of spicy food so I’m not sure if they would have taken us to a Chinese or Mexican restaurant. It didn’t matter. There weren’t any in Red Wing back then. Friday night was really the only night we dined out. A Saturday night dinner out was risky because if it didn’t agree with you, it could leave you less than charitable at church on Sunday.

I barely knew what pizza was and didn’t know until high school that there were any pizza restaurants in town. This is because we never ate pizza until you could buy it frozen from the grocery store for a couple bucks. Mom’s one effort at making pizza from a can was not well received.

The first time I had Chinese takeout was when visiting some relatives in Minneapolis. It was the tastiest food I’d ever eaten, at least for a day. When a Mexican restaurant opened here, we stood in line to get a table. These dining options didn’t arrive until I was older and could drive to them myself. But since I had to pay my way, it wasn’t very often until after I was married and always had someone to dine with.

Maid-Rite loose meat sandwiches were available and you could get a hamburger at sit-down restaurants, but fast food didn’t really arrive until Randy’s Restaurant opened in 1969. We stood outside the order window in any weather just to get a hamburger, fries and a chocolate shake. There was no indoor seating back then, so we took it home or just ate in the car.

When our kids were young, dining out made them happy, at least for a little while. It was also convenient for Catherine to take the kids out when I was traveling for work. By then, Red Wing had numerous chain and ethnic restaurants to choose from.

Eventually, the kids wanted to eat only at places they’ve seen advertised on TV. They’d whine about it all the way to the fish fry. Then, once they smelled the food, they quickly forgot about anything but the food choices in front of them.

So here we are, years later, kids grown and gone. Catherine loves to dine out even more now. Good food, no dishes to wash and she could try something she wouldn’t likely make at home.

She especially likes trying out unique, trendy restaurants. But we’ve learned that they can come and go so if you like trying different food and atmosphere, dine there before they disappear.

I look for the fish fries and buffets. They never disappear.