Images of America Sale

See how Rhode Island's hard-shell clam industry came about and remains as popular as ever to this day.

Steamships once plied the waters of Narragansett Bay, carrying thousands of guests to feasts of clams prepared in every way imaginable at scenic spots like Rocky Point and Crescent Park. After hurricanes and pollution destroyed Rhode Island's soft-shell clam and oyster beds, the quahog became the state's favorite bivalve, and Rhode Islanders took to their automobiles and drove to the beach for clam cakes and chowder at the shacks and chowder houses that carried on the old traditions. Quahogging remains a major business in Rhode Island, where men and women continue to make a living from the sea. The long lines at take-out windows attest that the future of Rhode Island's clam shacks is secure as they successfully balance changing tastes with time-honored recipes.

Just the name The Varsity can set generations of mouths watering. What started in 1928 as one man's efforts to bring affordable food to students, grew quickly into a fast food institution. The world's largest drive-in since the 1950s, The Varsity's menu has changed little since Frank Gordy opened its doors near downtown Atlanta. It has set records for its vast quantities of hot dogs, hamburgers, onion rings, and fried pies served daily. Gordy was a visionary in developing both the food he served and how he served it. It is impossible to imagine the countless numbers who have enjoyed a heavy dog walking (hotdog with extra chili to go) or an F.O. (frosted orange shake) over the decades. The Varsity is also where the term carhop was first used. Servers hopped on the running boards of cars in an effort to get the orders in quickly.

Owners of the General Equipment company opened the restaurant chain Burger Chef, intending to promote their equipment they instead sky-rocketed themselves into owning the second largest burger chain in America.

Frank P. Thomas Jr., Donald J. Thomas, and Robert E. Wildman, owners of the General Equipment Company, entered into the fast-food business by opening a 15¢ hamburger restaurant called Burger Chef in Indianapolis in 1958. General Equipment was a manufacturer of restaurant machinery and built the equipment installed in each Burger Chef store. The partners started their new Burger Chef division to sell more equipment; they never could have imagined that Burger Chef would eventually grow to become the nation's second-largest hamburger chain and beloved by customers in towns and cities across America. Burger Chef continued in business until 1982, cooking its popular flame-broiled hamburgers and introducing its memorable advertising icons, Burger Chef and Jeff.

From the days when U Street was hailed as "Black Broadway" to the current revitalization and gentrification of the new millennium, Ben's Chili Bowl survived it all. On August 22, 1958, West Indian immigrant Mahaboob Ben Ali and his fiancée, Virginia Rollins, saw their dream realized as they opened a hot dog and chili shop on U Street. They never imagined that Ben's would become world renowned or such a beloved restaurant in the nation's capital. Today visitors to U Street will find a diverse and eclectic mix of residents, music venues, trendy shops, and, of course, "the Bowl." The images in this book provide a look back over the 50-year history of Ben's Chili Bowl, U Street, the Ali family, and the patrons who have helped define Ben's as a vibrant cultural landmark.

From the time the first handful of night lunch wagons served up their simple fare on the streets of the North Shore in 1890, residents from every social and economic standing have frequented these familiar beacons of hospitality and their descendants, the diners. Over the course of the sixty years that followed, the area's manufacturing, transportation, and recreation centers provided the hungry clientele who helped spur the metamorphosis of the humble lunch wagon into the sleek, efficient, and friendly eatery known as the diner.

Diners of the North Shore is a fascinating collection of many previously unpublished images from the golden age of the diner. Bearing names such as Hesperus in Gloucester, Lafayette in Salem, and Suntaug in Peabody, these eat-on-the-run oases provided their customers with not only a square meal but also an atmosphere as welcoming as one's kitchen. From the primitive Night Owl lunch wagon to the art deco-inspired Sterling Streamliner, Diners of the North Shore showcases each diner's unique character, along with the colorful personalities who ran them.

The Pig 'N Whistle restaurants operated from 1908 to 1968 at more than 40 locations on the West Coast, from Los Angeles to Seattle. These elegant lunch rooms in San Francisco, Oakland, Beverly Hills, Pasadena, and elsewhere were born out of the great 1906 San Francisco Earthquake when hotelier John H. Gage left Hotel America and the rubble on Market Street to make a fresh start. He opened a soda fountain next door to Los Angeles City Hall in 1908 and soon returned to San Francisco to open a second in the newly rebuilt White House Department Store. Dutch immigrant Sidney Hoedemaker became the chain's president, and under his direction, Pig 'N Whistle added Melody Lane, one of the first L.A. restaurants to open a cocktail bar, a development mirrored in the Hollywood film noir classic, Mildred Pierce.Restaurateur Chris Breed and partner Alain Hajjar reinvigorated the memory of the Egyptian Theatre Pig 'N Whistle by reestablishing the classic franchise in 2001 on Hollywood Boulevard.

Seattle's Historic Restaurants depicts an era of nostalgia and romanticism, and highlights historic photographs of restaurants, postcards, and menus. From 1897 to 1898, thousands of so-called stampeders came through Seattle on their way to the Klondike goldfields. Hungry stampeders could purchase a meal at the Merchant's Café (the oldest café in Seattle) or one of the many restaurants nearby. For the next 25 years, those who made it rich in Seattle were the restaurateurs, shop owners, and real estate owners. Famous local landmarks such as the Space Needle, Mount Rainier's Paradise Camp, Snoqualmie Falls, and the Empress Hotel are still here, but their menus and clientele have changed over the years. Local haunts like Ivar's Acres of Clams, The Dog House, Andy's Diner, Clark's Restaurants, Coon Chicken Inn, Frederick and Nelson's Tea Room, The Wharf, Von's, The Purple Pup, and the Jolly Roger are just a few of the restaurants featured within.