Angelo's Atom Bomb

We've met Angelo before, a young immigrant who made himself a celebrity chef in the 1930s. In this postcard, a Mr. has been added as a sign of professional respect, but also in a style my wife has seen used in Greek restaurants -- "Mr" being formal, but the use of the first name being more casual and inviting from someone whose food you trust enough to eat.

By the time this postcard was created, his fame and power had reached a world-shattering degree: the caption states that his recipe for spaghetti meat-sauce was "almost as secret as the atom bomb." Note that it doesn't use the Bomb as a comparison for quality of strength (although I'm sure, in modern terms, it was 'da bomb'), but instead comparing to the secret. This helps place the age of the post card a bit better: I'd previously figured this was 1940s, and since the postcard alludes that the atom bomb (first tested in 1945) was still considered a hidden secret known to only the U.S., this postcard may be from as late as 1950 but probably not much after.

I also must remark (probably in the naivetie of a Northerner) that I am impressed both postcards show Angelo's staff to be composed entirely of Black chefs. While they're referred to as 'assistants,' in the cooking world where the chef whose name is on the sign over the door is par to a king in a restaurant kitchen it's still quite a title. For his assistants be used as a key portion of the restaurant's advertising, both in the photo and referenced in the text on both cards, must show Angelo saw the importance of his staff both in the kitchen and to the rest of the world, rather than devaluing them as just the negro help.

Bud's Chicken Take-Out

Bud's, according to their website, has been in the takeout business since 1957, slingin' food from one location until 1976. This postcard, I believe, is that second location -- it's not a photo, but an artist's rendering: those people look a bit too mannequinny for to be real, copied right out of Entourage. The design is very seventies, composed of futuristic curves, floor-to-ceiling windows, and smooth lines, combined with the ecologically-friendly wood shingles and lots of plants in the decor. The signs mimic the palm trees in the background, rooted trunks sprouting from the ground and narrowing towards the top, but terminating in huge, mostly-empty cubes proclaiming the product available.

According to the back, this location sprouted up at the corner of Worthmore and North Dixie Highway, catering to the "tremendous population growth" in South Florida. Bud's has grown to seven locations, but they're not at 2200 N Dixie anymore...that location has become a Dunkin' Donuts.

Angelo's Place - Gulfport Mississippi

The postcard assumes you know who Angelo is -- this fine chef was so ubiquitous that his first name was enough to tell all who he is. Emeril? Bah -- television was his tool...Angelo was known by word-of-mouth! This postcard is done in the style of real-photo postcards from the 1910s to 1930s, but appears to have been printed much later (and it's not actually a photographic copy). Angelo Xidis immigrated as a teen in 1915, opening his eponymous restaurant in 1935. This would seem to be about the right time for this photo, maybe 1940s. Sadly, Angelo's closed in the 1980s, well after the original Angelo retired, but the restaurant lives on in the numerous postcards that recommended his restaurant to the friends and relatives of a multitude of Mississippi vacationers.