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From: "John"
To: phaedrus@hungrybrowser.com
Subject: Rich's Japanese Fruitcake Recipie
Date: Monday, January 09, 2012 3:31 PM
According to this AJC newspaper article (Atlanta Journal/Constitution) Both the true Rich's Japanese Fruitcake and Coconut cake recipes
were given to this gentleman by the head of the Rich's baking department. It does not however give the recipes.
https://m.ajc.com/eveningedge/content/living/food/stories/2007/04/06/0408cake.htmling
If you could track down this person and print the recipes that would please a great many people I am sure.
Thanks In Advance
John
Hello John,
The three leads that were in that article were:
Carl Dendy
Jim Auchmutey
Jonathan Lacrosse
Mr. Dendy was the former bakery manager for Rich's Bakeshop. I could not
find anything regarding Mr. Dendy that was more recent than that 2007
article, no way to contact him. If he is still with us, he would be in his
eighties. As that article states, he had the Rich's coconut cake recipe, but it was
unusable for home use. He recreated the recipe for home use, it was published
in the Atlanta Journal Constitution, and I sent you a link to the recipe :
Rich's Coconut Cake
Mr. Auchmutey was the author of the 2007 article that was in the "Atlanta
Journal Constitution". I wrote to him at his AJC e-mail, but the e-mail
bounced back "no such mailbox", probably because he left the AJC in 2010
when the paper was re-organized. He is now a freelance food writer and a
contributing editor for "Atlanta Magazine". He has a Facebook page, and
I wrote to him via Facebook, but he has not replied. I could not find
another e-mail address for him.
Jonathan Lacrosse was the architect mentioned in the article. It was he who
contacted Mr. Dendy seeking the recipes. He is a noted Atlanta architect
with the firm of D. Stanley Dixon Architect. He also teaches or previously
taught architecture at Georgia Tech University. I was unable to find an
e-mail address for him except at Georgia Tech. I wrote to his e-mail address
at Georgia Tech, but my e-mail bounced back "no such mailbox". He may no
longer teach there. I could find no other e-mail address for him. He, too,
has a Facebook Page. I wrote to him via Facebook, but have received no
reply. The 2007 article said that Mr. Dendy gave him the Japanese Fruit Cake
recipe, but he has apparently never posted it anywhere. I did not find it
in back issues of the AJC.
I do not know of any further way to pursue this request. I may still hear
from Mr. Lacrosse or Mr. Auchmutey, but I am not optimistic.
Phaed
From: Joseph
Sent: Sunday, January 15, 2012 12:52 PM
To: phaedrus@hungrybrowser.com
Subject: Famous Only in Our Little Corner of the World
Dear Uncle Phaedrus:
This is a very specific request, and I'm not sure if you will be able to help. I grew up in a small town in
Bergen County, New Jersey called Fairview, which is on the border of another small town, Cliffside Park.
Ever since I can remember, I have been hearing about the jelly donuts sold at a bakery named Schinkel's.
Supposedly, these were the BEST jelly donuts ever made. The bakery was closed before I was born but the
legacy of Schinkel's still lives on. Whenever I am around folks from my mother's generation, they always
wax poetic about the distinct pleasure that was a Schinkel's jelly donut. I am now 45 years old.
My mother is 72. Every jelly donut that has ever come into our house (and we love our sweets!) has always
been compared to Schinkels and none has ever come close (or so I'm told). I would love to have this recipe
and make them with my mother, who happens to be an excellent cook herself.
Here's what I know about Schinkels bakery: It was owned by a German man, Mr. Schinkel. He closed the bakery
when he retired, probably some time in the early/mid 1960's although this date is uncertain. He had one
daughter and neither she nor her father would give out this recipe to customers. The bakery was located on
the corner of Walker Street and Anderson Avenue in Fairview, NJ, opposite St. John's School.
Mr. Schinkel didn't have an extensive menu. He made jelly donuts, cheesecake, soft rolls, and apple strudel.
(At least this is what members of my family remember). He only made so many per day and when he ran out for
the day that was it.
Now for what they tell me about the donuts themselves: My mother thinks they were perhaps made from a yeast dough.
They were not "doughy" and the outside had a distinct crispiness. They were most likely fried and rolled in granulated
sugar. My great uncle, now in his 80's states that they weren't puffy but seemed as if they might have puffed while
baking and then shrunk upon cooling. The jelly inside was like red, most likely raspberry and more like really good "jam."
A great aunt says she had donuts in Amish country, PA that were close to the Schinkel's experience.
If you can find anyone who has this recipe or find recipes that sound as if they might be similar,
I will try them and report back to you. I know there must be other denizens of the Fairview/Cliffside Park area
who would appreciate a chance to experience the "Schinkel's Jelly Donut" again. Thanks.
Sincerely,
Joseph
Hello Joseph,
I had no success finding anything at all on the Internet about the bakery or the donuts other than just a brief mention.
I’ll post this. Perhaps we’ll hear something from a reader.
Phaed
From: Bob
Sent: Tuesday, January 17, 2012 9:55 PM
To: phaedrus@hungrybrowser.com
Subject: Harvey House Broad Street Philadelphia Eggs Benedict
It was cavernous. Open all night. Like a big cafeteria. In the 1960’sand 1970’s when we were young and the night was ending
at 4AM we would all go to the Harvey House for an early breakfast before going to bed. They had the best Eggs Benedict in the world.
Served in a stainless steel Cocquille St. Jacque type of oval dish with a rim around it. English muffin halves, Canadian bacon,
two perfectly poached eggs, crowded next to then Cottage Potatoes (fried potatoes but not lengthwise, cut into round slices which
must have been small potatoes or maybe stamped, I don’t know. Then the whole thing was smothered with their homemade Hollandaise
and then it was put under something like a grinder oven and toasted until the edges of the hollandaise developed a crust, then served.
I detected mustard in the Hollandaise. Not a dry spicy mustard but a rich fruity mustard.
I often asked for the recipe but the waitresses never knew it.
I am still haunted by the memory.
I have looked for it for years, I even spoke to Jim Quinn a former food critic in Philly. No avail.
Help!
Bob
Hello Bob,
Well, I am afraid that I must disappoint you. I had no success locating this recipe on the Internet or from any of our other sources.
There are several cookbooks that contain recipes from Harvey Houses and other recipes that are associated with the railroads.
That recipe or a very similar one might be found in one of those. These are all available at Amazon.com:
“The Harvey House Cookbook” by George H. Foster
“The Harvey House Cookbook: Memories of Dining Along the Santa Fe Railway” by George H. Foster and Peter C. Weiglin
“Dining By Rail: The History and Recipes of America's Golden Age of Railroad Cuisine” by James D. Porterfield
“Dinner in the Diner: Great Railroad Recipes of All Time” by Will C. Hollister
I am not sure whether the second in the list is just a revised, newer version of the first on the list.
The last two on the list are highly recommended by railroad dining “buffs”.
I’ll post this in case a reader can help.
Phaed
-----Original Message-----
From: Linda
Sent: Wednesday, January 18, 2012 11:45 AM
To: phaedrus@hungrybrowser.com
Subject: recipe, please
We used to go to New Orleans at least twice a year and there was a great
bakery, called Mr Lawrence, (I think) it was out on Chef Menteur Highway.
The bakery may have also been known as Mr Wedding Cake. We would call when
we got into town and tell them we were there and they would freeze at least
one of each kind for us to bring back to Dallas.
Their Red Velvet cakes were out of this world. They weren't full of cocoa,
couldn't taste or see it. Their frosting wasn't cream cheese but a fluffy
type and you could get them with chopped cherries on top or coconut or just
plain.
These Red Velvet cakes were the best I have ever had.
Some time back on the Food Network they did a Red Velvet Challenge and the
baker who won, made one that looked like what I am looking for but got no
response for the recipe request.
This bakery was sold to Gambino's and they make the very dry Red Velvet
Cakes with the cream cheese frosting and just not good.
If ANYONE has this recipe from New Orleans I would be so happy. Thanks in
advance for any help.
--
Linda
Hello Linda,
Sorry, no success. I'll post it on my site, but I see that you have already
posted requests for this in various places around the web with no success,
so I don't have much hope that anyone has this recipe.
Phaed
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