Eddie's, The Woolgrowers and Mings...food for thought

I'm hungry. Seems that thoughts of food from my childhood start to filter through my brain more and more these days.  Now back when I was a kid, Los Banos didn't have too  many restaurant options. Oh, I suppose there were more than I thought, as places like Carlo's, and Espana's weren't places we went to. I know I was the reason. I went  through a spell where all I'd eat would be hamburgers. Following that was Eddie's spaghetti, you get the idea.

Now Eddie's was one place we went to *a lot* and I loved it!! The decor was plain, the food not fancy, but boy was it good! The hot beef sandwich was something I started to really enjoy as a young teen but before that, it would be 10 raviolis, not 9, not 11, but 10 with just parmesan cheese. That was my obsession when I was around seven. As I aged out of that, I leaned more towards the ravs *with* sauce and cheese.  What an institution Eddie's was.

Another favorite of mine was The Woolgrowers. Talk about a different dining experience! First of all, one arrived at the restaurant by walking past the bar first. (Let me just say that here, in Utah, they would NOT let that happen! Alcohol here is hidden behind the Zion curtain, whatever the heck that is). Okay, back to the Woolgrowers. The meals were served family style. There weren't the small individual tables that most restaurants had or have. They had several long tables and once your party arrived, the hostess would escort you to one of the tables where you'd proceed to sit. There were no menus, as the wait staff would tell you the entrees of the day. Lamb was always an option and if you were a smart diner, you'd go with the lamb dish as Woolgrowers was a Basque restaurant.

All you had to do as the diner was wait for the massive amounts of food to arrive: These items varied over the years but expect several salads, a green salad, a macaroni salad, a potato salad, then French bread, a tureen of soup, then plates of vegetables and lamb stew, followed by the entree. There was the ever-present bottle of wine on the table, just placed there, never requested by the diner. The dinner ended with a cup of ice cream and a cup of coffee. It's been decades since I've eaten there and I honestly have no idea if the restaurant is still there. I know Eddie's isn't, as the original Eddie passed away many years ago.

Another favorite of mine was Ming's Chinese Restaurant. Boy was that place popular! Sadly it closed down a few years ago and I'm sure that closing has left a huge gap in the community.

This hasn't helped. I'm still hungry.