LET THE FEAST BEGIN
By Chuck Graham, TucsonStage.com
To help get through the coronavirus crisis Bernice Chesi and I want to encourage you to dine out now and then in the comfort of your own social-distance observing home.
Each weekend we are going to order out dinner from an iconic local restaurant, create as much of a restaurant atmosphere as possible at home, pretend we are dining out and report on the experience!
Even though some restaurants will be re-opening soon under restricted conditions, some Tucsonans will prefer to wait awhile and see what happens. Enjoying another carryout meal or two at home may be just the ticket.
Bernice Chesi and Chuck Graham dressed for the 1950s and masked for 2020, toast Little Anthony's Diner with their coffee flavored milk shakes.
Sure the city's usual entertainment venues still have empty stages, but darn it, you need something special to do on a Friday or Saturday night.
What about sitting in your car, ready to doo-wop till you drop, singing along with Elvis, “Don't step on my blue suede shoes?”
Elvis is rocking behind the red velvet rope.
Or maybe a breathy “Hey, Daddy, I want a diamond ring, bracelets, everything...” right along with Marilyn Monroe, flowing with glamorous stage moves straight on through to “Diamonds Are A Girl's Best Friend.”
Marilyn dreams of her best friend, diamonds.
Even if you became a teenager well after the 1950s were over, everybody is familiar with that Fabulous Bobby Soxer Fifties spirit. Who hasn't seen “Happy Days” on TV.
No one in Tucson is more dedicated to preserving those poodle-skirt years than Tony Terry, the energizer bunny behind all the Gaslight Theatre's entrepreneurial enterprises, including Little Anthony's Diner – where the golden oldies juke box still rules and ordering a chocolate malt is considered very sophisticated.
Determined not to stop his own merry-go-round just because COVID-19 has brought everything else in Tucson to an abrupt halt, Terry and Little Anthony's decided to take their act outdoors, singing and dancing on their new patio stage. People can stay in their cars, order food favorites from their own adolescence, crank up those dashboard speakers and party like its 1957.
Instead of just picking up a sack of burgers and fries to return home, now you have choices. Reaching back in time to the iconic drive-in Car Hop Service tradition, servers (appropriately masked and gloved) will arrive at your window, dressed in snappy car hop attire straight from that decade when everything that was important happened in your car.
The move makes perfect sense. Indoors, Little Anthony's already had the 1950s menu, the music and the entertainers. Now along with offering curbside pickup (daily), the eastside restaurant on Fridays and Saturdays presents, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., Elvis and Marilyn stepping out onto a red velvet roped patio stage set up next to the diner's entrance to sing songs that were sock hop favorites back when blackboards were actually black.
But instead of those tinny speakers from the old days, Marilyn and Elvis remind you to tune the car radio to station 101.1 FM. They sing along to pre-recorded music tracks and the broadcast sound quality coming through to your car is pretty good, clear and solid with fat bass tones.
The process of ordering food and getting a reserved parking spot for this time machine experience is all done online before you leave home at www.littleanthonysdiner.com, or by calling 520-296-0456.
There is no extra cover charge for the performance. It's complimentary in the togetherness spirit of surviving the coronavirus quarantine while staying safe.
Even the marked off parking spaces are spread out, so the cars themselves maintain the suggested six feet of social distance. Parking lot attendants are on hand to greet you and make it easy for everyone. Yep, they wear masks, too.
Of course we had to don some 1950s garb to get ourselves into the spirit, loosen up our bodies and remember what it felt like to twist the night away. The evening we were there, one couple turned the bed of their pick-up truck into a dance floor.
After every number, all the cars are encouraged to honk their horns. Getting into the spirit, COVID or no COVID, is pretty easy.
As for the food, a substantial amount of Little Anthony's regular menu is available, from snacks and sodas to those Blue Plate Specials and Diner Family Deals.
For old times' sake we both ordered milkshakes. They were killer. Extra-wide straws made it so easy to suck up those thick shakes you could get a brain freeze as many times as you wanted. Every shake comes with a baseball-sized mound of whipped cream on top, striped with chocolate sauce and a bright red cherry.
The Cheezie Burger, comes with your choice of cheeses and other toppings, toasted (or untoasted) bun, accompanied by a pile of crispy fries.
Bernice ordered a Cheezie Burger (with several cheese selections) and also appreciated the option to get a toasted bun. I went for the Chicken Fried Chicken, remembering those years when a special night out with a special date would include ordering a full dinner for two at the diner.
Thick slices of onion are inside those crunchy rings.
Going for completeness, we split an order of onion rings, thick slices of onion inside a tasty crunchy coating.
Every bite was filled with all the memories we expected. The portions are generous and everything tastes fresh.
One of the Blue Plate Specials, Chicken Fried Chicken, with fluffy mashed potatoes and home-style green beans. Several other sides are available.
Here's an (adult-sized) tip, though. Bernice brought along two kiddie-type lap trays which were very helpful. Trying to cut up food on a plate sitting on your lap isn't easy. Eating a chicken fried steak with your fingers isn't easy, either.
The best part, really, is how Elvis and Marilyn can make a night at the drive-in seem special. Sitting in your car, seeing them through the windshield while you're sipping on a milkshake, hearing the music up close and real, there is definitely an extra connection going on. A true sense that, indeed, we've already survived a lot in life and we will survive this, too.
No comments:
Post a Comment