We had standard dinner at home most nights in the 1950’s and early 60’s, with mashed potatoes, pot roast, liver, lima beans, and green peas. We were mandated to eat well, and occasionally dad stayed at the table until we ate everything. A few times we successfully hid food onto our lap.
Dad sometimes had an evening professional meeting in a restaurant, and mom would prepare meals for us kids, such as noodles, which dad would not otherwise tolerate.
When mom and dad prepared an evening dinner for fancy guests or a party, they sometimes sent me and my sisters to Elm Grove Pharmacy. We usually walked both ways, about a half mile. We sat on round swivel chairs and ordered standard food, such as hamburgers or hot dogs. We loved it.
Once in a while mom and dad took us to a fancy restaurant, which was in nearby Wauwatosa. We all got dressed up. One time, I licked my spoon, did not use it otherwise, and returned it to the table cloth. I then innocently asked dad whether the restaurant washed all of the spoons, or just those that looked dirty. Dad replied that he hoped that they washed all of the utensils. He had watched me.
A friend took me to a Chinese restaurant nearby when I was a teenager. It was not in Elm Grove, but it was close.
Home food changed a bit over time, and we even had Jell-O (Fancy!!) on some Sundays. After we bought a grill, dad sometimes cooked a great steak outside. I believe that dad got the idea from our uncle; when we drove to Haverhill, Uncle John cooked a steak on an outside grill. When dad asked him how long to cook the steak, he replied, “Seven beers per side!”
My conclusion: our food was controlled by the German and Polish members of Milwaukee, and by dad’s Swedish background.