Friday, June 5, 2009

Eggrolls and Egg Foo Young

For this week's Postcard Friendship Friday I am recycling something I wrote about last summer. I hope you newcomers enjoy reading about a favorite restaurant and those who have read it before, I hope you will forgive me for not offering something new.

*************************************************************************************

If polled, I think my siblings and cousins would vote just like me on at least one issue...which restaurant would you consider your family's favorite while growing up. I imagine we would all answer at once without a second thought. Joy Young's, we would smile and shout in unison.


As a child I remember going there for many Sunday dinners. Once, the whole family celebrated granddaddy's birthday there, maybe his seventieth. It seems like we always ordered Chop Suey Chow Mein or Egg Foo Young. Thinking about that food has the power to make my mouth water still. Their eggrolls were the best I have ever eaten. One or two local restaurants have come close since, but no one has ever made them better.

Joy Young Restaurant was a downtown Birmingham institution beginning in 1919 and remaining there until it moved to another location sometime after 1973. I actually found a website dedicated to this culinary favorite. The site states the move happened sometime in the 60s, but I know for sure this is not true. How do I know? Because the downtown location was the site of my engagement and that was in 1973. We sat in a booth on the mezzanine. It was behind those brown curtains that he proposed to me. You can see the booths on the postcards. Look for the brown box looking things.

As I typed my memory of that engagement night, suddenly I pictured another family meal there. This one was on an Easter in 1978. Somewhere there is a picture of me and the boys at the table. I also remember taking my oldest son there when he was small enough to sit in a highchair. He probably wasn't much older than 1 yr. We gave him rice to feed himself. He made such a huge mess on the floor that we left the waiter a huge tip.

My boys, Easter 1978

Speaking of waiters, they had all been there for years and years. They wore red suits with big lapels (think bell hop in a luxury hotel) and their right arms draped with a white linen towel. The waiters were black men, no women, no Chinese, but the woman who sat in the box between the in and out doors at the front and took your money was Chinese. I remember she always wore her hair in a bun.

See the box thing by the window, the Chinese cashier
with a bun sat there and surveyed her domain.

Funny, the more I think about the restaurant the tinier the details I remember.

My ex husband had NEVER eaten Chinese food until I took him there when we were dating. He was so deprived. I felt it was my duty to introduce him to the good things in life.

When the restaurant moved, after 1978 it seems, we followed it. When I had my last son in 1984, my husband picked up egg rolls and brought them up to the hospital room. ( the new location was nearby) We continued to dine here with the family until it made it's final move.

So sad that good things don't stay the same forever. All that is left are the good memories and a few postcards.


The caption on the back of this 1930s circa postcard reads "Ole China wiseyman say: No can stand one foot on top two boat. Me, Joe and Loo sabe wiseyman wely good. Allo time take care me business lestland. No tly take notha man business. LOOK out good behind, take care, buy numba one good wegabel, meat any kind, take care cook, waita, dishwashy, no can foolem customa sasify, get plenty good flen." (the owner's American last name was Joe)

My, my, how times have changed.

68 comments:

  1. Fun post, Stevie! Joy Young's has quite a history!! My family loves Chinese, too, and we enjoyed many Sunday after church dinners at our favorite place.

    ReplyDelete
  2. My husband and I had a Chinese restaurant that we went to all the time before we were married, The China Pearl. We spent many a Saturday night there!
    As a family we got take out almost every Friday night from a local restraunt, The Mai Tai. We ordered the same thing almost every time.
    You have made me remember some very happy times.
    denise

    ReplyDelete
  3. A happy, memorable spot for my family too! We had many a family gathering there and just as many Sunday lunches.

    I love the postcards!

    ReplyDelete
  4. I really enjoyed this post! Thank you! When I was 19ish and working at Michigan Bell near downtown Detroit (Right across the street from Motown!) my co-workers and I frequently lunched at a Chinese restaurant. Like yours, it had been there forever, and the food was wonderful. The owner, a very pretty Chinese lady, would not give us our bills until our plates were empty or very close to it. Couldn't get away from Mom even at lunch! We sat there and pushed our food around on our plates to make them look as empty as possible.

    ReplyDelete
  5. When my wife and I first got married, I informed her that I didn't like Chinese food. She asked me if I had ever ate it, and I said, "um......no." We went out shortly after that for Chinese and I have loved it every since. What is great about Chinese is that you can eat it until you need wheel chair service from over eating, then, a couple of hours later, you're hungry again! Nice post!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Stevie, stop by my blog for a minute. I have a Blog in Bloom award just for you! Love your posts!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Willow, Sunday Chinese is a tradition for everyone isn't it?

    Denise, I really like both of the names of your restaurants. There is one here named The Black Pearl.

    Modgirl, which location do you remember eating at? I am still puzzling over the date the downtown location closed...hmmm, it was when the Tutweiler was remodeled...must look that up. Glad to know others loved it too.

    Museswings, I am on my way over to your place. Thanks for the compliment. That makes my day! BTW, Your Chinese lady reminds me of another restaurant here where we affectionately call the cashier, the Chinese food Nazi. She is very bossy!!!

    Strider, you sound like my ex. He was sure he would hate it. Proved you both wrong huh?

    ReplyDelete
  8. I love this post! What great memories. Your boys were adorable. I'm glad you have such good memories. The food must have been yummy to still make your mouth water. It looked like a very fancy restaurant to me. Thanks for sharing such a wonderful place!

    ReplyDelete
  9. I had Chinese take out food last night! It was my Mom's 86 birthday and although we had a big family party for her a week ago I wanted to have her over for the real day, and Chinese is her favorite treat food. When we were growing up all we ever had was wonton soup, shrimp chow mien and white rice ..lol!

    Thank goodness things have changed in many ways.

    Stevie are you anywhere near Meridian, Miss? You should look at the blog "A Picture is Worth a 1,000 Words" on my blogroll. Diane is a retired elementary teacher, and a lot of fun, and her post today is about a really nice art museum there that I think you'd like.

    ReplyDelete
  10. sigh. Yes, as we passed a place last weekend, where we used to go all the time and discoverd that it is now gone. Times do change. kinda sad to me. Course I know they can't stay the same, but still. Looks like it was a wonderful place, and I'm glad you have such fond memories.
    c

    ReplyDelete
  11. Oh yum! It's 7:40 am and you have me drooling for Chinese food. There are so many large chains of various Chinese restaurants around today, and most are pretty good, but none seem to have that flavour of the 60's/70's that seemed to accompany a small, independent establishment. I miss that. Fun post, Steviewren!

    ReplyDelete
  12. I'm glad you found the Bhamwiki article helpful. "New Joy Young's" did open in the 1960s, but the original seems to have survived until the 1980s (though I still haven't found any references to when that was). I've tried to amend the confusion:

    Bhamwiki:Joy Young Restaurant

    ReplyDelete
  13. Thanks for stopping by Rock Candy.
    Enjoyed reading the history of JY and happy family memories.

    Cheers,
    Candy

    ReplyDelete
  14. What a wonderful post, enjoyed it alot. Happy PFF!
    Debby

    ReplyDelete
  15. Nice post and postcards. Caption is great too. I loved picking up free postcards from restaurants when I was young. I have bought some from older restaurants I remember too.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Fabulous memories ... now I am craving Chinese food! Seriously. I am impressed with the American Chinese Restaurant sign .. an honest sign. Here every Chinese restaurant poses as true Chinese food .. not so, I know someone whose parents owned one of those and she told me NONE of the restaurants here in NYC serve truly true Chinese food ... she said Americans wouldnt eat true Chinese dishes ..

    Ah I see you are a Burn Notice fan, so is Husband!

    ReplyDelete
  17. A fascinating post! I love Chinese food, but we've never stayed in one place long enough for me to start up a relationship with one restaurant. :)

    ReplyDelete
  18. Ahhh! He proposed to you in the restaurant and brought you egg rolls after the birth of your bambino! What a guy... well.. except that he's you're ex and a big stinker. Why can't men stay nice! I could eat Chinese food everyday! My best friend in high school had to work at her parents Chinese restaurant Friday nights and over the weekend sooo the only way we could see each other and hang out was if I worked there too! I have the fondest memories of learning how to cook in the back with her father... I learned a bit of Mandarin too and felt like part of the family:) Happy PFF my dear!

    ReplyDelete
  19. Wonderful postcards. Wow! The coloring in them is just beautiful. Happy PFF!

    ReplyDelete
  20. What a great post with such good memories. Thanks for sharing these with us. Happy PFF.

    ReplyDelete
  21. Stevie, this was a wonderful deja vu post! Now I want Chinese food for supper instrad of the roast chicken I am making..lol

    ReplyDelete
  22. Awesome memories evoked...
    Thanks so much.

    ReplyDelete
  23. What a great story. A very great story. :) Thanks for sharing it.

    ReplyDelete
  24. I loved this the first time and this time. So cute. BTW, my daughter and I love Burn Notice. Did you watch Royal Pain right after it? We loved it too. Very clever.

    ReplyDelete
  25. Thanks for bringing me here again! The food's great and a nice romantic history

    ReplyDelete
  26. what a delightful story!! you are blessed to have such memories of your family.

    ReplyDelete
  27. what a fun chinese place to eat! and the writing on the back of that vintage postcard is hilarious!

    ReplyDelete
  28. Well thanks for that trip down Memory Lane. I always ordered the child's fried chicken at Joy Young's ! I swear!!! We were big on Britlings. I always got the meat patty with the pickle on top and custard pie. I'm hungry!!
    V

    ReplyDelete
  29. Wonderful story, fabulous postcards!!! Woohoo! Happy PFF!

    ReplyDelete
  30. I love Joy Young...I have found the closest thing to it in Birmingham is Chop Suey Inn...It's located in Homewood....813 Greensprings Hwy.

    ReplyDelete
  31. Hi there! I just wanted to ask if you ever have any trouble with hackers?
    My last blog (wordpress) was hacked and I ended up losing many months of hard work due to no data backup.
    Do you have any methods to prevent hackers?

    Also visit my blog post - Kris Letang Black Jersey

    ReplyDelete
  32. whoah this weblog is magnificent i love reading your
    articles. Keep up the good work! You recognize, many persons are searching around for this info, you can help them greatly.


    Here is my site - cheap nfl jerseys

    ReplyDelete
  33. Why users still make use of to read news papers when in this
    technological globe the whole thing is existing on net?

    Check out my webpage Sidney Crosby Jersey

    ReplyDelete
  34. Howdy are using Wordpress for your site platform?
    I'm new to the blog world but I'm trying to get started and set up my own.
    Do you need any coding knowledge to make your own blog? Any help would be really appreciated!


    my site :: NFL Jerseys Cheap

    ReplyDelete
  35. I enjoy what you guys are usually up too. This type of
    clever work and reporting! Keep up the amazing works guys I've added you guys to blogroll.

    Also visit my weblog - Going Here

    ReplyDelete
  36. Good info. Lucky me I recently found your website by accident (stumbleupon).
    I have book-marked it for later!

    My site: Cheap Nike Jerseys

    ReplyDelete
  37. Hi there! I just wanted to ask if you ever have any problems with hackers?
    My last blog (wordpress) was hacked and I ended up losing a
    few months of hard work due to no backup. Do you have any methods to prevent
    hackers?

    Here is my weblog - NFL Jerseys Wholesale

    ReplyDelete
  38. Hi! I could have sworn I've visited this web site before but after going through many of the posts I realized it's new to me.
    Nonetheless, I'm definitely pleased I stumbled upon it and I'll be book-marking it and
    checking back often!

    Here is my web site - Cheap NFL Jerseys

    ReplyDelete
  39. Hello! I know this is kinda off topic but I was wondering if you knew where I could find a captcha plugin for
    my comment form? I'm using the same blog platform as yours and I'm having problems finding one?
    Thanks a lot!

    Also visit my blog - www.wsmisports.com

    ReplyDelete
  40. This paragraph will help the internet visitors for setting
    up new web site or even a blog from start to end.

    Look at my web page: Authentic Mario Lemieux Jersey

    ReplyDelete
  41. It is appropriate time to make some plans for the future and it's time to be happy. I've read this post and if I could I desire to
    suggest you few interesting things or suggestions. Maybe you can
    write next articles referring to this article. I wish
    to read even more things about it!

    my weblog :: Abercrombie Paris

    ReplyDelete
  42. Hello to all, how is everything, I think every one is getting more from this site,
    and your views are nice in favor of new people.


    my webpage :: Louis Vuitton Handbags

    ReplyDelete
  43. Incredible points. Outstanding arguments. Keep up the amazing spirit.



    My weblog Louis Vuitton Bags

    ReplyDelete
  44. These are actually impressive ideas in on the topic of blogging.
    You have touched some good factors here. Any way keep up wrinting.


    Look at my webpage; wealthwayonline.com

    ReplyDelete
  45. Wow, this piece of writing is good, my sister is analyzing these kinds
    of things, so I am going to convey her.

    Here is my web-site :: Wholesale Jerseys Cheap

    ReplyDelete
  46. I really like it whenever people come together and share ideas.
    Great website, continue the good work!

    my webpage: Chaussure Air Jordan

    ReplyDelete
  47. Have you ever thought about creating an ebook or
    guest authoring on other websites? I have a blog based on the same topics you discuss and would
    love to have you share some stories/information.
    I know my readers would appreciate your work. If you're even remotely interested, feel free to send me an email.

    Feel free to surf to my weblog: Nike Air Max

    ReplyDelete
  48. Hello there! Do you use Twitter? I'd like to follow you if that would be okay. I'm
    absolutely enjoying your blog and look forward to new updates.



    Also visit my blog ... Sidney Crosby Jersey

    ReplyDelete
  49. It's very simple to find out any matter on web as compared to textbooks, as I found this article at this web page.

    Also visit my weblog; Chaussure De Foot Pas Cher

    ReplyDelete
  50. With havin so much content and articles do you ever run
    into any issues of plagorism or copyright violation?

    My blog has a lot of unique content I've either authored myself or outsourced but it appears a lot of it is popping it up all over the web without my permission. Do you know any ways to help stop content from being stolen? I'd truly
    appreciate it.

    My web-site ... Abercrombie and Fitch

    ReplyDelete
  51. It's perfect time to make some plans for the long run and it is time to be happy. I have read this submit and if I may I want to recommend you few fascinating issues or advice. Perhaps you can write next articles referring to this article. I desire to learn more issues about it!

    my web site ... Evgeni Malkin Jersey

    ReplyDelete
  52. In fact no matter if someone doesn't know after that its up to other users that they will assist, so here it takes place.

    Here is my weblog; Air Max One

    ReplyDelete
  53. This paragraph will help the internet people for
    setting up new blog or even a blog from start to end.

    Here is my web blog; Michael Kors Handbags

    ReplyDelete
  54. Hmm is anyone else experiencing problems with the images on this blog loading?
    I'm trying to figure out if its a problem on my end or if it's the blog.
    Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.

    My homepage :: Sac Louis Vuitton

    ReplyDelete
  55. I am regular visitor, how are you everybody? This article posted at this web page is actually pleasant.



    Look into my blog post ... Nike Air Jordan

    ReplyDelete
  56. I got this site from my buddy who shared with me regarding
    this site and now this time I am browsing this site and reading very informative posts at this time.


    My web page: Read This

    ReplyDelete
  57. This article will assist the internet people for building up new webpage or
    even a weblog from start to end.

    Here is my web-site; Christian Louboutin Sale

    ReplyDelete
  58. Have you ever thought about including a little bit more than
    just your articles? I mean, what you say is important and all.
    However just imagine if you added some great images or videos to give your
    posts more, "pop"! Your content is excellent but with images and video
    clips, this blog could definitely be one of the best in its field.
    Excellent blog!

    My webpage - Cheap NFL Jerseys

    ReplyDelete
  59. First of all I want to say terrific blog! I had a quick question in which I'd like to ask if you don't mind.
    I was interested to know how you center yourself and clear your mind prior to writing.

    I have had difficulty clearing my thoughts in getting my thoughts out there.
    I do take pleasure in writing however it just seems like the first 10 to 15 minutes
    are usually wasted just trying to figure out how to begin.
    Any recommendations or tips? Many thanks!

    my webpage: Cheap NFL Jerseys

    ReplyDelete
  60. Do you have a spam problem on this site; I also am a blogger, and I was wanting to know your situation; many of us
    have developed some nice methods and we are looking to exchange
    methods with others, please shoot me an e-mail if interested.


    My blog post: http://baixetud0.blogspot.com/2008/03/gatas-de-suplexloiraslindasemoflogshort.html?m=1

    ReplyDelete
  61. I seriously love your site.. Pleasant colors & theme.

    Did you create this site yourself? Please reply back as I'm attempting to create my very own blog and would like to know where you got this from or just what the theme is named. Kudos!

    Here is my site; Full Article

    ReplyDelete
  62. I comment each time I especially enjoy a post on a site
    or I have something to valuable to contribute to the conversation.
    Usually it's a result of the sincerness communicated in the article I looked at. And after this post "Eggrolls and Egg Foo Young". I was actually excited enough to post a thought ;) I do have 2 questions for you if it's allright.

    Is it just me or do a few of these responses look as
    if they are coming from brain dead people? :-P And, if you are posting on additional online social sites, I would like
    to follow everything fresh you have to post. Could you list every one of all
    your shared pages like your Facebook page, twitter feed,
    or linkedin profile?

    Also visit my blog post Soldes Air Jordan

    ReplyDelete
  63. Hi, its good paragraph on the topic of media print,
    we all be aware of media is a wonderful source of facts.


    Here is my website - Sac Louis Vuitton

    ReplyDelete
  64. Neat blog! Is your theme custom made or did you download it from somewhere?
    A design like yours with a few simple tweeks would
    really make my blog stand out. Please let me know where you got
    your theme. Bless you

    Feel free to visit my homepage; gartenteichpumpe solar

    ReplyDelete
  65. I take pleasure in, cause I found just what I was having a look for.
    You've ended my four day lengthy hunt! God Bless you man. Have a nice day. Bye

    Also visit my blog ... Learn More

    ReplyDelete
  66. We're a group of volunteers and opening a new scheme in our community. Your website offered us with valuable information to work on. You've done
    an impressive job and our whole community will be thankful to you.


    Feel free to surf to my page - Louis Vuitton Pas Cher (http://nysacpr.org/louisvuittonpascher.html)

    ReplyDelete

I'm glad you stopped by and I look forward to your comments. As Dr. Fraser Crane would say, "Hello, I'm listening."