The blond-haired girl I picked up for my date that evening was the only girl I'd ever taken to eat at a fancy restaurant. I had dined with Ann once at Gus and Tony's Pizza and Steak House which was rather intimate and special even if we simply shared a pizza. And I suppose sharing a plate of nachos with Diane at Taco Bill's late one evening was pleasant.
I'd went to the Black Angus in Prairie du Chien one evening with some other FFA members and had a steak. I went to The Barn Restaurant (also in Prairie du Chien) the fall of my senior year with some of the Homecoming Court and ate fish in the big dining room of a converted barn with a nice view. I'd dined on fried clams with my family at the Cliff House Resort Motel and Restaurant. In my younger days, I'd even dined with my buddy Chris and his parents at the Heidelberg.
But I'd never really taken a date out for an evening of fine dining. Haute cuisine was not in my vocabulary. In my world, a so-called supper club was about as close to fine dining as I was going to get.
Jane was the only girl I'd ever taken to Livingood's Supper Club. I'm calling her Jane because she looked like Jayne Mansfield. Well, perhaps she looked more like Marilyn Monroe. But you get the idea. Jane and I had some history together. She was free and I was free, so it seemed like the perfect opportunity. Gus and Tony's may have been a safer choice. They had a number of items to choose from. Mabe's Pizza would have been a sound choice as well. Everyone seemed to love Mabe's Pizza. But how could those establishments ever match the ambience of Livingood's? The aura of this venue was going to thoroughly charm my date (HYPERBOLE).
Jane and I had dressed up a bit for this special date. That is to say, we didn't wear blue jeans. When we arrived, a waitress in a dark uniform seated us. I held Jane's chair like a proper gentleman (well not really but I should have). Our waitress asked us if we wanted anything from the bar as was the custom.
"Can I start you off with something from the bar?"
"I'll have a Jack and Coke, please. And my lady friend will have a glass of chardonnay."
Just kidding. We asked for a couple of sodas, and she gave us our menus. We decided to have their famous fried fish served family style.
I liked the character of Livingood's. The restaurant was dimly lit which accented the candles on each table. The walls were scarlet with some sort of black pattern on them which I believe is called damask. The table linens may have been similar. The most interesting feature for me was the faux fireplace. Even though it was fake, I enjoyed the fire glowing in the fireplace.
I'd been to Livingood's several times with my parents and sisters. I can remember the street of the small town being lined with cars on busy Saturday nights. At one time, I believe the cocktail napkins at Livingood's featured an image of the restaurant as well as an image of the local cheese factory on the edge of town. I guess they were proud of their small town.
When I was a little boy, I enjoyed drinking my pop out of a Collins glass and pretending it was a cocktail. I liked the big bowl of crackers they had to choose from at the salad bar. I liked the ones that were like small bread sticks so I could pretend I was smoking a cigar. I liked the carrot sticks and I enjoyed trying blue cheese dressing. I even ate the pickled herring. When I was served shrimp with a side of cocktail sauce, I had to ask my parents what the red sauce that looked like ketchup in the paper cup was. Livingood's often garnished one's plate with a sprig of parsley. I had to ask my parents about that as well. I believe I was told that it was edible but mainly for decoration.
Livingood's was also unique because its patrons were served a small loaf of fresh bread with their meal. I simply preferred the standard dinner rolls most restaurants served but the small loaves of bread were certainly distinctive. Livingood's was also novel by serving something called Boston baked potatoes (a baked potato thickly sliced and then deep fried). They also served french fries and baked potatoes, but the Boston baked were special.
A lot of restaurants used the term "supper club" in their names back then. For example:
Valhalla Supper Club
Nob Hill Supper Club
Wagon Wheel Supper Club
Heidelberg Supper Club (aka Heidelberg Gardens)
Food Ranch Supper Club
White House Supper Club
White Springs Supper Club
Pink Elephant Supper Club
I believe that my father once took his date (his future wife and my future mother) to Blue Heaven Supper Club for a nice meal. Blue Heaven!
Many interesting restaurants existed back then including the Red Lantern, Humphry Cafe, Fireplace Restaurant, Branding Iron, Red Vest, Pirate's Den, Riv Aire, and Pirillo's Sportsmen Club. In my college days, I would learn of places like Carvers and the Brown Bottle. One could find a lot of supper clubs and inns like the State Line Inn, Stone Hearth Inn, Fireman's Inn, and Ox Yoke Inn. Some restaurants used both names like the Highlander Inn and Supper Club. Some establishments were known as Such-and-Such Restaurant & Lounge. I even found an ad for Stone Hearth Inn Restaurant & Lounge. I knew of names like Nordic Lounge, Friar Tuck's Lounge, Fireplace Lounge, Horseshoe Lounge, and Spare Room Lounge. You may have guessed the Spare Room Lounge was in a bowling alley. I guess a lounge is basically a bar although it may serve food and have a more extensive drink menu seeming more upscale than a mere bar or pub.
A lot of steaks, seafood, and fried food were served back then. Promises of Alaskan King Crab Legs and prime rib. I learned that 1/4 chicken meant two pieces and that 1/2 chicken meant four pieces. You would have been hard pressed to find a boneless, skinless chicken breast in a restaurant back then. Many places advertised having a buffet or smorgasbord. Don't forget your choice of potato and of course the salad bar is included. All you can eat!
Unfortunately, the older I got the less I liked Livingood's. It wasn't their fault. True to their name they were a supper club. They focused on a limited menu and doing certain things very well. They didn't serve burgers expect perhaps on the kid's menu. They didn't serve spaghetti, lasagna, or pizza. They didn't serve diner specials like meatloaf, chicken fried steak, chicken pot pie, or hot beef sandwiches. I'm sure their steaks were great, but I didn't care for steaks. So, it seemed like I was limited to fish or chicken which I became tired of. Perhaps I should have gone there during the Lenten season when they served their Lenten Seafood Platter including their famous fish, delicious scallops, jumbo fried frog legs, and Louisiana style peeled shrimp with choice of potatoes and all you can eat salad bar. That would have been interesting.
A new proprietor came along at some point. He had a special oven installed to perfectly cook prime rib although that may have been after I went off to college. One other significant change he made was the addition of a Sunday brunch which was quite delicious and popular. But he kept the famous fish and the popular name everyone was familiar with - Livingood's.
Although it had lost its charm for me, Livingood's always had that air of a classy place. And I knew I had to take at least one date to such a nice place. Back in the 1970s a couple may have spent the entire evening at a supper club. They may have had a few drinks and a nice meal followed by some live music by a group like the Blue Flames. Perhaps they might even share the supper club staple called the Grasshopper Cocktail.
To make a grasshopper the Midwest supper club way you blend lightly 1 shot of creme de menthe, 1 shot of creme de cacao, and 3 scoops of vanilla ice cream. Top with whipped cream.
What would Jane and I do after dinner? Even though Frankville may have been a small town (village, hamlet) or even dismissed by some as just a "spot in the road" we could drive to the edge of town and sit in a small park with a playground and ball diamond and perhaps listen to Z-93 on the car radio. A 15-minute drive could get us to Moe Park on Old Stage Road where we could steam up the windows if you know what I mean. Maybe we could catch a movie in Decorah or hang out at Phelps Park or Palisades Park. Perhaps some dance hall or ballroom like Matter's, Dreamland, Lakeside, or the Inwood was having a teen dance. Maybe The Toe Tappers were playing somewhere or better yet the rock band Gemini. Maybe rock station Z-93 featuring disc jockey Brad Dinsmore was playing somewhere. But for now, I was just happy to be with this beautiful young woman in a classy restaurant.
Jane and I enjoyed our fish and Boston baked potatoes. We, of course, got to take a trip to the salad bar as part of our meal. She cut some slices from our small loaf of bread. I did not pretend my Collins glass of 7-Up was a cocktail nor did I pretend my breadstick cracker was a cigar. But I did feel quite grown up sitting across from this beautiful young lady in the candlelight with a faux fire burning in the fireplace nearby. I was right about the ambience. It was an enchanting evening.
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