when my mother-in-law cleans out her cupboards, i get the coolest things. blue willow china, old black and white photographs of san francisco, vintage silverware. good stuff. my latest gifts are these old cookbooks. they are great fun to browse through. i'm currently reading (not pictured) "bohemian san francisco". it's almost 100 years old and quite the hoot. it's about restaurant life in san francisco pre and post the 1906 earthquake.
so far i've learned that mexicans are dirty and can not make good soup. who knew? and it was quite fashionable in restaurants serving southern food to have "darkeys" playing music during dinner service. different times, indeed.
i've been thinking it would be fun to check out the addresses of these old restaurants, book in hand, and see what is going on there now.