THE NAKED CITY – with Miss Death, Jay Katz and Coffin Ed
DEATH IN AMERICA
Just back from a madcap week in LA, the Naked City’s Miss Death and Jay Katz have recently had time to ponder some of the cultural differences between the City Of Quartz and our own Emerald City.
Despite the proliferation of endless fast food franchises, Los Angeles, like a number of American cities, has managed to hang on to some of its classic restaurants and hamburger joints. Foremost amongst these culinary icons is the remarkable Cliftons Cafeteria at 640 South Broadway, which has been serving customers for well over 70 years.
You won’t find Cliftons in any glossy guide book but its six hundred seats scattered throughout a multi storied mountain lodge style setting complete with Redwood trees and assorted faux fauna, provides a unique place to grab a bargain basement style meal. With a menu that includes fried chicken with buttermilk biscuits, oxtail stew, turkey croquettes and cranberry jewel gelatin, the motto still remains “Dine Free Unless Delighted”.
Sit in Cliftons for any period of time and you will witness the great passing parade of working class and multi cultural America, everybody from newly arrived Hispanic families to homeless skid row bums. Its benevolent policy has always been to provide a peoples cafeteria and rarely has anybody been turned away at the door, regardless of their appearance or lack of spending power.
Sadly downtown Sydney has manage to bulldoze just about all of the great egalitarian cafes and eateries that defined this city in the 50s, 60s and 70s. Coles, Woolworths and even David Jones once operated a number of cafeterias throughout the city with only the rather minamilist Woolies Cafeteria at Town Hall remaining. Even that is labelled for imminent demolition as the city is consumed by even more franchises and soulless modern chic.
Yeah, call us nostalgic if you like but if you are ever in LA, take a trip down to Cliftons are you’ll soon realise how good dining once was – free of the pretence of celebrity chefs, overpriced menus and snooty waiters but full of real people, taxidermed animals, a waterfall and even its own non denominational chapel. And make sure you order those turkey croquettes!
Jay Katz and Miss Deaths Passport to LA – Friday 16 July 7.30pm at the Mu-Meson Archives – Rear of cnr Trafalgar St and Parramatta Rd Annandale.
Come on a whirlwind tour of the City Of Angels with Jay Katz and Miss Death and their tour guide Neil Hamburger, Visit the Michael Jackson death house. the Reagan Mansion, the George Michaels sex toilet and the even more notorious. Then its off to South Central and the legendary Watts Towers and a spot of lunch downtown at Clifton’s Cafeteria, culminating at the Mexican markets for a day of the dead trinket collecting session and a visit to the Museum of Jurassic Technology. Plus lots lots more.
