Here's some of that old footage — in this case of Los Angeles in the late forties or early fifties — which someone has enhanced and colorized and they've also added a phony audio track. I love this stuff. You'll notice that the first area we tour has an awful lot of pawn shops in it and most areas in these videos have cafeterias.
I miss cafeterias. As a person with multiple food allergies, it's so nice to see your meal before you commit to pay for it. These days, you rarely see them and I can't think of one that still exists and is convenient to me. I used to like the Souplantation chain because their outlets were a little like cafeterias.
I also liked buffets for the same reason but since my gastric bypass, they really aren't cost effective. While at Comic-Con, I'll probably be breakfasting at my hotel's breakfast buffet where they charge something like $35 per person…and I'll be able to eat about as much food as I could get at a Denny's for eight bucks.
In the absence of a good cafeteria, the best I can do is a food court or a place like Farmers Market where you can pick and usually see what you want. The trouble, of course, is that at most food courts, everything — regardless of the cuisines being offered — tastes like that tasteless Sbarro's grub that's often your only option in an airport when you're in a hurry. Apart from the cafeterias, I'm don't see much that I miss in these videos of old Los Angeles but they sure are fascinating…