Wayne Boatwright wrote:
> On Wed 17 Sep 2008 06:27:40a, Jean B. told us...
>
>> Wayne Boatwright wrote:
>>> No, I haven't, and I have tried many times. I do know it was made with
>>> a very sharp cheddar, and I believe it has a small amount of sherry in
>>> it. Additionally, it was served over a wonderful melba toast that they
>>> made there in the restaurant. It wasn't as hard as commercial melba
>>> toast, and was just a bit thicker. It was toasted 'til dry with just a
>>> bit of buter on it.
>>>
>> So, you have two problems--the Welsh rarebit and the toast. :-(
>> What restaurant was this? I wonder whether the recipes ever made
>> their way into print?
>>
>
> The Welsh Rarebit is the only thing I never was able to duplicate. The
> restaurant was actually the very lovely dining room of our most elegrant
> department stores, The Halle Bros. Co., in Cleveland. They had wonderful
> menus for both lunch and dinner.
>
> I can only give them partial credit for the toast. We had a local bakery,
> Hough Bakery, which is no longer in business where you could buy really top
> quality loaves of many kinds of breads. One was a white bread, square like
> sandwich bread, with a firm texture and sliced about 1/4" thick. I'm sure
> this is what Halle's used, as I bought it numerous times, lightly butter
> first one side and then the other, sometimes sprinkling a bit of garlic
> powder on it, then toasted it in the oven until completely dried.
>
> I can buy or bake good bread now, but the precise thin slicing would be the
> issue.
>
I see that this chain has been defunct since the 1980s. :-( I
guess the recipe has been lost forever. But have you ever posted
queries in local groups about it?

--
Jean B.