"Sqwertz" > wrote in message
...
> On Mon, 09 Apr 2012 19:51:59 -0500, Lou Decruss wrote:
>
>> On Mon, 9 Apr 2012 17:17:08 -0700, "Julie Bove"
>> > wrote:
>>
>>>I used to get a Tin Roof at Farrells. They didn't call it hot although
>>>it
>>>had hot fudge and peanuts in it. I think they were Spanish peanuts.
>>
>> Farrells was a great place to go after basketball games in high
>> school. It was always a good time.
>
> Was Ferrells anything like Freindly's? Kinda like a Denny's with Ice
> Cream and better service. Looks like they dried up, at least in
> Pittsburgh.

No. I have been at Friendly's. It's more like a regular restaurant.

Farrell's was designed to be old timey even down to the wait staff's
uniforms. On the way out there was a section of penny candy. I think for a
time you could actually get some stuff for a penny. They also had what was
purported to be the world's longest licorice whips. My parent's didn't
allow us to buy the candy too often and I don't really think there was much
of interest to me there. I think they also sold some little toys and other
trinkets.

It was a big party place. People liked to have their birthdays there
because when the birthday was announced they would bang on a drum loudly,
play sirens, lights would go off and much ado was made at the table. The
same thing was done when you ordered specific things on the menu. Mostly
larger things. Like the big sub sandwich that my dad liked to order. Men
also seemed to like the place because of the large portions of food. Not
everything was a large portion but those things were available. I think the
biggest ice cream thing was the Zoo. It was a punch bowl with 30 scoops of
assorted ice cream. I think there were toppings on it. And little plastic
animals. Most people ordered it for a kiddy party. Even if you were a
picky eater, there was bound to be part of it you'd like. And for some of
the larger items on the menu if you could eat them yourself you would get an
award and in some cases get the item for free.

The menu read like a newspaper. One side was the lunch and dinner items and
the other was ice cream. They had pretty much every ice cream flavor and
every possible combination of toppings you could think of.

The wait staff was hired specifically to be loud and comedic. My friend who
worked there didn't always do so well because people didn't always get his
humor. Like when he said to the woman named Jane, "Jane you ignorant slut!"
People might not even get it now but at the time it had been a line that had
aired a week or two back on SNL, back when it actually was funny. I can't
remember the exact skit now but Jane Curtain was in it and it had in fact
been funny.

They also had soda water for a penny. I don't think too many people ordered
it. I tried it as a kid and didn't like it but I do like it now. I do
prefer a slice of lemon or lime in it.

The only other similar place that I know of was the Great American Food And
Beverage Company. They were not so much an ice cream place but they did
have ice cream on the menu. They did have a singing wait staff and they did
make much to do if you ordered certain things on the menu. The difference
was that in that place *all* of the food was huge. You either had to be a
big eater, plan to take something home, or plan to share things. We almost
always shared. In many cases we would go as a group of 4 or 5 and just
split one meal and one dessert. That is how large the food was. They even
had simple food that was large. Like donuts and sweet rolls. I can't say
that it was overly good food. Not bad food. Certainly not gourmet. It was
a place where you went for the atmosphere. Very appealing to high school
and college students.