Ebsen's seafood menu (~1930's)

Ebsen’s Seafood (Known the world over!) was the last restaurant located on the Salem Willow’s Restaurant Row. Established in 1885, Ebsen’s was traditionally a tourist’s last stop when visiting the Willows, until every building on Restaurant row went defunct in the Mid 40’s. While ten years of recession, the draft of all young men (and new factory labor obligations for the young women) removing any young lover dating/ desire to attend theme parks, Rationing of most luxury foods (like, say, fish and meat) and the largest and most brutal war in human history (so far) cutting down the European tourism industry all contributed to the fall of these restaurants, but personally I think it was the constant strange and mysterious fires that broke out on Willow’s restaurants that did in Restaurant Row. I mean, the titular Salem Willows were planted to give shade to a hospital for people dying of Smallpox. [1] By my rough (and entirely scientific) calculations, there is a 0% chance that there are not bodies under that park. Really, ghost arsonists are just the Occam’s razor answer.

Resteraunt Row consisted of Ebsen’s, the willow house, Swenbeck Park’s café, Downings, and 2 others. Other notable neighbors included stands for popcorn, famous “double jointed Spanish peanuts,” and the Juniper Building, that cleverly keeps it’s stock in the half of the building not located in a public park area (it being illegal to sell libations on public parkland.) Ebsen’s had the distinct honor of being the last restaurant on the row, and received an increase in traffic for this. Ebsen’s also apparently had a secret ingredient for their fired fish, “The inevitable trip to the Salem Willows for a shore dinner ended up at Ebsen's where Mrs. Cox learned the secret behind the famous fried fish served there: Before it was cooked in deep fat, says Cox, the fish was dipped in "fancy buckeye cornmeal ... No batter, no crumbs, no eggs” [Mcallister, 2]. Well, it’s not much a secret recipe since I found it in an article published 77 years after Ebsen’s and the rest of Restaurant row closed for business, but still.

Ebsen’s sold seafood, much like the other places on Restaurant Row. You will find the usual Massachusetts seafood Suspects- Fried Fish, Chowder, and, believe it or not, Lobsters! If you missed it, that was sarcasm about the fact that both the Ebsen’s menus in the archive depict a stenciled Lobster crawling from the depths of space onto the globe to devour America and wreck havoc for humanity’s pride (I think that’s what the art designs represent.) It’s funny that Ebsen’s uses a lobster as its selling point, because Lobsters have had a roller coaster ride of social perceptions. Back when Massachusetts was considered the frontier, Lobster was dirt common, ginormous, and until chefs started live cooking them in the 1850’s, not very tasty. Deemed fit only for the poor, prisoners, and other forced laborers, Lobsters became more luxurious the further west the American Frontier was pushed, as less people learned of the lobster’s social baggage, while it remained easy to store on the long train rides, and cheap to buy on the east coast. By the 30’s, lobsters had reached the social prestige it enjoys today (except for a brief period in the 40’s where, since lobsters were not rationed, canned lobster became a staple food on both the battlefield and the home front. by the 50’s it once again returned to luxury.) [3] The fact that Ebsen’s used a lobster is not only is a sign of its times, but it is one of many suggestions that this is tourist food.

As far as linguistic tricks, the Ebsen’s menus are unfortunately quite devoid of such sophistry. At Ebsen’s, you call a lobster a lobster. You will not see “granny’s favorite chowder,” but neither will you see “Omelette de suis un imbécile prétentieux.”Another aspect to Ebsen’s success and their adherence to the KISS policy (look it up) is the fact that they will get most of their traffic from tourists, fresh off the trolley and looking for that authentic new England taste. While the US was a powerful global player in the 30’s, it was not the center of the West it became during the Cold war era, so it would not be uncommon for people to come to America and not have fluent English as a second language. By keeping the descriptions Spartan and the food transparent, it means a tourist can look in their little pocket dictionary, and get what they want. In terms of Phonetics,(I’m no good at them) you have big round words and back vowels for main courses (LOBster, CHOWder) and all the fish are fried for that Synzesthesia quirk. Ebsen’s doesn’t really mess with names, so any critique on the naming conventions is more a critique on the English language than anything Mr. Ebsen did.

Bibliography:

“Salem Massachusetts - Salem Tales - Salem Willows.” Accessed March 24, 2017. http://www.salemweb.com/tales/willows.php.

McAllister, Essex County ChroniclesJim. “Essex County Chronicles: Salem Willows Still A ‘favorite Picnic Ground’ for Many.” Salem News. Accessed March 24, 2017. http://www.salemnews.com/opinion/essex-county-chronicles-salem-willows-still-a-favorite-picnic-ground/article_0baaa5af-a510-554a-b3a1-735d0f5f04a3.html.

10154714803974867. “How Lobster Got Fancy.” Pacific Standard, June 7, 2013. https://psmag.com/how-lobster-got-fancy-dab39dcf688a.

“Northshore Magazine - July 2015.” Accessed March 24, 2017. http://read.uberflip.com/i/514590-july-2015/74?m4=.

“Salem Willows.” Wikipedia, December 17, 2016. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Salem_Willows&oldid=755293485.

“Salem Willows - SalWiki.” Accessed March 24, 2017. http://www.noblenet.org/salem/wiki/index.php/Salem_Willows.

“Salem Willows, a Seaside Park with a Famous Old-Fashioned Amusement Area.” Accessed March 24, 2017. http://www.celebrateboston.com/day-trip/salem-willows.htm