kay's smorgasbord
The sign out front is burned out and overgrown with weeds.
Dave and I went to Kay's for the first time ever tonight. Kay's Smorgasbord has been a restaurant in Oil City for as far back as I can remember but I've never been. Last week the waiter at Eat n Park said he went and was surprised at how good the food was and we should try it. So we did. Kay herself is now 94 and the buffet is only open one day a week - on Friday's from 5 to 8. It appeared she decorated the restaurant in 1950 and never changed a thing since. It was a unique dining experience - a place where time stopped. The music was Nat King Cole - I wished my dad could have been there - he loved Nat King Cole. I felt like I was back in my parent's house when I was a kid. Pigs wrapped up in blankets, sauerkraut and kielbasa, big thick hunks of batter fried fish, real mashed potatoes, roast beef, old fashioned mac and cheese, homemade raspberry pie, strawberry shortcake, mini eclairs filled with chocolate puddling, etc. You felt like you were one of the family sitting at tables with mismatched colorful vinyl tablecloths. I imagine most the folks there were Oil City regulars and a lot of them knew each other. People talked to other people across the tables. Dave of course struck up a conversation with the guy at the table beside us. But to me it was just so neat seeing the original decor from the 1950's. The black and yellow checkerboard tile floor, a huge mural painted on one wall, white padded doors with upholstery studding. At one time I remember Kay's was considered a fancy place to go. We did take one inside photo - the entrance way:
