Chicken strips always taste better when served behind a little door
This evening, I had time to kill before Borat started, so I wandered around the East Village for a while. Imagine my surprise when I encountered a real live automat, in the USA, in 2006. It was called Bamn, which is not the most clever name, but I was still happy to discover it.
As somebody who occasionally wonders if he was born in the wrong decade, I've always lamented the fact that the automat essentially became extinct before I was born. I've seen them in movies, and it seemed like such a cool idea... very modern, in a completely retro, outdated way. I like the idea of a roomful of food, just waiting to be liberated from its little food prison cells by my powerful quarters.
I wasn't really looking for a meal tonight, so I didn't patronize the automated establishment, but I plan to give it a try someday soon. Upon arriving home, I searched around a bit, and found that, according to the Wikipedia entry linked above, Bamn just opened this year, making it the only automat in this country since the last one closed in 1991.
You never know what you'll find in New York. Maybe next week I'll stumble upon a malt shop and a telegraph office.
As somebody who occasionally wonders if he was born in the wrong decade, I've always lamented the fact that the automat essentially became extinct before I was born. I've seen them in movies, and it seemed like such a cool idea... very modern, in a completely retro, outdated way. I like the idea of a roomful of food, just waiting to be liberated from its little food prison cells by my powerful quarters.
I wasn't really looking for a meal tonight, so I didn't patronize the automated establishment, but I plan to give it a try someday soon. Upon arriving home, I searched around a bit, and found that, according to the Wikipedia entry linked above, Bamn just opened this year, making it the only automat in this country since the last one closed in 1991.
You never know what you'll find in New York. Maybe next week I'll stumble upon a malt shop and a telegraph office.