Steampunk Burgers & Assorted Fast Foods ??

[Hurricane Annie]

Another thread got my thinking cap twitching.

http://brassgoggles.co.uk/forum/index.php/topic,46608.0.html

What  form would steampunk fast food take? It is commonly referred to as Take Aways  in New Zealand.  I am sure other   places have other names  for food that you buy and take  somewhere else to eat.

After a busy shift rotation pushing levers, hauling coal , chasing kraken, keeping the dirigible aloft  - what would you  want to nip out and grab  for sustenance?

On a Sunday excursion about the town  , what would serve your prandial  requirements?

or  on rolling out of  your berth   after a night on the tiles and staggering  down  the  road   to soothe your demons.

[Hurricane Annie]

Squid rings  definitely  - as a side  dish or a Kraken burger

will club sandwich and sausage rolls be the next retro  revival?  Have a bash at a  sausage roll bar and  open a club sandwich. Box them up with string  for rail journeys . 

Ostrich burgers  for the safari minded?

[RJBowman]

There already sort of was steampunk fast food:



This was Horn and Hardart, AKA "The Automat", circa 1901 in New York and Philadelphia. More or less freshly cooked food items could be purchased from a wall of small coin-activated doors. Automat originated at the Munich Zoo, and was adopted elsewhere. In America I don't think that it got mus farther than the eastern seaboard, though I have a very fuzzy childhood memory of buying a hotdog from a coin-op wall someplace in Chicago, probably O'Hare Airport.

Having filled the market in New York and Philadelphia, Horn and Hardart expanded no more. Like an ancient emperor, they seemed to have thought that they had conquered the known world. And like an ancient empire, they were brought down by barbarians from the wild lands. In the second half of the 20th century they started to lose market share to the big fast food chains, most of which had been founded in the American Midwest. Horn and Hardart closed its last automat restaurant before the end of the century.

Some of the old menus are on the internet:
https://www.google.com/search?q=Horn+and+Hardart+menu&es_sm=93&biw=1366&bih=599&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0CAcQ_AUoAmoVChMIz_bNgt_6xwIVQXs-Ch1iTQ6A#imgrc=JejmAFc03ZVISM%3A

[RJBowman]

But the automat served pretty standard fare for the time, and only defines the setting in which meals might be eaten. Steampunk, to me, should be an extrapolation of the technology of the time.

The turn of the century was a time when the modern food processing industry was being established. Canned (tinned) foods were becoming common. The British Navy began to use tinned meats, which lead to adoption of tinned meats as a novelty food on British dinner tables. Yes, Spam is steampunk.

Packaged breakfast cereals were produced by companies like Kellogg's and NaBisCo using new mass production systems.

So there were plenty of convenience foods available for long voyages on airships and steam-powered land dreadnoughts.

And there was a scene in 20,000 leagues under the sea in which Captain Nemo has dinner with his captives and explains the origin of the food on the table. Undersea plants were served, and what appeared to be pork was actually dolphin. A traveling adventurer, like Nemo, might source his dinners from local flora and fauna.

[Hurricane Annie]

That is a comprehensive menu  for fast food. How long did it sit  there  waiting  for an order?

would such  comparatively healthy options  go down well with today's patrons ? Though I do notice  meat and salad rolls  with  a side of fried potatoes  do feature on the list  

[Hurricane Annie]

But the automat served pretty standard fare for the time, and only defines the setting in which meals might be eaten. Steampunk, to me, should be an extrapolation of the technology of the time.

The turn of the century was a time when the modern food processing industry was being established. Canned (tinned) foods were becoming common. The British Navy began to use tinned meats, which lead to adoption of tinned meats as a novelty food on British dinner tables. Yes, Spam is steampunk.

Packaged breakfast cereals were produced by companies like Kellogg's and NaBisCo using new mass production systems.

So there were plenty of convenience foods available for long voyages on airships and steam-powered land dreadnoughts.

And there was a scene in 20,000 leagues under the sea in which Captain Nemo has dinner with his captives and explains the origin of the food on the table. Undersea plants were served, and what appeared to be pork was actually dolphin. A traveling adventurer, like Nemo, might source his dinners from local flora and fauna.

I have read some  pretty gruesome Antarctic voyage dietary supplements

No part of the penguin was wasted.

[RJBowman]

From what I've read on the web, many items on the Automat's menu were selected because they could sit for a long time. Macaroni and cheese and baked beans were popular choices. They had a lot of pies.

When I worked in fast food in the 80's before the chains all switched to made-on-demand kitchens, we would prepare several of the most popular burgers in advance, and the burgers would be marked with an expiration time at which they were taken out from under the heat lamp and thrown away. The burgers were considered fresh for twenty minutes. The automat may have used a similar system.

[Hurricane Annie]

 

That would make sense.   Hot pies are commonly sold here  in gas stations and   dairies [ small local stores ].  Hot coffee and chocolate drink   come from machines.  There  is a selection of food that could be precooked.


[ it is just that some victualers are not too honest ]

[RJBowman]

An idea struck me last night of what might be another element of Steampunk cuisine; all of those exotic creatures from modern steampunk stories and from Victorian science fiction.

For example, the dinosaurs from all of those hidden world stories. And the giant animals from Food of the Gods. Someone might even bring livestock back from Barsoom and raise the strange beasts for the market.

"Burgers & Assorted  Fast Foods" is in the title above. Maybe I am wandering too far from the subject.

[chicar]

Some fast food classic invented| who existed during the steam age:
Chips
Fries Potato
Hamburger
Hot Dog
Pizza
Fish and Chips

[RJBowman]

Pizza didn't really catch on with the non-Italian market until the 1940's. It's a bit of a stretch to try to fit it into the steampunk world.

Does anyone know of any fast food or street food items that were popular a century ago that have been abandoned and forgotten?

[RJBowman]

Ask and yee shall recieve:
http://vichist.blogspot.com/2010/04/fast-food-generation.html

the vendors of fried fish, hot eels, pickled whelks, sheep's trotters, ham sandwiches, peas'-soup, hot green peas, penny pies, plum 'duff,' meat-puddings, baked potatoes, spice-cakes, muffins and crumpets, Chelsea buns, sweetmeats, [and] brandy-balls ... constituting the principal eatables sold in the street; while under the head of street-drinkables may be specified tea and coffee, ginger-beer, lemonade, hot wine, new milk from the cow, asses milk, curds and whey and occasionally water.

The coffee-stall supplies a warm breakfast; shell-fish of many kinds tempt to a luncheon; hot-eels or pea-soup, flanked by a potato 'all hot,' serve for a dinner; and cakes and tarts, or nuts and oranges, with many varieties of pastry, confectionery, and fruit, woo to indulgence in a dessert; while for supper there is a sandwich, a meat pudding, or a 'trotter.'

[Caledonian]

raw herring, perhaps?

Spoiler: ShowHide

or what we refer too as Rolmops. pickled herring:

Spoiler: ShowHide

both have been around in the netherlands since...1600 I believe.

[GCCC]

I don't know about disposable  bowls and spoons in the 19th Century (except, of course, for bread bowls), but I suspect soups, chowders, Texican chili and the like from a local street vendor would go down very well on those chillier days.

Anything fried and on a stick would also be good for "keeping" for a bit after preparation and ease of eating while mobile. (In Texas our big state fair actually has a contest for fried foods...Heart disease, here we come!)

Kraken chowder!
Bronto burgers!
Fried malagor-on-a-stick!

[Hurricane Annie]

An idea struck me last night of what might be another element of Steampunk cuisine; all of those exotic creatures from modern steampunk stories and from Victorian science fiction.

For example, the dinosaurs from all of those hidden world stories. And the giant animals from Food of the Gods. Someone might even bring livestock back from Barsoom and raise the strange beasts for the market.

"Burgers & Assorted  Fast Foods" is in the title above. Maybe I am wandering too far from the subject.

Between    the crocodile, snake, lizard , poultry from  , game bird and other descendants of dinosaur that are commonly cooked and eaten today  s from  street vendors and  bars - your suggestion is not out of place

  raptors  - very fast  food to catch and eat

[GCCC]

...raptors  - very fast  food to catch and eat

Wait, I thought that for 'raptors we were fast food...

[von Corax]

...raptors  - very fast  food to catch and eat

Wait, I thought that for 'raptors we were fast food...

Actually, that's "fast or food."

[Maets]

There are modern Automats

http://www.nbcnews.com/id/14553052/ns/business-small_business/t/revival-automat-features-modern-twists/



I just saw one a few days ago on the news, but can't seem to located it.  I California I believe. Use your smart phone to order.  You get a code that appears on a door that is your order.  Vegetarian only I believe.

[J. Wilhelm]

I had already introduced a type of easy DIY bread and Sandwich, with a Steampunk back story:

Luftschiff Brötchen und Cloudbrot (Admiral Wilhelm's own invention)

The Luftschiff Brötchen or Airship Rolls, are a type of filled sausage sandwich prepared among the Bavarian crewfolk known as the Luftschiffengel who serve around the world on military Airships

Luftschiffelgel Definition: http://brassgoggles.co.uk/forum/index.php/topic,20391.msg916296.html#msg916296

Background History: http://brassgoggles.co.uk/forum/index.php/topic,20391.msg923528.html#msg923528

The bread is similar to an "American Biscuit," in that it is more a type of savoury bread than a sweet bread. Sometimes the bread alone is known as Wolkenbrot or Cloudbrot (Cloud Bread), because of its unusual spongy nature.

To make Cloudbrot, all you need to do is dry-mix 50% all purpose wheat flour and 50% buttermilk pancake mix - the type that only requires water and nothing else. This is a "no-knead" type bread, so there is no period for rising and in fact you will use a large wooden spoon to prepare the dough.  You mix the flour mix with a pinch of cracked black pepper and salt to taste, and using a wooden spoon add water until it coalesces into a single mass made of sticky dough - so the dough is wet enough to stick to everything, but otherwise rather dense and unkneaded.

For a large roll (2 servings) use 1/3 cup of flour and 1/3 cup pancake flour, preferably using Buttermilk pancake flour and with 1/2 teaspoon of crushed pepper and similar of Kosher salt. Sprinkle plenty of flour onto a baking sheet and place the dough in the centre of the sheet and sprinkle plenty of flour on top.  Do not be afraid to use a lot of dry flour - the dough is very sticky and you will need all the "dust" you can to keep the bun from sticking and in shape.

Bread alone with no filling: Wolkenbrot / Cloudbrot

A suggestion is a rectangular shape for the bun. After the (2-serving) bun is shaped on the baking sheet, place a slice of butter on top of the bread and bake in a 420F / 215C oven for 8-10 minutes or until the top is golden brown.

Filled bread Sandwich: Luftschiff Brötchen

Flatten a two-serving portion of Cloudbrot on a baking sheet.  Flatten into a rectangular pancake wide enough to fit two (20 cm-long, 2cm dia) links of sausage, leaving a 1 cm gap between the two links.  The idea is to completely wrap the two sausage links in the Cloudbrot and use the gap between the sausages to introduce a sauce, cheese or sauerkraut.

A suggestion is to fill the gap between the sausage links with a slice of cream cheese and a generous streak of horseradish brown mustard. Close the package by stretching two "flaps" of the Clodbrot pancake (Brötchen) on top of the sausage and filling.  Use a bit of water and pinch the bread on top and the ends to make a perfectly sealed pocket.  Put two pats of butter (1/8 teaspoon salted butter) on top of the Brötchen before baking

Bake at 420F / 215C for 10-12 minutes or until the top is golden brown.

EDIT: There are some variants to those recipe.  Most notably there is one which uses Mozzarella cheese and Bolognese and even Marinara sauce among the Luftschiffengel from the Italian-speaking region of Ticino and in the southern part of Graubünden (Canton Grigioni).  

[Caledonian]

There are modern Automats

http://www.nbcnews.com/id/14553052/ns/business-small_business/t/revival-automat-features-modern-twists/



I just saw one a few days ago on the news, but can't seem to located it.  I California I believe. Use your smart phone to order.  You get a code that appears on a door that is your order.  Vegetarian only I believe.

Hey, that looks like FEBO! Only that's usually not pink and you can use coins instead of a mobile phone.

[Hurricane Annie]

A  pictorial work on vintage New York  shows   carts  selling variously oysters and clams,  ice creams and sodas, soup and similar. Other  popular street food were the basics; potatoes , fruit, rolls, sausages

http://untappedcities.com/2014/06/03/vintage-photos-19th-early-20th-century-nyc-street-food-vendors/

Google has some amazing modern food  trucks done in a vintage style .

http://roaminghunger.com/ny/vendors/most_liked/

[RJBowman]

There are modern Automats

http://www.nbcnews.com/id/14553052/ns/business-small_business/t/revival-automat-features-modern-twists/



I just saw one a few days ago on the news, but can't seem to located it.  I California I believe. Use your smart phone to order.  You get a code that appears on a door that is your order.  Vegetarian only I believe.

The linked article is about the Bamn! automat in Greenwich Village. It opened in 2006 to a lot of fanfare, and closed after about a year. I don't know whether it failed to make money or was forced out by high rents like every other interesting business in New York.

[Caledonian]

snacks from the wall are the best snacks

[J. Wilhelm]

snacks from the wall are the best snacks

Do I read €1,50 for that sandwich correctly?    If so that's about $1.70 US, which is VERY cheap compared to the sandwiches I get at my local super ($2.5 at the cheapest)  We need an automat here.

[Fairley B. Strange]

There would be scope for steam-powered and -heated vendor's carts and barrows: pie-ovens, chestnut-roasters, baked-potato ovens, thing-on-a-kebab skewer charcoal grills or gear-driven rotisseries, and of course the Muffin Man.



Although while looking for an apt image, I found I didn't really know the Muffin Man after all...