Super Sonic

Last month my husband visited South Carolina on a business trip and thoughtfully brought me back a cup from drive-in burger joint Sonic (we don't have one near us) featuring tater tot mascot Totty. I'm actually impressed he recognized this as food with eyes. To me it looks like a piece of shag carpeting rather than a tater tot. I probably would not have recognized it as such if it were not for Brandon of the Waffle Whiffer Zone posting a Totty bag on flickr.

Here's one side:


And the other:

And a flattened out scan:

Totty doesn't seem to be featured on their web site, but check out Tater Taunt for a somewhat less friendly version.

Mr. Pizz-Ahh!

For some reason I forgot to post this before, but last summer we got a flyer for a new pizza place in town. Now the last thing the town I live in needs is yet another pizza place, but this one caught my eye because of their great mascot, Mr. Pizz-Ahh!:


At my insistence, we went to check it out. After seeing the pizza available, it seemed Mr. Pizz-Ughh! had replaced Mr. Pizz-Ahh! so we actually didn't stay. But I did snap a picture of their delivery van:

I think he's one of the better mascots I've seen lately. And I love that his feet are subs (or hoagies as I prefer to call them). Perhaps we'll give him another try someday.

Now That's Italian!

If you're still searching for some Columbus Day festivities, then look no further! Ollie and Friends, spokesfoods from Italian restaurant Olive Garden, will now share with us some Italian Adventures!

Here we have Ollie the Olive, Tonya Tomato, Ricky Ravioli, Gina Grape, and Bene Breadstick ready to show us the wonders of Italy:


First up, a tour of Sicily (click for larger version):

Next, learn some Italian phrases:

And now a maze through the whole of Italy:

Olive Garden children's menu courtesy of Maria - grazie mille!

I Scream for "Eye"ce Cream!

One of the best things about summer is the multitude of small, locally-owned ice cream stands that open up for the season. Who can resist a soft serve twist or a cone of mint chocolate chip on a hot day? And if you're really lucky, a smiling ice cream cone might just be there to encourage your licking.

I was really lucky on two occasions recently. We visited our local ice cream establishment, the Curry Freeze, in Rotterdam, NY. Contrary to what you must be thinking, the Curry Freeze does not actually sell frozen curry, but is named after the street where it's located.

Benevolently gazing down on all the patrons is a grinning soft serve cone:


A close-up reveals our friend to be a Flavor Burst cone:

I've actually seen this same Flavor Burst cone guy at two other ice cream stands in the region. It turns out Flavor Burst is a system to infuse a variety of flavoring into plain vanilla soft serve ice cream. Check out the Flavor Burst website for all the details including information on the ominously-named FB80LPa and FB44CMX systems. Regrettably, the cone guy is nowhere to be found on the website and seems to have been replaced with a much more pedestrian penguin mascot.

This past weekend we made a journey to a new (to us) ice cream stand located literally in the middle of nowhere in Wynantskill, NY. Moxie's has been making their own ice cream right on the premises since the 1930s.


Welcoming all visitors is Mr. Blue Moon, a cone of Moxie's unique Blue Moon flavor:

I asked what Blue Moon tasted like and was told that it tasted differently to everyone, so I had to try some. It tasted like orange sherbet to me, so I passed on a full cone of it. But I did try their Chocolate Challenge and Teaberry flavors. Both were excellent, but the Teaberry was particularly exciting for me because my family used to get this flavor at the now-defunct Farmer's Dairy ice cream store in Hazleton, PA.

Gracing the blue wall of the building where the ice cream is made are a pair of larger-than-life smiling cones:

Out back are some other ice cream cones like this giant lady cone in a pillbox hat:

And this purple gentleman in a top hat:

Moxie's also has a vast play area for kids, a romantic pergola, and rockers for the older set (like me). It's definitely worth the drive if you are anywhere near the Troy, NY area.

Rocky Mountain Eyes

Last week I went on a business trip to Fort Collins, Colorado. I had some time to kill, so of course I went in search of food with eyes. My first discovery was this adorable strawberry mascot for IntaJuice fruit smoothies:

I had never seen this chain of smoothie stands before. They even have an online shop for cute strawberry merchandise. This particular franchise was in the food court of the Foothills Mall. This mall had what my husband and I refer to as "the stink of death." Check out it's listing at Dead Malls Dot Com under the Colorado section. One of the big anchor stores had been turned into glow-in-the-dark miniature golf!

My other food with eyes discovery was on the way home at Chicago's O'Hare Airport where I found a stand selling Hixson's Popcorn in bags adorned with this cute corn fellow, Cheerful Earfull:

The fine print indicates it's made by Mellos Peanut Company which looks like it makes some good old-fashioned treats.

Vancouver Veggies

Last month, NabiscoMan and I took a much-needed vacation to Vancouver and Victoria, British Columbia. We had a wonderful time and agree that B.C. is, indeed, "the best place on earth." We visited in all the famous sites like the Vancouver Lookout, the Vancouver Aquarium, the Capilano Suspension Bridge, and the Parliament Buildings in Victoria. But what vacation would be complete without food with eyes? Victoria and Vancouver did not disappoint!

Here is the sign for the Sour Pickle Cafe overlooking Victoria's Inner Harbor:

(Note that the pickle is holding a ladle, not a harpoon as I originally thought.)

Here we have a sign for the Vancouver Vegetarian Resource Centre:

Only after returning home and looking at their website did I realize the Resource Centre also housed a shop selling a variety of items including the children's books The Organic Adventures of Tucker the Tomato and Benji Beansprout Doesn't Eat Meat. Oh well, there's always next year's vacation.

And here is a sign for an organic grocery store, Energanic, in Vancouver:

(The running banana also doubles as the "i" in their sign. Food with eyes as "i"s.)

I observed one other food with eyes site in both Vancouver and Victoria, but was unable to get a photo. Fortunately, the Pita Pit is a chain and their website features a variety of their ingredients with eyes.

Next up: Anthropomorphic food souvenirs of the Pacific Northwest...

Maltee and Mrs. Shake

Yesterday, my husband and I took a leisurely drive through the Mohawk Valley of Central NY to explore some decaying manufacturing towns along the Mohawk River. Ever vigilant for food with eyes, I spotted two great examples. The first was in the window of a printing store in the town of Herkimer (best known for its cheese and quartz “diamonds”). The window display featured an array of antique printing equipment. In the middle was a large plate for an advertisement. As I looked more closely, I realized engraving was of two popsicles and an ice cream sandwich skiing!

Regrettably, my photos didn’t come out very well, but the gist of the ad involves adding Maltee malted milk powder to ice cream treats to make them more appealing in the off-season. Here’s a reversed enlargement:

The text reads: Do your novelties hibernate in cold weather? Here’s a tip – give them a hypo – a Maltee Hypo!! Maltee products are easy to make. Maltee powder is used like any flavor. No change in mix formula required. Maltee crunch floats in the chocolate coating. Build your cold weather sales with Maltee products. Children love malted milk. Extrax Co.

In nearby Mohawk we stumbled upon Mrs. Shake, a small ice cream parlor/restaurant. Of course, this demanded a stop for a photo. And since we stopped the car anyway, why not get some ice cream?

Mrs. Shake is a great original character, and her image graced the sign and door. Although the interior was lacking food with eyes, the yummy homemade ice cream made up for that. Be sure to stop by if you're ever in Mohawk, NY.

Super-Size Food with Eyes

If you’re ever in Schenectady, New York be sure to stop by Nick’s Cafe on Broadway for some great diner food made even better by the presence of two larger-than-life food with eyes mascots guarding the door. I drove past this nondescript building in a rundown part of Schenectady countless times without ever noticing Nick’s Café.


Then one day enormous hotdog and French fry cone statues appeared outside.

My interest was immediately piqued, but due to rather limited hours of operation I never made it there. Last week on a day off from work, I made it my mission to explore Nick’s Café. While the statues were the major draw, I was delighted to find an honest-to-goodness vintage diner inside complete with red leather counter stools and a quilted stainless steel backsplash behind the grill area. I instantly realized I had been missing out on something great and was thankful to the food with eyes for drawing me in. I tried the classic burger and fries duo and was most impressed – nothing frozen here, just hand-formed patties and hand-cut fries.

Other people have characterized the hotdog and French fry pair as demented and scary. I think that's harsh as it appears the French fry cone suffers from a facial birth defect, although the hotdog does seem to be applying the ketchup a bit too enthusiastically.