What is it with Shirley MacLaine and Chinese restaurants. One way or the other she seems to be showing up in them. This film and "The Apartment" for example. Seems like a film set in New York has to have a Chinese restaurant, or a scene in "21" i.e. "Wall Street" and "Sweet Smell of Success"
shareMaybe going to Chinese restaurants was a big part of living in New York City in the 1950s & 60s? So the movies were merely reflect what life is like for young city dwellers then.
No two persons ever watch the same movie.share
Yes, Chinese restaurants and Chinese food were very popular in the '50s and '60s. That was also the era in which supermarket Chinese food became popular, e.g., the Chun King brand. (By 1962, when this film was made, Chun King was bringing in $30 million in annual revenue and accounted for half of all U.S. sales of prepared Chinese food.).
But a lot of films set in Manhattan have made use of restaurants, because there are so many good and/or famous ones there, and it always lends a pleasant background atmosphere. It tends to give non-New Yorkers a sense of the lively bustle of the city, and it always makes me hungry just watching it. I can imagine the aroma and taste of crispy noodles, duck sauce, sweet & sour, etc.
I had the good fortune to live in four different neighborhoods in Manhattan in the late '70s/early '80s (upper east side, Murray Hill, upper west side, and the east side down near Bellevue Hospital) when I worked in the advertising business on Madison Avenue. And there seemed to be a million great little Chinese restaurants as well as every other type of cuisine imaginable. And some of the best diners were even open all night.
This film really captured NYC life, and it always makes me very nostalgic for the city.
Now that you mention it, pt100, almost all major cities are known by their good restaurants. America is a foodie culture at heart.
No two persons ever watch the same movie.share
Yes, that is so true. There are even great restaurants in some smaller venues. But I think eateries tend to show up more in NYC, L.A. and S.F. film locations partly because that's where so many films are set.
For anyone who is interested, here's the latest list of top 100 U.S. restaurants from the 'Opinionated about U.S. Restaurants' guide. The ratings are based on about 3,000 raters rating about 70,000 establishments. Naturally, like Zagat or other guides, it is somwhat skewed toward large cities such as NYC, L.A., Chicago and San Francisco; but it also includes a lot of out-of-the-way places that foodies have been willing to travel to in the search for great restaurants. I'm most familiar w/the N.Y., Chicago, S.F. and Wash, D.C. picks (and Princeton, NJ), and I tend to agree w/those selections:
1. Manresa, Los Gatos, CA 102.06
2. The French Laundry, Yountville, CA 101.94
3. Alinea, Chicago, IL 101.34
4. Per Se, New York, NY 101.19
5. Town House, Chilhowie, VA 100.91
6. Masa, New York, NY 100.76
7. Urasawa, Beverly Hills, CA 100.73
8. Mini-Bar, Washington, D.C. 100.49
9. Blue Hill at Stone Barns, Pocantico Hills, NY 100.08
10. McCrady’s, Charleston, SC 99.37
11. Jean Georges, New York, NY 99.06
12. Sushi Yasuda, New York, NY 98.95
13. Komi, Washington, D.C. 98.69
14. Saam at the Bazaar, West Hollywood, CA 98.46
15. Kuruma Zushi, New York, NY 98.33
15. Eleven Madison Park, New York, NY 98.33
17. Le Bernardin, New York, NY 98.28
18. Coi, San Francisco, CA 98.10
19. Corton, New York, NY 97.97
20. Schwa, Chicago, IL 97.74
21. Restaurant at Meadowood St. Helena, CA 97.54
22. *beep* Ko New York, NY 97.11
23. Providence, Los Angeles, CA 96.71
24. Saison, San Francisco, CA 96.64
25. Cyrus, Healdsburg, CA 96.55
26. Spago, Beverly Hills, CA 96.51
27. Marinus, Carmel Valley, CA 96.46
28. Soto, New York, NY 96.44
29. Peter Luger, Williamsburg, NY 96.43
30. Bouley, New York, NY 96.31
31. L’Atelier de Joel Robuchon, New York, NY 96.21
32 . Commis, Oakland, CA 96.19
33. The Herbfarm, Woodinville, WA 96.14
34. Guy Savoy, Las Vegas, NV 96.02
35. Elements, Princeton, NJ 96.00
36. Sushi Taro, Washington, D.C. 95.92
37. Charlie Trotter’s, Chicago, IL 95.91
38. Daniel, New York, NY 95.75
39. Quince, San Francisco, CA 95.74
40. Ubuntu, Napa, CA 95.71
41. Sugiyama, New York, NY 95.70
41. Sushi Seki, New York, NY 95.70
41. Uni, Boston, MA 95.70
44. Moto, Chicago, IL 95.61
45. Spiaggia, Chicago, IL 95.40
46. North Fork Table & Inn, Southold, NY 95.33
47. Chez Panisse, Berkeley, CA 95.14
48. O Ya, Boston, MA 95.01
49. Roberta’s (Tasting Menu), Bushwick, NY 94.93
50. Highlands Bar & Grill, Birmingham. AL 94.86
51. Marea, New York, NY 94.84
52. Brooklyn Fare, Brooklyn, NY 94.79
53. Atelier Crenn, San Francisco, CA 94.75
54. Miyake, Portland, ME 94.65
55. Kyo Ya, New York, NY 94.62
55. Craft, New York, NY 94.62
57. American Restaurant, Kansas City, KS 94.60
58. Patina, Los Angeles, CA 94.56
59. *beep* Ss
60. Hugo’s, Portland, ME 94.52
61. Morimoto, Philadelphia, PA 94.47
61. Michy’s, Miami, FL 94.47
63. Citronelle, Washington, D.C. 94.39
64. Charleston, Baltimore, MD 94.31
65. Restaurant Eugene, Atlanta, GA 94.26
66. Aubergine, Carmel, CA 94.24
67. Niche, St. Louis, MO 94.23
68. wd-50, New York, NY 94.19
69. Sushi Ran, Sausalito, CA 94.18
70. Matsuhisa, West Hollywood, CA 94.15
71. Blue Hill, New York, NY 94.14
72. Volt, Frederick, MD 94.10
73. L20, Chicago, IL 94.09
74. Sawa Sushi, Sunnyvale, CA 94.05
75. Gary Danko, San Francisco, CA 94.03
76. Picasso, Las Vegas, NV 93.94
76. Benu, San Francisco, CA 93.94
78. Masa’s, San Francisco, CA 93.82
79. *beep* Noodle Bar, New York, NY 93.81
80. Vetri, Philadelphia, PA 93.80
81. Totoraku, West Los Angeles, CA 93.75
82. Canlis, Seattle, WA 93.68
82. Blackbird, Chicago, IL 93.68
82. The Bazaar, West Hollywood, CA 93.68
85. Stella!, New Orleans, LA 93.58
86. Il Grano, West Los Angeles, CA 93.57
87. Quinones Room at Bacchanalia, Atlanta, GA 93.56
88. No. 9 Park, Boston, MA 93.54
89. Inn at Little Washington, Washington, VA 93.45
90. Husk, Charleston, SC 93.27
90. Baume, Palo Alto, CA 93.27
90. Everest, Chicago, IL 93.27
93. Gramercy Tavern, New York, NY 93.26
94. Next, Chicago, IL 93.24
94. Red Medicine, West Hollywood, CA 93.24
96. Sanford, Milwaukee, WI 93.23
96. George’s California Modern, La Jolla, CA 93.23
98. Cut, Beverly Hills, CA 93.19
98. Nishimura, West Hollywood, CA 93.19
100. Castagna, Portland, OR 93.18
I like how IMDB censored some of the restaurant names. Apparently *beep* (perhaps spelling it phonetically as Moh-moh-foo-koo will allow it) was too hot to handle even though it doesn't even contain an actual swear word in it. Eventually we won't even be allowed to use words like "pass" anymore.
shareYeah, entries 22, 59 and 79 all had the same brand name that imdb mistook for foul language. Here's the offending word spelled backward: ukufomoM
I probably should have just given the link to the list. Here it is:
http://www.forbes.com/sites/larryolmsted/2012/03/13/just-released-the- 100-best-u-s-restaurants/
You have to remember too that many of these playwrights are Jewish and raised in New York City. Chinese restaurants hold a special appeal to them, since that's where Jews go on Christmas (no crowds!).
Also, while it might seem more logical to write a scene in a Jewish delicatessen, the fact is a Chinese restaurant allows for a more "restaurant-like" setting as well as serve as a very affordable place (in contrast to some of the more upscale Anglo restaurants in New York City) where working class people can discuss an extramarital affair (since it's off the beaten path).
"Don't call me 'honey', mac."
"Don't call me 'mac'... HONEY!"