New York System (1931); Diner (1926); Johnny cake & Jonny-cake

[Bapopik at AOL.COM]

   Greetings from a computer in the Providence Library.
   The Rhode Island Collection closed at 5 p.m., and the cookbooks that are supposed to be on the open shelves (on reserve) aren't there. It would have helped if I could have gone into the RI Collection.  A librarian goes there and gets the stuff for you.
   Yes, there is an index to the PROVIDENCE JOURNAL, but it starts in the late 1930s.  Those 1840 "OK" articles aren't indexed.  The 1983-present PJ is available electronically, and I used that a lot all day.
   Nothing at all on "Salt Water Taffy."  I couldn't even find "W. Hollis" listed in the City Directories.


JOHNNY CAKE/JONNY CAKE--A card catalog note has:
   Jonny-cake
Spelling in Newport--Johnny cake
Spelling in South County--Jonny-cake

DINER--I might have done this before, but here goes.
   PROVIDENCE CITY DIRECTORY, BUSINESS DIRECTORY 1926
Pg. 1491, col. 1:  Greene's Diner 149 Broad
   PROVIDENCE CITY DIRECTORY, BUSINESS DIRECTORY 1927
Pg. 1522, col. 3:  Queen City Diner 51 Spring
Pg. 1523, col. 1:  Greene's Diner 149 Broad

NEW YORK SYSTEM--
   PROVIDENCE CITY DIRECTORY 1931
Pg. 575, col. 2:  Coney Island Hot Weiners (Theodore Kanelos) lunch 762 Westminster
                  Coney Island Special (Aristides Pantelakas) restr 686 Westminster
Pg. 1031, col. 2:  New York System (Gust Pappas) restr 424 Smith
(It's "Weiner," not "Wiener."  Perhaps Pappas took the name "New York System" simply because "Coney Island" had been taken?  "New York System" should be in DARE and probably the OED.  It was quickly copied, as seen below.  I think the city directories are available on microfiche everywhere, but it's easier to check the actual books from the shelf--ed.)
   PROVIDENCE CITY DIRECTORY 1932
Pg. 1035, col. 2:  New York Hot Weiners (Aaron Krasner) lunch room 710 Westminster
Pg. 1036, col. 1:  New York System (Gust Pappas) restr 424 Smith
   PROVIDENCE CITY DIRECTORY 1933
Pg. 958, col. 2:
   New System Lunch 10 Pine
   New York Hot Weiners 710 Westminster
   New York Restaurant 86 Chestnut
   New York System 424 Smith

10-11-1987, PROVIDENCE JOURNAL (www.projo.com), pg. M-16:
THE UNBEATABLE NEW YORK SYSTEM:
The Pappas family weiners (sic) have been a Rhode Island treasure for 60 years
by THOMAS J. MORGAN
(...)  The business was founded in 1927 by his grandfather Gust Pappas, who died in 1936. (...)
   "New York System," Gus Pappas tries to explain, isn't a chain.  There are any number of them around, but all are operated by Pappas relatives, many of whom learned the secrets of the business (and of the sauce) during their apprenticeship on Smith Hill.  (...)
   "There is a distinct difference between hot dogs and wieners," according to Ernie Pappas.  But, he says, a true wiener is more than just a sausage.  "It's the condiments too," he says.  "The chili sauce is the most important," he says, oblivious of having just tipped off part of the secret recipe, "with the fresh chopped onions and celery salt.  You have to cook a wiener--you don't give it raw, or well done.  You have to just make it luscious.  When you stick the fork in there to pick it up and put it on the bun, it just oozes with juice.  I still love them after so many years.  That's the best part of it, boy, I tell you."
(...)

(Rumford Baking Powder, Rhode Island clam chowder, stuffies, lobster rolls, clam cakes, dough boys, malassadas, awful awfuls, RI-speak such as "Jeet?"...I ain't got time now--ed.)