[Impala64ssa]

As a kid, my idea of a gourmet meal was A HoJo hot dog, fried clams and a banana split.😃

[SamAdams76]

The problem with fried clams at Howard Johnson's is that they did not have the bellies. Many New Englanders feel that the bellies are the best part of the fried clam but most of the rest of the country found them disgusting which is why HJ's eliminated them when they took the menu item nationwide.

Count me in as one who prefers the bellies in the clams. Otherwise, you might as well be eating fried calamari. Then again, I'm the guy that scrapes the tomalley out of lobster shells when nobody else will eat it!

HJ's also spun off a regional steak house chain in New England called Red Coach Grill during the 1960s and 1970s. This was considered an upscale eatery at the time and as I grew up near Saugus, MA, they had one right down the highway from the Hilltop - which was the busiest steakhouse in the world in the 1970s. If the lines were too long outside the Hilltop, one could go a couple miles further and get a table at the Red Coach Grill.

I wonder if many remember that some Howard Johnson restaurants not only served alcohol but also had a cocktail lounge in the back. I remember my father order a 7%7 there while we were having BREAKFAST!

They also had what was considered (at the time) an exotic item there called "Chinese Chow Mein." Back in the 1970s, getting a Chinese Chow Mein at the local HJ's with a 7&7 and clam strips was considered living on the edge.

[Dilbert San Diego]

I remember they didn’t have Coke or Pepsi, they had “Hojo Cola” as their in house cola drink.

[Georgia Girl 2]

When I was a kid and we went on the annual two week driving vacation Howard Johnson’s was the go to stop for lunch or dinner almost everyday. Good times! 😊

[Labyrinthos]

Fried clam strips followed by a banana split.

FYI: Howard Johnson Motels are still widely available —

https://www.wyndhamhotels.com/hojo/locations

[discostu]

I thought they all died in the 20th century. Like most of those chains they lived on that precipice level of mediocrity. You knew it wasn’t going to be good, but you knew it was going to be the same where ever you went.

[Vaduz]

Imperial sold Howard Johnson’s to “rival restaurant empire” Marriott for $314 million. After that, Howard Johnson’s locations began to disappear.

Ever wonder why people who invest your money in things are called brokers?.

[Albion Wilde]

It was a reliable place to go many stops along the way on Route 1 down to Florida and back. I loved their fried flounder and scallops.