Restaurants

STAYING IN

Just like Grampa used to eat: the fabulous food of the ‘50s

 
 

The star at Grampa's is the bakery case with oversized pies, cakes, cookies and pastries.
The star at Grampa's is the bakery case with oversized pies, cakes, cookies and pastries.

If you go

Place: Grampa’s Bakery & Restaurant

Address: 17 SW First St., Dania Beach

Contact: 954-923-2163

Prices: Sandwiches $6.79-$10.99, salads $3.99-$10.99, platters $12.99-$24.99, cakes and pastries $1.50-$4.99

Hours: Sunday 8 a.m.-4 p.m., Monday 6:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., Tuesday-Saturday 6.30 a.m.-9 p.m.


jkleinman@MiamiHerald.com

We have just entered a time warp. The year: 1957. The menu: Cobb salad, patty melt, fried clams and a bakery case stuffed with cream puffs, key lime pies, German chocolate cakes and eclairs.

Not much has changed at Grampa’s Bakery, a diner in the Dania Beach antique district across the street from another ’50s icon, Jaxson’s ice cream parlor. Grampa’s still proudly serves all the food you won’t find in South Beach.

These comfort-food recipes have stayed the same through the years, even if our waistlines haven’t. Paninis and wood-oven pizzas? Not here.

Grampa’s cooks up stuff that gramps loved to eat. Meatloaf, liver, rack of lamb with mint jelly, stuffed chicken breast, scallops, seafood platter, open-faced turkey sandwich, “diet delight” (hamburger with a side of cottage cheese and fruit). Just don’t expect the prices your grandparents paid. Some sandwiches are 10 bucks and most entrees are more than $13, with some stretching beyond $20. But the portions pour out of the takeout containers from which two or three can easily feast (without the sharing charge when dining in).

We turned our containers into serving dishes, spooning out the cantaloupe and honeydew from the fruit salad (nice touch with nuts and blueberries, although the yogurt sauce on the side was a tad too sweet). Slicing up the shrimp salad sandwich (with perfectly marinated large ones nestled in a gigantic homemade roll). Doling out the fried clams (a bit bland and too many small bits of fried stuff).

The hits of our order: an overflowing tuna melt and a slab of chopped steak slathered with grilled onions and served with mashed potatoes covered with mud-thick gravy and a side of string beans, accompanied by two thick slices of banana nut bread.

Waiting for the food proved to be 20 minutes of entertainment of staring into the wrap-around bakery counter. Everything is home-baked, and the scene evokes the South Florida bakeries of yore such as Pumpernik’s and the Rascal House.

What to choose? A raspberry cigar so long and fat that a family of four had plenty.

Now, time for a nap. Just like Grampa used to take.

Read more Restaurants stories from the Miami Herald

  •  

Business partners Alexander Perroni, left, and Salvador Sacasa  show off plates of ball sushi and tuna tartare at Temaris.

    A Fork on the Road

    Have a (sushi) ball at Brickell’s Temaris

    Temaris or ball sushi — warm mounds of rice with thin-sliced toppings drizzled in spicy sauces — was almost impossible to find in South Florida until Temaris opened on Brickell.

  •  

300 dpi E. F. Campbell color illustration of woman sitting at restaurant table, looking at menu. Gary Post-Tribune,1995<p>

04007003; 04013002; 10003000; 10003001; FEA; FIN; LEI; LIF; krtnational national; krtworld world; krt; mctillustration; gastronomy; krtbusiness business; krtconsumergoods consumer goods; krtfeatures features; krtfood food; krtlifestyle lifestyle; krtprocessing processing process industry; leisure; organic food; 1995; krt1995; campbell; gary post-tribune contributed; restaurant; menu; dining

    Dining out

    Map out your meal to avoid menu mishaps

    You may have been advised to dine out less often if you want to weigh less. That’s like telling people to leave their cars in the garage if they want to avoid getting into an automobile accident.

  •  

Chef Kris Wessel used the head as part of his display for the smoked Burmese python he prepared.

    Smoked python, lionfish gazpacho on menu at invasive-species dinner

    A gunshot to the head is the state’s recommended method for disposing of invasive Burmese pythons, whose swelling population threatens the Everglades. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission offers no guidance, however, on how to cook the slithery creatures.

Miami Herald

Join the
Discussion

The Miami Herald is pleased to provide this opportunity to share information, experiences and observations about what's in the news. Some of the comments may be reprinted elsewhere on the site or in the newspaper. We encourage lively, open debate on the issues of the day, and ask that you refrain from profanity, hate speech, personal comments and remarks that are off point. Thank you for taking the time to offer your thoughts.

The Miami Herald uses Facebook's commenting system. You need to log in with a Facebook account in order to comment. If you have questions about commenting with your Facebook account, click here.

Have a news tip? You can send it anonymously. Click here to send us your tip - or - consider joining the Public Insight Network and become a source for The Miami Herald and el Nuevo Herald.

Hide Comments

This affects comments on all stories.

Cancel OK

  • Videos

  • Quick Job Search

Enter Keyword(s) Enter City Select a State Select a Category