Well, dear readers, the last remaining Hamburger Hamlet, in the Oaks of Sherman, had closed some months ago. People were in despair about it, crying it was the end of an era. The only problem was that most doing the crying hadn’t actually bothered to support the last remaining Hamlet in years. But on they moaned as is typical. It takes something going away to finally miss it and wish it was still there. But rumors began to fly almost immediately that the restaurant would reopen soon. But no one really knew if that was true or if it would keep its name and even if it did if it would really still be the Hamlet, although truth be told, by the end of it it was so far from how the Hamlet began it was pathetic.
On Friday, I read that someone had been there and that the Hamlet, after much speculation, would open yesterday. They’d been inside, talked to the management and it all looked good. They couldn’t look at the menu to see if it was going back to the classic Hamlet because the menus hadn’t been delivered yet. So, around eleven-fifteen yesterday morning, I got in the motor car and drove over there, knowing they’d be open at eleven-thirty if they were indeed going to be open at all. As I pulled into a parking space I saw about four people waiting to get in. By the time I put money in my meter and got to the entrance those four people were already inside. I entered and first took note that the décor was almost exactly the same, with a little freshening up. I got a nice window booth. The staff was very friendly and attentive, as you’d expect on the first day open. I told them all loudly that I was thrilled they were back. I was handed a menu – with the real Hamburger Hamlet art on the front. I opened it quickly and saw Lobster Bisque, so that was a good sign, along with their classic Onion Soup. I then went right to the hamburger page and lo and behold and also behold and lo there was the real, classic number 11 – the All American (bacon cheeseburger) – that hasn’t been on a Hamlet menu in ages. So, that was heartening. And then I saw that Those Potatoes were there and I knew all was well with the world.
My waiter was great – I ordered a bowl of the Lobster Bisque and the number 11. On the menu, it said that the bisque contained a combination of crab and lobster. That hasn’t been true in decades, it’s been all crab and no lobster. So imagine my delight to, in fact, find no crab and all lobster. The soup was excellent, albeit a bit thinner than usual, but I’m sure they’re still working stuff out in the kitchen. The garlic bread it came with was just as it should be. I ate the whole bowl of soup all up. Then the burger arrived. They’re not using the old classic burger buns, it’s one of those new-fangled buns but the meat’s the thing and it was fresh and really good and I ate every last bite. During the meal, the new owner/manager came by to chat. It turns out that he worked for the original Hamlet owners, Marilyn and Harry Lewis, from the time he was twenty-one. So, he knows his Hamlet history and he certainly respects it. I have put the word out everywhere, including Yelp – I let the powers-that-be there know it was open again, but they’re obviously not in a hurry to amend the page – if it’s not amended by tomorrow I will actually get nasty about it. Of course, there’s no way to actually write anyone on Yelp – you have to click on “Edit business information” put the new info there and hope they see it. Yelp has become kind of a sad joke and I have little use for that site anymore. So, welcome back Hamburger Hamlet and I hope all those who were moaning and groaning about the closure will now go and support the restaurant.
Otherwise, yesterday was a quiet little day. I got eight hours of sleep, went to the Hamlet, did some banking, picked up a package and then came home and immediately sat on my couch like so much fish.
Yesterday, I watched a motion picture on Blu and Ray entitled A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, a Richard Lester film of the Broadway musical, sort of. Most of the songs were cut and the perfect book for the show had several changes for the film, by Melvin Frank (formerly of Panama and Frank) and someone named Michael Pertwee. Mr. Frank’s contributions are blatantly obvious – very similar wordplay to The Court Jester and Li’l Abner and those lines have always made me laugh. I saw the film on its opening day and then about fifteen times thereafter within the first three weeks. I liked it a lot back then, but it hasn’t aged all that well. What was fun quirky then is kind of irritating quirky now. Some of the performances work really well and some work less well. Zero is oversized but fun, Jack Gilford is perfection as is Phil Silvers. Michael Hordern is not quite up to the sharpness needed and Buster Keaton is basically wasted, but I do like the Miles Gloriousus, Leon Greene. There’s enough that’s enjoyable, so I had a good time watching it after all these years. The transfer is clearly an older one – taken from a slightly faded IP, so it’s never quite as good as it could be. The film has terrific photography by Nicholas Roeg and if a new transfer from the camera negative were done it would look incredible. It’s not bad, but it’s not great.
I then watched a second motion picture on Blu and Ray entitled Juggernaut. I hadn’t seen it since we put out the soundtrack. Juggernaut is one of those films I don’t tire of because I never quite remember the details so it always seems fresh to me. I first saw Juggernaut at a sneak preview and absolutely loved it. You would have thought from the audience reaction that it was going to be a huge hit, but it was a flop. For me, it’s probably my favorite Richard Lester film (he came in at the final hour – the original director was meant to be Bryan Forbes and he was replaced by Don Taylor and then it fell to Mr. Lester). I love everything about the film, from the ship itself, to the script, to Ken Thorne’s sparse but effective score, to the wonderful performances of Richard Harris, David Hemmings, Omar Sharif, Shirley Knight and Roy Kinnear. It is thick with tension and there’s also some classic understated Lester humor throughout. The transfer is great. I’m beginning to understand which of the MGM transfers are old and which are new. Juggernaut’s MGM logo is the new one, where the camera starts on a close-up of the MGM lion’s eye and pulls out to reveal the lion and the logo. So, anytime you see that logo I think it’s safe to assume it’s a newer transfer. This is highly recommended by the likes of me.
I then watched yet another motion picture on Blu and Ray entitled Follow That Dream, starring Mr. Elvis Presley, Mr. Arthur O’Connell and many others. I don’t usually go in for the Elvis films, but I found this one completely captivating and charming – it’s actually like a Disney live-action comedy of that era. Presley is funny and sweet, and O’Connell is simply one of the best character actors who ever lived. It’s all shot in Florida and the scenery is great, the songs are cute and I just kind of adored it. Happily, the transfer is gorgeous, with wonderful color that’s completely accurate to film’s of that era, excellent contrast and sharpness and good sound. Also highly recommended by the likes of me.
After that, I was movied out, so I just played on the computer. And that was my day and that was my evening and no, Virginia, I got no writing done, a situation that will be rectified this day.
Today, I will rectify the no-writing of yesterday. I may also go back to the Hamlet mid-afternoon and try some other food. I just really want to show my support as much as possible during the opening weeks. And I’ll relax and watch more movies.
This week is all meetings and meals, comping Sandy’s vocals, the Bewitched Fan Event on Thursday and Saturday over at the Sportsman’s Lodge, seeing two shows, finalizing the songs for the next Kritzerland show, and finishing up all the liner notes.
Let’s all put on our pointy party hats and our colored tights and pantaloons, let’s all break out the cheese slices and the ham chunks, let’s all dance the Hora or the Hokey Pokey because today is the birthday of our beloved dear reader Singdaw. So, let’s give a big haineshisway.com birthday cheer to our beloved dear reader Singdaw. On the count of three: One, two, three – A BIG HAINESHISWAY.COM BIRTHDAY CHEER TO OUR BELOVED DEAR READER SINGDAW!!!
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, write, eat, and relax. Today’s topic of discussion: It’s free-for-all day, the day in which you dear readers get to make with the topics and we all get to post about them. So, let’s have loads of lovely topics and loads of lovely postings, shall we, whilst I hit the road to dreamland, happy that the last remaining Hamburger Hamlet is back amongst the living. May they thrive and do well.