Oh that pie

I decided Bishop's Buffet needed its own blog. When I was a kid, and we'd travel to See the Rabbits (a/k/a Cedar Rapids), to see by Mom's parents, Pops and Grandma, we'd often go to Bishop's Buffet. For me, the highlight came at the end, when I could get the helium filled balloon that came with little feet attached. I'm picturing Grandma in her mink stole...me with my balloon, rubbing it on the stole's tiny lil minky head.

I'm sure it wasn't easy for Mom track of what we each were getting - four girls and all. At Bishop's, you'd pick up your tray and select items as you pushed the tray along the metal ramp. They always had fancy schmancy looking jello - cubes with whipped cream in a parfait glass. But no - I was not allowed to select that! Bishop's had helpers at the end of the line to carry trays to your table. Those were the days.

When I got older, we kept up the Bishop's tradition at Westroads, the new (it was the late '60's) "upscale" shopping mall in Omaha. My fave meal consisted of their french dip with au jus (a man in a tall chef's hat prepared it!), fat french fries, and Bishop's Chocolate Pie for dessert. I could get all that in the "short line" (they also had a full service line where you could select from many more entrees).  But I would get so full that sometimes I couldn't eat all of the delightful pie - and its crumbly graham cracker crust.

What a waste! The picture above doesn't do it justice. Oh those chocolate curlie cues. Good memories of my childhood often seem to include food.