About Peter Moruzzi
Author and historian Peter Moruzzi is passionate about the middle decades of the 20th century: its nightlife, classic dining, and architecture.
Born in Concord, Massachusetts and raised in Hawaii, Moruzzi graduated from the University of California at Berkeley and later attended the American Film Institute in Los Angeles. In 1999, he founded the Palm Springs Modern Committee (PS ModCom) an architectural preservation group. He is the author of "Havana Before Castro: When Cuba Was a Tropical Playground," "Palm Springs Holiday: A Vintage Tour From Palm Springs to the Salton Sea," "Classic Dining:Discovering America's Finest Mid-Century Restaurants," "Palm Springs Paradise: Vintage Photographs from America's Desert Playground," and "Greetings from Los Angeles." His latest pictorial history, "Greetings from Las Vegas" will be available in September, 2019.
This is my favorite mid-century restaurant interior in America. And it’s threatened with inappropriate alterations!
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Nikki Kreuzer has done the heavy lifting in compiling this list of 100 classic Southern California restaurants with roots as early as 1905. This is a tremendous effort and one worthy of praise.
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Thrillist put together what they consider to be the most iconic restaurant in every state and the oldest restaurant in every state. Some of their selections are off the mark, but it’s interesting to see what they chose and why.
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Tagged 1950s, 1960s, Antoine's Restaurant, classic dining, classic restaurants, cocktails, continental style, Dal Rae, Dresden Room, Fine Dining, historic restaurants, mid-century, restaurant, restaurants
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The recent replacement of the Dal Rae’s historic neon with backlit plastic – aside from being extremely ugly – is tragic and terribly misguided. Most likely the owners felt that it was too expensive to continue maintaining the original neon. … Continue reading →
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Wisconsin is famous for many things – Beer, schnitzels, Frank Lloyd Wright’s Taliesen, cheese curds, the Green Bay Packers, the Dells, Friday fish frys, and supper clubs. Of these it’s Wisconsin’s supper clubs that make me long for a leisurely … Continue reading →
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Lawry’s The Prime Rib opened on June 15, 1938 at the foot of what would come to be called Restaurant Row. Last week, the restaurant celebrated its 75th anniversary with some amazing events. On Tuesday, the company honored its loyal … Continue reading →
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Tagged 75th anniversary, Beverly Hills California, carving cart, classic dining, classic restaurant, Lawrence Frank, Lawry's, prime rib, restaurant, restaurant row, Richard N. Frank, Standing rib roast, steak house, steakhouse
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A fabulous celebration occurred Thursday, May 9th in front of the El Cortez Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas. It was in honor of the property’s listing in the National Register of Historic Places for its role in the development … Continue reading →
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Gambling was legalized in Nevada in 1931. The first legal gambling clubs in Las Vegas were simply business as usual, with back room gambling relocated to the front room facing Fremont Street. Locals were the main market, although other clubs, … Continue reading →
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Tagged Bugsy, el cortez, Fremont Street, gambling, greenbaum, hicks, houssels, lansky, Las Vegas, Mob, sedway, siegel
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About a year ago I downloaded the song “Vanessa” by the Canadian artist Grimes after hearing it on KCRW’s Chocolate City one night. I didn’t think much about it until a few weeks ago when my friend Daniel Paul mentioned that … Continue reading →
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Here’s another recent unexpected find, a superb classic dining restaurant located in Rancho Mirage just outside of Palm Springs, Lord Fletcher’s Inn! While updating my classic dining slide show I decided to check out an establishment that I’d driven past … Continue reading →
Peter Moruzzi's Mid-Century 
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