Author Archives: Peter Moruzzi

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About Peter Moruzzi

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.

Classic Menu Cover Artwork

This gallery contains 11 photos.

Designing a menu cover that defines a restaurant with a single graphic is exceptionally challenging.  When done right, the result is a work of art.  Here are some of my favorites that are featured in “Classic Dining.” If you click … Continue reading

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Directory of Classic American Restaurants

There are over 200 restaurants included in the directory at the end of “Classic Dining.” They cover the gamut from continental-style fine dining and historic ethnic restaurants, to old fashioned steakhouses and seafood emporia.  However, there are obviously many more … Continue reading

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Classic Dining: Discovering America’s Finest Mid-Century Restaurants

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I am excited to announce that my new book “Classic Dining: Discovering America’s Finest Mid-Century Restaurants” will be available November 1st!   Click on the images for full-size blowups – New photography by Sven A. Kirsten Journey to America’s finest … Continue reading

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Prague’s Metropolitan Building: An Astounding Art Nouveau Palace

During a recent visit to Prague I visited perhaps the most extraordinary example of high art nouveau architecture in Central Europe, the city’s Municipal Building.  Although neither Modern nor in America, this building demanded a thorough exploration and this resulting … Continue reading

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Home of Original Caesar Salad Reopens in Tijuana

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In June of last year I posted about The Magic of Tableside Caesar Salad at the Dal Rae.  In it I waxed poetic about my love of a great Caesar and how the Dal Rae in Pico Rivera was my favorite haunt … Continue reading

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Family Feud: Havana vs. Las Vegas in the 1950s. Part 2

This gallery contains 19 photos.

The great Havana building boom of 1956-1958 saw the completion of the biggest, most extravagant hotel-casinos outside of Las Vegas.  First to be erected was the glittering Hotel Capri, a modern 19-story edifice with the novelty of a rooftop swimming … Continue reading

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Family Feud: Havana vs. Las Vegas in the 1950s. Part 1

This gallery contains 11 photos.

Before Castro’s revolution, Havana and Las Vegas were rivals for the title of “Monte Carlo of the Americas.” Cuba was exotic, tropical, wild, and close by.  Las Vegas was dry, dusty and remote.  In Cuba, the mob invested heavily in … Continue reading

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Back Room Gambling in the Good Ol’ Days

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In America for most of the 20th century, laying a bet was strictly illegal except at regulated horse and dog tracks and a few isolated outposts in the far West.  Just as with the banning of alcohol in the 1920s, … Continue reading

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Super Scopitone Swings at ’60s Nightclub

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My friend DeSoto Brown in Honolulu found an amazing Scopitone and wrote, “This video appears to encompass many of the nightlife themes you espouse in your blog, in one appealing package.” Ethel Ennis sings “I’ve Got That Feeling”  Enjoy!

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The Magic of Tableside Caesar Salad at the Dal Rae

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The beauty of witnessing the preparation of a Caesar Salad tableside by a master with all of the ingredients presented on a specially designed cart is without equal.  Lorin Smith, co-owner of the fabulous Dal Rae restaurant in Pico Rivera, California … Continue reading

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