For me it would definitely be Jello Pudding Pops. I loved those things. I've seen some people on the internet say you can replicate them by freezing the little cups of Jello pudding, but I tried that and it definitely wasn't the same.

Quisp!

Jello 1-2-3. It "magically" turned into three layers as it set.

Screaming Yello Zonkers

Remember the great Quisp versus Quake war of the early 70s? It all turned ugly when they showed graphic photos of Quisp's POW camps.

Bonumo (sp?) Turkish Toffee (from the concession stand at the Senator), vanilla, but sometimes chocolate.

Gino Giant. Much better than the Big Mac.

The mushroom gravy from the old House of Welsh.

Somewhat later than my youth: after dinner mints from France. They were bigger than a quarter in diameter, and pastel in colour. Melted in your mouth.

And whilst they are still available, as adults who can still eat candy corn or cotton candy. Way toooooo sweet.

Jiffy Pop - to be consumed during school vacation only
Alphabet cereal
Charles Chips
Grape favored Hubba Bubba gum
Ssips drinks
Astro pops
Larry's Smurf ice cream - blueberry with marshallows
Baskin Robbins bubble gum ice cream - with the little pieces of gum in it
Jawbreakers - the miniature ones made by Ferrari Pan (sp?) in the blue/green box

Oh, yes! The Gino Giant. Loved it.

But I think the Ameche's (?) Power House was actually more like the Big Mac with its secret #86 sauce (or whatever his number was).

"Everybody goes to Gino's cause Gino's in the place to go..."

The small burgers from Little Tavern. For some reason, we always thought the small ones were better than the large ones.

"Buy 'em by the bag!"

Have you read Nigel Slater's memoir Toast? It's about his childhood in England - sad and funny. He reminisces a TON about his favorite childhood foods and, if I remember correctly, candy was his primary focus.

As for me, I was all about the Mary Janes. My family used to go to Busch's Chesapeake Inn for dinner about once a week. After dinner, the kids got a little goody bag of candy - but all I cared about were the Mary Janes.

Unfortunately, I'm pretty sure Mary Janes were a direct cause of all the fillings I have today...

I know others have posted Gino's, but it really is the one thing I still crave from my childhood.

They really had good food all around. The flavors of the Sirloiner (made from sirloin steak) and the Gino Giant still linger on my tongue when I reminisce with others. They were also the only place you could get Kentucky Fried Chicken in my area back in the 1970's.

Food may be a silly thing to travel back in time for, but if I could do it, you would find me at Gino's.

Check this link for old candies (even Mary Janes). I found the porous peppermint sticks there so I can have a lemon & peppermint stick whenever I can find big, juicy lemons. It's the Vermont Country Store. Disclaimer: I don't work for them; I'm just a satisfied customer.

http://tinyurl.com/2fba7m

If memory serves, M.F.K Fisher wrote feelingly about the cinnamon toast and hot chocolate of her childhood. You could almost smell the cinnamon and the hot buttery bread.

Real fried clams, not the sorry clam strips. As a youth in Rhode Island, we chomped them as the kids do french fries now. Even on the road, you could get a good clam roll at Howard Johnson's. Followed, naturally, by one of their multiple flavors of ice cream. Now that Legal Seafood is gone, does anyone still make them here? Faidley's?

I second the pudding pops. My 80's childhood is sprinkled with memories of Bill Cosby shilling them...good times.

Real fried clams, not the sorry clam strips. As a youth in Rhode Island, we chomped them as the kids do french fries now

Ah, fried belly clams! Yum! The mention of Rhode Island is the key here...the softshell clams that are popular in New England are considered trash food in Maryland. Softshell clams are actually harvested here, but they get sent north where they're appreciated.

My wife is an expatriate New Englander (Connectictu), and craves the things (especially steamed rather than fried). We've found out near impossible to find them in these parts, although I've heard rumors that someplace around Annapolis (maybe Cantlers, I forget) might have them.

You also may want to visit hometownfavorites.com; they spaecialize in "nostalgia" food (especially candy & snacks).

The Vermont Country Store (www.vermontcountrystore.com) has a large selection of "nostalgia" candy, including my personal favorite, the pyramid-shaped chocolate-covered vanilla cream "drops."

Sunshine used to make Lemon Coolers. They were little, hard cookies that were covered with lemon flavored powdered sugar. So yummy. And I do kind of miss the Jello Pudding Pops too....

We went to the Wildwoods (NJ) when I was a kid, and now again as my children play in the Beach Ultimate Tournament every July. The "Doo-Wop" architectural style of the motels and diners still reigns supreme and much of the community maintains a 50's vibe. That includes what you can find in grocery stores and other shops around the towns. Clove and Teaberry gums were my favorites from back in the day, and they are still widely available there.

I don't think I've ever eaten a Jello Pudding Pop. Does that mean I had a deprived childhood? I do remember Clove and Teaberry gum though.

My mom was a huge fan of the Teaberry gum and I still buy her a pack when I see it. I also loved the Bonkers candies. Anyone else remember them? They were a really soft taffy and were two color to look like a fruit. The watermelon was green with the a red center, etc.

My mom was a huge fan of the Teaberry gum

I like Teaberry gum also. That probably means I'm as old as your mom. I feel old.

My dad was in the Navy. When I was 7 we were in Florida, where I discovered fried shrimp.

The next year we were in Connecticut, where there was a lobster pound just down the road. We'd get live lobsters from wooden pens, take them home, and cook them.

There was also a general store that sold penny candy. They had Mary Janes, but some of my other favorites were root beer barrels and spearmint leaves.

My childhood also included early August trips to visit relatives in the Pocono Mountains south of Scranton, PA, to pick wild blueberries. My grandmother made the best blueberry pie in the world. And her older sister always fixed malted milk for us kids.

Back in Baltimore, milkshakes from Prices Dairy on Liberty Road were a great after-dinner treat, and I learned to eat french fries with vinegar at Gwynn Oak Park.

And yes, the Ameche's Powerhouse rocked. BTW -- his number was 35.

"Soft shell" clams are called "stemaers" in Rhode Island. Actually, it's pronounced more like: "steam-ahs."

They are a true delicacy up there, and have great flavor, especially the ones caught up there. It's probably because the waters in RI are much saltier than the Chesapeake.

Probably only those who lived in Northern Baltimore City and the Rogers Fordge/Stonleigh area of the County may relate.....but does anyone remember when Obrycki's Crab House had that small little carry-out up at the end of The Alameda, just a little north of Northern Parkway, and just a little south of Register Avenue ??

It's been closed for several years now, but back through most of the 1980's they used to have the BEST crabs around. This was a little bit before the main Obrycki's down in Fells Point became a the tourist trap it is today. But for some reason, they had a good little carry-out operation in the most random location right at the end of The Alameda. And despite the hot summer months they always had a great crew that worked there and were very friendly. There was a lgood liquor store right next door and a 7-11 across the street.

Best part was that you didn't have to drive all the way downtown to get Obrycki's crabs. We lived off of Loch Raven Blvd near Good Samaritan hospital and we could go right around the corner for Baltimore's best crabs.

It kind of just closed up suddenly a while back, and we never were able to figure out why. For an awkward location, they always seemen pretty busy whenever we got crabs there.

"Soft shell" clams are called "steamers" in Rhode Island.

That's what I call them when they're steamed, but it somehow seems weird to me to call them that when they're fried. :-)

".....but does anyone remember when Obrycki's Crab House had that small little carry-out up at the end of The Alameda, just a little north of Northern Parkway, and just a little south of Register Avenue ?? "

Yes, yes, yes!! We used to go there all the time.
I think they call that block of the Alameda Sherwood Road. That little block also had Gil's auto shop, a little market with a great butcher whose name I can't recall, and a nice little hardware store.
I miss them all, especially Obrycki's.

Reading the latest posts this morning and suddenly remembered walking home from school and stopping at the corner confectionary to buy a coddie with mustard and served on two crackers. I don't know if they tasted so good because I was truly hungry or because they were indeed wonderful. I have not had one since high school. And yes, I know that this tells you that I am really, really, really old!

"I like Teaberry gum also. That probably means I'm as old as your mom. I feel old."

I don't think my mom is old. At least, not by today's standards. She's only 63. She is also a fan of Mary Jane's which I don't really think are a thing of the past since they have them at Target. :)

So don't feel old. Cheer up and have some Teaberry gum!

I sure do remember that Obrycki's carry-out. They had steamed crabs, and steamed shrimp, and that was IT. Very limited menu, but they did it well. But towards the end, they tried to do too much with it, and it was not run very well in it's later years. Plus, the crab prices sky rocketed and frankly a lot the regulars like us really could'n't afford to get a couple dozen nice sized crabs every other week like we once could.

From 1986 - 1993, we lived back off of Walker Ave, between The Alemeda and York Road. We used to get crabs from there all the time, and I remember they had a great staff who ran the place, mostly high-school and college age kids (late teens/early 20's).

But I guess as they got older and went away to college or to greener pastures, there was no "farm team" to step up and take their place. By that time, the owners seemed more pre-ocuppied with the main restaurant downtown, which makes sense as the tourism industry really started to take off with the opening of Camden Yards.

By '93 (the year we moved out of the neighborhood) it had become disorganized and wasn't kept up very well. We moved to Timonium and started going to Gibby's. I went back to the Obriycki carry-out one other time, but by then it was called "Dee's Crabs", and it was very depressing.

Nothing lasts forever.