This weekend I went to Wimpy's diner. Like many modern diners, it goes for a fifties aesthetic. And, like many modern diners, it isn't always accurate in its depiction. I don't mind if the food is not necessarily straight from the decade (I ordered a wrap) but the decor could be better. For instance, there are a bunch of records tacked to the wall. I tried to check what the records were, but the only label I could read while seated turned out to be Howard Jones. I could have given them a pass on a fifties-flavoured eighties artist like Huey Lewis, but not a only-in-the-eighties synth-abuser. It didn't help that the muzak played the Pet Shop Boys shortly after.
That brings up something I'd like to see: an eighties-oriented eatery. But an eighties diner wouldn't make much sense: diners use fifties style because they're a part of that decade's culture. So what form would an eighties eatery take? I'm envisioning a fast food place. Yes, I know, fast food is older that that, but it seemed to come of age in the eighties. We had "where's the beef?", non-ironic use of The Burger King, and the more-than-occasional Grimace sighting.
I see a fast food place that is unapologetic - no modernist architecture and urban-cafe interior styling - I want all rounded-plastic furniture. All the food comes in Styrofoam containers. You can't order drinks: you take the Pepsi Challenge and you're stuck with whatever wins. Fifties-style diners usually have the "mens" and "womens" on the washroom doors signified by pictures of Elvis and Marilyn Monroe. Instead, we'll have Michael Jackson and Madonna.
I'm hoping some of this will actually happen. As we approach 2015, the year they went to in Back To
The Future II, someone will make a real Café 80's.
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