A recent viewing of the documentary, The Automat, launched me on a nostalgia tour through the New York City of my youth. I have ample memories of Horn and Hardart’s Automats in Manhattan, the excitement and pleasures of eating there, which I’ll talk about in a future post, but for now, I invite you to take a detour with me, as I can’t help dreaming of date-nut bread and cream cheese sandwiches.

My mother and I went on frequent outings when I was a child—to the theater, the ballet, opera, museum...