The Tick Tock restaurant was an odd little magical place that existed in one of my favorite lands, vintage Hollywood. The Tick Tock opened first as a tea room and then blossomed into a full service restaurant. There were two locations here that originally opened in either '31 or '34 (depending on different listings online). The walls were adorned with dozens of different kinds of clocks, many more then on the postcard. Sadly, this Hollywood landmark closed in the 80's.
I can't remember which location I went to as I was a wee lass (there was one on Cahuenga in Hollywood and one out in Toluca Lake) but I remember the exterior was the same blue/gray color as the menu above and there was a large funny topsy turvy clock out front. My single visit to the Tick Tock must have been in the mid 1980's, very close to the end of the restaurants run. I can't seem to find a picture of the exterior online. I remember the furnishings were different from the postcard above and that the floor was a dusty blue/gray and pink (I think) checkered flecked linoleum. I could be wrong about the flooring though. When you are a little girl, you want everything to be light pink and pretty robins egg blue. I remember going there and feeling that I stepped back in time.
The elderly couple my mother and I were with loved this restaurant to death. The missus would always order the same thing, creamed chicken in a patty shell, and supposedly this was her meal of choice for over 30 years. I have no idea why I remember this. I couldn't find a menu of the restaurant's offerings (I'm a little fascinated with old menu listings. Musso & Frank is fabulous for the culinary time travel adventure seeker) but after doing a little online searching, the Tick Tock seemed to be famous for their orange sticky buns. Sounds like heaven to me and of course will try to get my hands on the recipe.
I wish there was more info online about the Tick Tock. If you have any stories about dining at the Tick Tock, please send your memories my way!
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