Fast Food or Homemade?

While on my way to visit a florist on Long Island, I passed this beautiful older house located at 2045 Jericho Turnpike, in New Hyde Park in the town of Hempstead.

That's right!  The sign above the porch said it is a "McDonald's" of the famous fast food chain!

Totally intrigued by how this old mansion became a McDonald's, I decided to stop in for a cup of coffee and look around. The photo above shows the entrance floor, indicating this was McDonald's Number 12,000, dating back to 1991.

A plaque on the inside wall indicates that the house was the Denton House, circa 1875 and designated as a landmark by the town of North Hempstead.  According to the Denton Family Genealogy web site: "The original owners reportedly were descendants of Richard Denton, a Presbyterian minister who arrived in the New World in 1630 and helped to found the village of Hempstead in 1643. Another Denton, Augustus, was a Nassau County politician at the turn of the century. After World War l the house was no longer inhabited by Dentons and became first one and then another restaurant. When McDonald's acquired the Denton property in 1985, says Lawrence J. Anderer, Jr., the current owner/operator, the company intended to demolish the then dilapidated house and build one of its standard eateries. But residents of the village of New Hyde Park and the Town of North Hempstead obtained local historic designation and struck an agreement whereby McDonald's would restore the Structure's exterior to its appearance in a 1926 photograph -- with an allowance for a low-profile, single story addition to the rear."

The inside of the house was three stories high with an impressive staircase, but other than that it still looked like the average McDonald's and sold the normal fast food fare. It would certainly accomodate a large party, if one was so inclined to have one there!

Meanwhile, back at home, my little flower pot garden has been rewarding me with some wonderful eggplants, peppers and cherry tomatoes, so there was no need for fast food as I decided to make my own dinner that evening. 

I made a roasted garden vegetable pizza!

I sliced and roasted my garden vegetables on a tray, after brushing them first with a little olive oil, in a hot 425 degree oven, until they were soft, about 15 minutes.  If it weren't raining I would have grilled them outside on my barbeque grill. Earlier in the day I had prepared a Food Network recipe for whole wheat pizza crust, which I baked first at 500 degrees for about five minutes to set. I then layered the roasted vegetables on top of the crust and covered them with freshly grated mozzarella cheese and some fresh basil and oregano from my garden. I returned the pizza into the oven for another 10 minutes, until the crust was crispy and the cheese was melted.  Belissimo!  There is nothing like a good home made pizza and it was a wonderful way to eat vegetables!

I'm joining the "Foodie Friday" event on Michael's blog "Designs With Gollum." and  Friday Food weekly feature on Momtrends.  Please visit both  blogs and enjoy a visual feast!