kenji wrote:Zofia's for Polish food just over the NW Side border into Niles, it turned into Irene's but don't even know what's there now:

http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1993 ... ner-omelet

I think it's a sports bar.
After moving from that spot on Milwaukee they spent a couple years at Arlington Heights Road and Rand, but didn't last. I miss the mushroom soup, sauteed trout with potato pancake and other dishes still.

Relive Pan Am's glory days — without leaving the ground

...
Still, it's a pretty real experience. The elaborate meal service includes cocktails, Pan Am almonds in little silver packages and stewardesses who carve the Chateaubriand steak or fork over a chicken breast, along with vegetable and roast potatoes, from a cart. It's served on real Pan Am china.

...

At $295 for a single ticket in first class, the Pan Am Experience costs as much as a real flight. But those who came aboard say it was worth it to step back in time.
...

Does anyone remember a place called The Ratskeller in Streeterville? It may have been in the basement of one of the NU buildings. I have very early memories of being there and can't quite picture it clearly. I just remember it seeming dark and mysterious as a child.

Has anybody been to Leikam's on 45 east of 21 between 1980-1999. One of the best burgers ever and the best fries (potato's they grew and cooked to perfection). Pat and Betty Leikam were the proprietors. Many stories, but always dead on food.

A nice reminiscence of Ashkenaz Deli on Morse Avenue in Rogers Park:

George and Ada Ashkenaz immigrated from Russia early in the 1900s, and first opened a small delicatessen store near Roosevelt and Karlov in 1910. When the Jewish population moved north and west to the suburbs, the Ashkenaz family moved to Rogers Park, opening their first deli on Morse Avenue. It was a small shop, 10 by 30 feet or so, in which Ada Ashkenaz did the cooking in a tiny kitchen at the rear. During the mid-30s they acquired a space at 1432 West Morse Avenue and opened a new restaurant. It burned in 1939, and the couple had no insurance. Sam Ashkenaz, who graduated from Purdue that year with a degree in electrical engineering, joined his parents to help recoup the loss, borrowed money from the restaurant's suppliers, fixed the restaurant and was back in business in 1940.

EvA wrote:A nice reminiscence of Ashkenaz Deli on Morse Avenue in Rogers Park:

George and Ada Ashkenaz immigrated from Russia early in the 1900s, and first opened a small delicatessen store near Roosevelt and Karlov in 1910. When the Jewish population moved north and west to the suburbs, the Ashkenaz family moved to Rogers Park, opening their first deli on Morse Avenue. It was a small shop, 10 by 30 feet or so, in which Ada Ashkenaz did the cooking in a tiny kitchen at the rear. During the mid-30s they acquired a space at 1432 West Morse Avenue and opened a new restaurant. It burned in 1939, and the couple had no insurance. Sam Ashkenaz, who graduated from Purdue that year with a degree in electrical engineering, joined his parents to help recoup the loss, borrowed money from the restaurant's suppliers, fixed the restaurant and was back in business in 1940.

I love learning all this! For one thing, I never knew the reason it was called Ashkenaz was that the family's name was Ashkenaz. I thought the name was a general reference to "the food of the Jews of Eastern Europe."

EvA wrote:A nice reminiscence of Ashkenaz Deli on Morse Avenue in Rogers Park:

Thanks. Interesting history of Ashkenaz, and an interesting website I wasn't aware of. Here's an old matchbook advertising a new taste sensation!

I recall (circa 1972-4 <anyone else?>)an outlet of Ashkenaz in the grocery store (was it Dominick's or TI?) that was located in the far west/north part of Edens Plaza's (Wilmette) parking lot. The two strip centers in the north and east part of that center were not there at that time.

I remember Ashkenaz having a relatively small store in Wilmette in a small strip mall. It was on Lake just east of the Edens. They also had a slightly larger storefront in the city a little south of State and Division. But I don't remember anything inside an actual grocery store.

The Rush St area Ashkenaz was on Cedar a few doors east of Division. I too remember their store in Edens Plaza but no recollection of them inside a grocery store.

Artie wrote:The Rush St area Ashkenaz was on Cedar a few doors east of Division. I too remember their store in Edens Plaza but no recollection of them inside a grocery store.

East of State. I couldn't remember exactly what street it was on. Thanks.

Decades ago when I worked in the loop, I would partake of a cafeteria style breakfast at a restaurant on south Wabash. Maybe at the corner of Jackson? It was cheap! I think steak and eggs for like five bucks? I'm sure it's long gone. Anyone recall the name and address? And when did it close and why? Long live the cheap loop sit down breakfast!

adipocere wrote:Decades ago when I worked in the loop, I would partake of a cafeteria style breakfast at a restaurant on south Wabash. Maybe at the corner of Jackson? It was cheap! I think steak and eggs for like five bucks? I'm sure it's long gone. Anyone recall the name and address? And when did it close and why? Long live the cheap loop sit down breakfast!

Ronnie's Steak House?

adipocere wrote:Decades ago when I worked in the loop, I would partake of a cafeteria style breakfast at a restaurant on south Wabash. Maybe at the corner of Jackson? It was cheap! I think steak and eggs for like five bucks? I'm sure it's long gone. Anyone recall the name and address? And when did it close and why? Long live the cheap loop sit down breakfast!

Maybe at the northwest corner of Wabash & Van Buren? That's where one of the Ronny's Steak Houses was until the early 2000s. I guess the land became more valuable as a parking lot, probably related to the growth of DePaul's Loop campus on the same block as well as other nearby schools. While that location is gone, Ronny's is still with us (still under the L) in a corner of the Thompson State of Illinois Building. Breakfast, including steak and eggs, is served seven days a week, so you can try to relive the "glory days." Just the other day when I was walking on Clark near Lake, an ad for Ronny's was forced into my hand. Steak, baked potato, garlic bread, and chef's salad for under ten bucks! Ronny's lives!!

Yes, Ronnie's! Thank you!!

adipocere wrote:Decades ago when I worked in the loop, I would partake of a cafeteria style breakfast at a restaurant on south Wabash. Maybe at the corner of Jackson? It was cheap! I think steak and eggs for like five bucks? I'm sure it's long gone. Anyone recall the name and address? And when did it close and why? Long live the cheap loop sit down breakfast!

I realize we've already identified Ronny's as your long-gone restaurant, but how about some information on its longer-gone predecessor? The northwest corner of Wabash and Van Buren has a long history of selling cheap steaks, going back at least to the 1950s. Before Ronny's took over, 340 S Wabash was home to Mister Mike's Steak House, another of the budget steak houses once common in the Loop. I'm not sure when Mike's closed and Ronny's opened. Anyone remember Mister Mike's?

Have you gone for breakfast at the new Ronny's yet?

Postcard (1960s?) from my collection

The Famous Elliott's Pine Log Restaurant and Lounge was nestled in three wooded acres in Skokie, Illinois. Destroyed by a fire in 1955, the Pine Log came back stronger than ever. It was the place to go for special occasions. The menu was fabulous and included their very popular roasted duck. Check out their history with some great images.
CLICK TO READ ─► https://drloihjournal.blogspot.com/2017/12/elliotts-pine-log-restaurant-lounge-skokie.html in my Digital Research Library of Illinois History Journal™ - Please use the links at the bottom of the article to share, 'like' and such.

edc wrote:

justjoan wrote:Two places that seem like they've been long gone, but are still going:

Ramova Grill
Hamburger King


huh?? ramova''s grill IS gone. whatever do you mean? ...

Rob's (Vital Information) quote about Ramova is on the first page of the thread and from 2004, well before Spring 2012 when Ramova closed.

Several of the recent posts above, starting with jordanhojo's, were in a separate thread and merged into the larger thread originating in 2004.

Acclaimed South Side Chef Could Resurrect 82-Year-Old Bridgeport Diner and Its Storied Chili. Duck Inn chef Kevin Hickey is part of a $23 million project to revive the Ramova Theater and its restaurant

https://chicago.eater.com/2019/11/21/20 ... k-inn-plan

Restaurants of all types have suffered greatly during the current pandemic, and many across the nation are projected to never reopen even after a return to more normal times. Such a prediction can't help but prompt recollections of once-popular Northbrook restaurants that now are only memories.

https://www.dailyherald.com/news/202101 ... estaurants

Dave148 wrote:

Restaurants of all types have suffered greatly during the current pandemic, and many across the nation are projected to never reopen even after a return to more normal times. Such a prediction can't help but prompt recollections of once-popular Northbrook restaurants that now are only memories.

https://www.dailyherald.com/news/202101 ... estaurants

Nice little article. The Chalet was where I first had prime rib, and I remember Phil Johnson's. We were on the very west edge of Northbrook, and the stuff from around there that I miss (Jake's Ribs, Mandarin Garden) isn't listed.

Has anyone ever been able to find the recipe for the Tropical Hut Creamy Garlic Dressing? It was the best.