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I was stuck in the drive through at that Checkers for nearly an hour once back in college. Almost missed a show at Second City as a result. I don't think I've gone back to Checkers since then.

I had no intentions of trying Jack in the Box, but there are many of them on O'ahu so I guess I'll give them a whirl this summer after seeing so many mentions.

As far as what I'd like to see come back, I'm with teatpuller - Cock Robin. Many fond childhood memories, and it would be great to be able to take my son there when he's older.

I would LOVE to see ChiChi's come back. I cannot find fried ice cream that tastes as heavenly as the ones made there. The tortilla chips and salsa they would give you before your meal was a staple of my childhood, growing up in Ohio. It was would be an every so often Saturday night treat.

Mr. Donut-As a child I was addicted to their sugar raised doughnuts.

Hmm, I just can't think of any other chain place but I can think of a lot of independants and mom and pop places over the years I would love to see again.

Yep, one of our favorites when we lived in Louisville (the Dupont Square location).

Cork and Cleaver.

They sell dog and suds root beer, regular and diet at Utra Food stores.

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Toria

"I like this place and willingly could waste my time in it" - As You Like It,
W. Shakespeare

My earliest dining out memories are of Burger Chef, I would love a funmeal about now. Maybe inaccurate but I have fond memories of the Kenny Rogers corn bread.

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“Statistics show that of those who contract the habit of eating, very few survive.”
George Bernard Shaw, Irish playwright (1856-1950)

Sounds like a line from the rarely seen, straight to DVD, "Diner II - The Middle Age Years."

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Think Yiddish, Dress British - Advice of Evil Ronnie to me.

The Local Beet's very big list of 2013 Farmer's Markets

Burger Chef.

Buy a $0.39 hamburger the size of an Eisenhower dollar. Put on about 6-8 slices of tomato, lettuce, onions, condiments and pickles. Almost enough to fill up a 12 year old.

I too would like to see someone bring Victoria Station back.

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"I would gladly pay you Tuesday for a hamburger today."

"Burger Chef.

Buy a $0.39 hamburger the size of an Eisenhower dollar. Put on about 6-8 slices of tomato, lettuce, onions, condiments and pickles. Almost enough to fill up a 12 year old."

I remember the first McDonald's to come to Hammond, IN. Circa 1956 I rode my bike there and for the princely sum of 50 cents received two hamburgers (.15 each), fries (.10) and a drink (.10). No sales tax back then.

Horn & Hardart! ... though unless you're from NY or Philly, you may not know of what I speak.

When I was in college in the late 80s/early 90s, the Duk's Red Hots at the corner of Ridge & Clark (now a park) was a regular late-night stop. I still have fond memories of the place, though I realize my opinion may have been tainted by alcohol at the time. (I realize there's still a location in Ukrainian Village... but it's no longer a chain if there's only one, is it?)

I didn't want to be the first one to shout, "BURGER CHEF!" I think we loved it because it wasn't McDonald's. Could only get it in Monticello, IN, when we went to Shafer Lake-Indiana Beach.

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Reading is a right. Censorship is not.

Someone upthread mentioned Morrison's Cafeteria, so I was wondering -- were cafeterias ever a "thing" in Chicago? Across the South, they are pretty much mandatory.

I shared many pleasant meals at the K&W Cafeteria in Greensboro, NC, with my great aunt, who loved them for their value and, to her mind, great food.

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"When I'm born I'm a Tar Heel bred, and when I die I'm a Tar Heel dead."

It's not likely anyone here remembers but Chicago had some Horn & Hardarts too. Starting around 1917 they moved into the Chicago market and by the early '20s operated two Automats and six Automat-Cafeterias. I don't think they were very successful here.


Yes, cafeterias were a very big thing in Chicago, from the late 1800s through the mid-20th century.


Here's a favorite cafeteria postcard from my collection.



El Mar Cafeteria, completed in 1918 at a cost of $100,000, set a new standard in elegance for "help yourself cafes."

When I was growing up they advertised the same combo, but the price had gone up a bit, so the tag line was, "...and change back from your dollar."

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"Strange how potent cheap music is."

I give the remaining cafeteria chains - Furr's, Luby's, Picadilly's, etc. - about twenty more years to survive. The clientele keeps getting smaller and older.

I do not not think that cafeterias were ever all that big in the Midwest (except Indianapolis). Office buildings used to have them - and most of those were just OK and faded in the 70's.

I insist on hitting up Bryce's when we are in Texarkana. As long as you skip the "cream" pies, everything is worthwhile, and certainly not what you'd get here (for one thing, all the food seems to be buttered). Wonder why the cafeteria is such a thriving tradition in the South, and a thing of the past up here?

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As a mattra-fact, Pie Face, you are beginning to look almost human. - Barbara Bennett

Does the Woolworth counter count as a cafeteria? My friend from high school worked at Woolworth's for a short time, and she had the nerdy old-fashioned dress uniform and I loved to go there and give her hell. "How much longer until you get my Tulip Sundae, huh? I gotta get back to the office!" And then leave her a dime for a tip. Those were the days.

Also, K-Mart used to have a cafeteria in the back of it's store (at least the one on Harlem & Lawrence). I miss that one especially. We'd always stop in for a Coke & fries when I was a wee tot.

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I want to have a good body, but not as much as I want dessert. ~ Jason Love
There is no pie in Nighthawks, which is why it's such a desolate image. ~ Happy Stomach
I can't go to Hollywood. I got biscuits to make. ~ Dwight Henry

Late-Nite Eats Database

Another vote for Victoria Station - that was a pretty exciting place to go to when I was young. We were really living large when dad would take us all to Kon Tiki Ports (I know it wasn't a chain).

I really liked the "High Low" a Double Cheeseburger at Sandy's. There was one in Hillside across from the Hillside
Bowl by the Eisenhower entrance. Another on Spring Rd in Elmhurst.
http://www.captainerniesshowboat.com/sandys

Food Nut, there was a Burger Chef on Roosevelt Rd in Hillside/Westchester just east of Wolf Rd right by the original Dee's Diggety Dog.

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Why does man kill? He kills for food. And not only food: frequently there must be a beverage.
Woody Allen

As mentioned upthread: Prince Castle/Cock Robin

Also a place I liked alot as a kid/teen: Italian U-Boat

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I got a real good mind.

Before Cotton was King: http://www.grubseeker.blogspot.com

There was a Taco Bell-esque fast food establishment called Sancho's at the corner of 75th and Lemont in Downers Grove in the early 80s. I loved it. Haven't seen it since.

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~Ruth Reichl wannabe