All The Old Familiar Places (RIP)

I miss the Golden Ox. It's been gone a loong time, but I still miss it.

I miss Tango. Gare St. Lazar. The Bakery. La Choza. La Siesta. Welcome Inn. Fricanos. Sanko. The Magic Pan. Jaques. Chestnut Street Grill.

Anyone want to add to the misery?

Sole Mio

Febo's

Schulien's

Cock Robin Ice cream stores

I did my version of this list back on CH when the thread started but I did overlook some of those mentioned here.

I had a girlfriend who waitressed at Chestnut St. Grill and we went there once together and got very well "taken care of" by all her friends. Grilled swordfish was amazing as I recall.

Also Sole Mio, though it seemed to me that it got less wonderful as time went on.

Chosa was my first taste of Mexican food as a NY'er coming to NU.

Belden Deli for late night comfort food, and the thrill of sitting around among a bunch of cops at 3AM while stoned. Such rebels we were.

Winklestein's deli (if I have the name right - near north spot); was the closest thing to a real deli for a while there.

Panang - a Malaysian place; somewhere around Fullerton/Southport I believe. Handsome room. Had some of my first non-Indian curries there.

Wicklines

Country Store (or Kitchen, or Cafe) - near Fullerton/Lincoln; nice fresh upscale salads of all sorts and a kitchen that did sandwiches, soup, etc. Had many a theatre-related meeting over long lunches there. Rumor was the business was the casualty of a divorce. Don't know. Miss it.

Sheridan Beach Cafe - up in the lobby of a large building at around Sheridan and Jarvis. Counter and 3 booths only. Great breakfasts.

The Pickle Barrel

Miller's Steak House (original on Western)

Grassfields

Ashkenaz

Mings Chinese (by Loyola L)

I have very fond childhood memories of tha Taproot Pub. My mom would take me there for the steamed clams, they were a revelation to me.

I also miss the various and sundry non chain Chinese buffets, like Magic Wok on Touhy and Szechwan Palace in Evanston. The New China Buffets are crap and I wish there were some decent places still around. I know I know, but I LIKE buffets!

In my Hyde Park neighborhood, I lament the long-departed House of Eng (on the roof of the Del Prado, it had an outdoor deck with a wonderful view of downtown), House of Tiki (not so special for chow, but my brothers and friends toasted me there on the night before my wedding), the Hyde Park Coffee Shop (also the Del Prado, the last enduring 24-hour dining spot in our part of town), Chances R (for the environment and occasional live music), Mallory's (the only "nice" public restaurant in HP/K, on the top floor of the Hyde Park Bank bldg.) and Cocorico Rotisserie (just recently closed -- the oven's probably still warm).

I also miss Bon Ton, and old ice cream shop just off of Rush Street (a stone's throw from the long-plowed-under Parkway Theatre). It was fun date place for my wife and me. And I'll put a second for the Belden Deli at its original location (now a Tower Records, eegh!). (I didn't like the Howard St. version so much; it too has closed.)

Oh, and I miss the friendly Fannie May stores on every corner.

Ireland's
The steak/italian joint where Crofton's is on Wells
Barney's Market Club
Yen Ching in n'ville
Le Perroquet
Le Francais (it ain't the same)
Les Deux Gros
Binyon's (where this started previously)
Corona Cafe
The game place across from Union Station.

But mostly the Golden Ox, my Grandma, and her father all of whom loved to go there so while the food was quite good, the company and love was even better.

Two Division St. places that vanished in the last few years: Twilight and Mais.

Edit: Was also reminded by a Mike G. post of the Bistro Zinc on Southport. Never failed to have a good meal there.

And I think the winner of the "How Can I Miss You When You Won't Go Away" Award is Demon Dog on Fullerton.

The two places that I most miss from a sense of quality like this has not come close since (and were places I vistited a lot):

Studio M Ice Cream
Winklesteins

Two places that still exist but such vastly different forms that I consider them gone (and are more sentimental than truly great")

Little Louie's - Northbrook
Boobies - Niles

Three mythical places I wish I knew:

Fritzels
Joe Stein's
Ideal Candies (very much in existence in my lifetime, but I was too ignorant to know)

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

Ramova Grill
Hamburger King

Once place that's highly old fashioned, but with prices high enough to wash away any sentiment:

Manny's

Interesting that you put Boobies on the list. I've been going there for as long as I remember. But I only order 1 thing and that's the steak sandwich. And I have no problem regarding any changes there, at least for that one item. Maybe everything else has changed, but the steak sandwich remains one of my favorite things if I get anywhere near the area.

I miss many of the places already mentioned. I'll add Chez Paul. Other places that were probably not monumental losses, but that I liked, were

Carlucci on Halstead
Brother Jimmy's next door (good when it opened, I swear)
La Locanda
Savanah (Remember that place, anyone? Carpetbagger steak. Wow.)
Parma (Bollito misto. I mean, how could you not like a place that has that.)
Okno was kind of cool when it was new, too.

One of my long time favorite Chicago restaurants was Relish on Halstead.

It was a great room, with a great chef and perhaps the best vegetarian plate I have ever seen (so good that I would frequently order it even though I'm quite the carnivore otherwise). The vegetable plate had something like 18 different seasonal vegetables, each prepared in a different and appropriate manner - really amazing and very tasty.

Once, while dining there with a friend we engaged our waiter in a conversation about many of the dishes on the menu, when our meal came out, the chef included samples of much of the menu gratis for us to see what we had been asking about - one of the best meals of my life and we left quite the tip to be sure.

I think the same chef then opened up Mango, which has also now closed.

Shannon

midas wrote:Interesting that you put Boobies on the list. I've been going there for as long as I remember. But I only order 1 thing and that's the steak sandwich. And I have no problem regarding any changes there, at least for that one item. Maybe everything else has changed, but the steak sandwich remains one of my favorite things if I get anywhere near the area.

My Boobies will always have a salad bar with the odd mix of gloppy corn relish, chocolate pudding, green tomatoes and sauerkraut. Delievery would come in a white Beattle "Booby-mobile", and I'd expect to hear Sally drone out the orders in secret Booby code. So, even if everything on the menu tastes the same, and granted its been several years now, it cannot ever be the Boobies I loved.

JeffB wrote:Brother Jimmy's next door (good when it opened, I swear)

I believe you. I always liked Brother Jimmy's. Liked it pretty much to the end.

House of Bertini's (where Crofton is now- still the best steak I've ever had)

Dave's Hamburgers on Mannheim

Russell's BBQ Beef (20+ years ago when it was still good)

Keeler's Candies in Elmhurst

Yankee Doodle Dandy, various locations

Vital Information wrote:My Boobies will always have a salad bar with the odd mix of gloppy corn relish, chocolate pudding, green tomatoes and sauerkraut. Delievery would come in a white Beattle "Booby-mobile", and I'd expect to hear Sally drone out the orders in secret Booby code. So, even if everything on the menu tastes the same, and granted its been several years now, it cannot ever be the Boobies I loved.

Wow, it's been so long, I forgot all about the salad bar. And I never lived close enough for delivery. But you're right, the charm (or lack of charm) is gone and has been for years. But I'll never give up those steak sandwiches.

saps - thanks for remembering Bertini - I mentioned it but could not recall the name.

Was Russell's ever really good, or were we younger and less discriminating?

[quote="Paul Mollica"]In my Hyde Park neighborhood, I lament the long-departed House of Eng (on the roof of the Del Prado, it had an outdoor deck with a wonderful view of downtown), House of Tiki (not so special for chow, but my brothers and friends toasted me there on the night before my wedding), the Hyde Park Coffee Shop (also the Del Prado, the last enduring 24-hour dining spot in our part of town), Chances R (for the environment and occasional live music),

when i was young there was a middle eastern restaurant at the top of the hyde park bank building called efendi (i believe). i think mallory's may have replaced it for a while.

i also miss the eagle -- once again, food wasn't great, but it had great atmosphere.

and then (to really date myself) i miss the unique deli which used to occupy the corner of 53rd & harper (where pizza capri holds court)

thank goodness there's still valois!

eve

Saps,

Wow, I haven't thought about Keeler's in a long time. I used to hang out there in high school, drinking coffee and eating peanut butter and bacon sandwiches (a novelty to me at the time, and I doubt you can find them made regularly anywhere anymore, though I make them at home all the time).

David

Hey John M

Thanks for mentioning Schulien's( now O'Donnovan's). My mother is a Schulien and we lived upstairs when I was a kid. Lots of great memories.

Had dinner there last night with my family. Good food,decent beer selection and kid friendly,while still retaining its old saloon atmospher.Gives new meaning to the term "family restaurant"

JSM
(John M also)

Shannon Clark wrote:One of my long time favorite Chicago restaurants was Relish on Halstead.... I think the same chef then opened up Mango, which has also now closed.

Mango was owned by Chef Steven Chiappetti, last seen at Cafe Le Coq in Oak Park. I don't think he had anything to do with Relish. I've an idea that was owned by one of the Terczak brothers, but I could be misremembering.

Wishbone on Grand, a long lost friend.

On the Hyde Park front, I too miss the Tiki. I miss the old, dirty Jimmy's. I also miss University Gardens and their photos of Muhammad Ali and delicious, crunchy falafel. And the middle eastern grocery store (I can't remember the name) the same owners operated farther west on 53rd where I would get HUGE falafel sandwiches with fluorescent fuscia hot pickled turnips stuffed in.

Taco and Burrito House on Broadway, just south of Irving. It's still there, (in fact, it has spawned) but the food isn't nearly as good.

Little Louie's in Northbrook is gone? I haven't been there in ages, and they hadn't been the same since they moved down the street (most likely, it's because they had to change the oil )

Things I miss:

• Silk Road (Korean) in Niles -- great selection of side dishes, friendlier to non-asians than many of the Korean places in the area
  The Kefta at Open Sesame in Niles (now Sphinx Cafe)
• The 'death spot' in Glenview at Milwaukee and Lake. Bertucci's died there, El Torito died there (they actually did a few things very well for a chain, beating the heck out of Chi-Chi's), and it's been empty for years.
• Los Magueyes in Evanston (where the Firehouse is). Haven't had a salsa that good in ages. Introduced me to queso fundido, great chiles rellenos, excellent mole.

Joel, you brought back some nice memories there. When my husband and I were first married, we used to live in Evanston. There was many a Friday night when we'd come home from work and both have the same thought of Los Magueyes on our minds. Really great food.

Another good spot was La Bastille on Huron (I think).

Does anyone remember a place called Shangri-La that used to be near the Chicago Theater? My Mom and I talk about that place all the time. Kind of an upscale Don the Beachcomber's. There was a main floor with tables, but they also had two ascending tiers of tables on either side. Definitely the best place to sit was to score a table on one of these tiers.

When I was visiting Chicago in 1985, I recall that my family and I (two young children) had a wonderful time at Dove's on the Southwest Side (this was before Dove's became a national brand - I assume that they are related). It was an old-time soda fountain. It provided a transcendent milk shake.

I also miss the Bakery - one of the early, great gourmet restaurants. One of my best friends from high school had his wedding dinner there - his father was an old dear friend of Louis Sz. - and as you can imagine the meal was other-worldly.

From the German Side (yes, Chicago used to be a great town for German restaurants:
Red Star Inn
Zum Deutschen Eck
and is Heidelberger Fass still there? I haven't been up that way in ages.

In a class by itself:
Stockyard Inn

In Bridgeport:
Governor's Table
David's (best ice cream soda bar none)

From the Jewish side (Manny's wasn't always the only game in town):
Batt's (also on Roosevelt)
Braverman's (on W. Chicago?--with greasier latkes than even Manny's)
and last, but not least,
the South Shore Ashkenaz--a real deli

jbw wrote:From the German Side (yes, Chicago used to be a great town for German restaurants:
Red Star Inn
Zum Deutschen Eck
and is Heidelberger Fass still there? I haven't been up that way in ages.

Sadly the Heidelberger Fass is no more. It was a nice restaurant run by very nice people that (as I understand it) wanted to retire and didn't have any family members that wanted to continue it. I loved taking my mother-in-law there and aiding and abetting her in cheating on her diet.

Another German option I miss is The Carmen.

Boobie's is still physically there, but "spiritually" it has no resemblance to what it once was.

Although Notre Dame High School was theoretically a closed-campus school (early 70's ), we used to sneak out on a regular basis to sample the fine cuisine of Niles and Morton Grove. Topp's Big Boy (Harlem-Dempster) was a usual haunt as well as Jack-in-the-Box(Golf Rd.) Our favorite venue, however, was Boobie's----For around $1.50 you could have their famous skirt steak sammy with fries and a trip to the salad bar for the dill pickles and corn relish. You were also treated to a floor show by none other than Boobie himself--- He gave (loving) grief to anyone who walked into his store. God, I miss characters like him.

cito wrote: You were also treated to a floor show by none other than Boobie himself--- He gave (loving) grief to anyone who walked into his store. God, I miss characters like him.

Woody from Smokin' Woody's does this as well, but he doesn't have what it takes and he just comes off as a screaming a-hole. He doesn't have the product to back it up, either.