trpt2345 wrote:The conflagration at Costa's reminded me of something. Across the street from Coasta's there was another greek restaurant which maybe thirty years ago mysteriously blew up one night. Nothing was ever solved, and the rubble seemed to sit there undisturbed for many months. Eventually the site was cleared and the building that houses the Giordano's there was built. Anyone remember anything about that place?

ekreider wrote:The two Greek restaurants with entertainment including belly dancers were Hellas and Grecian Gardens. One was where Costa's was more recently while the other one was across the street. I do not remember which one was on which corner. In any case there was a big gas explosion in the wee hours that really flattened the place. An owner just happened to be in the alley.

It was Grecian Gardens, at the southwest corner of Halsted & Van Buren, that blew up in 1978. According to a contemporary newspaper account, the restaurant's manager was slightly injured by the explosion early on a Sunday morning as he was getting into his car parked in the adjacent alley.

nr706 wrote:

Diannie wrote:

quinnsi wrote:Kabul House...the ONLY afghan restaurant in Chicago

A

I miss The Helmand.

Damn - Peter beat me to it.

The Helmand was mentioned in the latest round of wikileaks documents; evidently it was run by Hamid Karzai's brother.

Phil Smidt's
Golden Ox
Schulien's (sp)
Hickory Pit
Sauer's

trpt2345 wrote:The Helmand was mentioned in the latest round of wikileaks documents; evidently it was run by Hamid Karzai's brother.

Ate there a few times years ago. Who knew?

trpt2345 wrote:The Helmand was mentioned in the latest round of wikileaks documents; evidently it was run by Hamid Karzai's brother.

I believe the Karzai family also owns the Helmand restaurant in Cambridge, MA (which I believe is still around). I recall reading somewhere that they had several restaurants in the U.S.

jnm123 Postosted this subject: Richard's Drive-InPosted: Wed Jun 28, 2006 7:06 am

OK, this one goes WAY back...

Does anybody remember a Superdawg-style (actually more like Arnold's on 'Happy Days') drive-in on Lincoln Ave., north of Devon, probably near the original Lou Malnati's, called Richard's Drive-In?

My dad used to take my brothers and I there in the early-to-mid 1960's, and I definitely remember the big blue neon sign, the carhops, the trays teetering on the car windows, and of course the spillage!

No idea if the food was any good or not--I was more concerned at the time with tormenting my little brother...

Sorry for resurrecting an old post... but I do vaguely remember the above location.

And ... I definately do remember another Location ... on the site of the closed Mcdonalds at Armitage and Harlem.

But I seem to recall it being called Richards TWIN Drive In

Here is a photo of one in Detroit Michigan... Same signage....
so perhaps it was an early Chain

Suddenly I woke from hungry dreams, craving the pastichio from a long-gone greek place on 57th street in Hyde Park. I believe it might have been called Angelo's? Classic greek diner with booths, excellent greekburger, free soup w/every order. I liked it a lot better than the still surviving Salonika further east. But was it called Angelo's, or am I confusing the name with a place that was up by the Morse El--similar place that lasted likely into the 90's.

Matt wrote:

trpt2345 wrote:The Helmand was mentioned in the latest round of wikileaks documents; evidently it was run by Hamid Karzai's brother.

I believe the Karzai family also owns the Helmand restaurant in Cambridge, MA (which I believe is still around). I recall reading somewhere that they had several restaurants in the U.S.

There's a Helmand in downtown Baltimore (Mt. Vernon Place neighborhood, near the Peabody Conservatory) that I've been to a couple of times.

Marco wrote:Suddenly I woke from hungry dreams, craving the pastichio from a long-gone greek place on 57th street in Hyde Park. I believe it might have been called Angelo's? Classic greek diner with booths, excellent greekburger, free soup w/every order. I liked it a lot better than the still surviving Salonika further east. But was it called Angelo's, or am I confusing the name with a place that was up by the Morse El--similar place that lasted likely into the 90's.

You're probably thinking of Agora, at the southwest corner of 57th & Kenwood until the mid-to-late 1980s.

Rene G wrote:

Marco wrote:Suddenly I woke from hungry dreams, craving the pastichio from a long-gone greek place on 57th street in Hyde Park. I believe it might have been called Angelo's? Classic greek diner with booths, excellent greekburger, free soup w/every order. I liked it a lot better than the still surviving Salonika further east. But was it called Angelo's, or am I confusing the name with a place that was up by the Morse El--similar place that lasted likely into the 90's.

You're probably thinking of Agora, at the southwest corner of 57th & Kenwood until the mid-to-late 1980s.

Yes, The Agora. I read up-thread and realized I had asked the same question about 3 years ago. I guess I caught the very end of it. When I moved out of Hyde Park to Andersonville, I kind of felt Augies had a similar feel. Even though there must have been thousands of Greek diners like that, it left a meaningful impression on me as a very young student.

Now, what about Angelo's? Was it not a place by the Morse El, around the same time period? I remember thinking it was huge---huge and usually empty. Good breakfast though.

Marco wrote:Yes, The Agora. I read up-thread and realized I had asked the same question about 3 years ago.

I, too, had forgotten about that exchange. Looks like we have a solid consensus it was the Agora.

In January 2009, Marco wrote:

mailsf wrote:

Marco wrote:University Gardens was my other HP fave, next to Rib'sN'Bib's on 53rd/Dorchester. Very low prices, very great hummos. There was also a Greek diner on 57th near the Universty where I'd go have pastichio or a Greek burger on a cold night stufy break. What was that called? Vastly superior to the Salonika down the street, which yet lives on.

Was it The Agora? In the spot that later became Ann Sather, and is now split between Medici Bakery and Noodles, Etc?

It may well have been the Agora. And before the Ann Sather, it was some sort of truly awful trendy-style retro-diner. The Agora was really very good for what it was---a Greek coffee shop with Greektown-quality entress, burgers, breakfast. The retro-diner was nauseating--- they once served me their take on a basic burger that was the size, shape and texture of a golf ball on a bun.

Sometimes you have to leave well enough alone.

That retro-diner you mention was Prairie City Diner, an attempt by some ex-LEYE people to take advantage of the popularity of SF's then-new Fog City Diner.

Marco wrote:Now, what about Angelo's? Was it not a place by the Morse El, around the same time period? I remember thinking it was huge---huge and usually empty. Good breakfast though.

Angelo's was on the north side of Morse a few doors west of the L, where Los Portales is now.

jazzman wrote:

jnm123 wrote:Does anybody remember a Superdawg-style (actually more like Arnold's on 'Happy Days') drive-in on Lincoln Ave., north of Devon, probably near the original Lou Malnati's, called Richard's Drive-In?

My dad used to take my brothers and I there in the early-to-mid 1960's, and I definitely remember the big blue neon sign, the carhops, the trays teetering on the car windows, and of course the spillage!

No idea if the food was any good or not--I was more concerned at the time with tormenting my little brother...

Sorry for resurrecting an old post... but I do vaguely remember the above location.

And ... I definately do remember another Location ... on the site of the closed Mcdonalds at Armitage and Harlem.

But I seem to recall it being called Richards TWIN Drive In

Richard's Drive In Carfeteria (yes, Carfeteria) was known for their California Twinburger. That might explain the confusion about the name. In addition to 6667 N Lincoln and 1937 N Harlem they had locations in Wilmette and Evergreen Park.

Ah, yes, vindication! Richard's @ 6667 N. Lincoln--OK, that WAS right where that bank building is right now, just to the north and across the side street from the flagship Lou Malnati's at 6649 N. Lincoln (which wasn't there until 1972). And I now remember Richard's had a twin burger that was the precursor to the Big Mac.

OK, got another one, near there, don't know if it's ever been mentioned: Obie's, seem to remember near Touhy & Lincoln, for a few years in the mid 1960's. First all-you-can-eat buffet-style place I had ever seen. It's also where our family coined the phrase 'mountain of food'. Why do I think there was some kind of Lettuce Entertain You connection with Obie's? That timeframe was still a few years before LEYE, when all the Melmans had was Mr. Ricky's in Skokie.

jnm123 wrote:Ah, yes, vindication! Richard's @ 6667 N. Lincoln--OK, that WAS right where that bank building is right now, just to the north and across the side street from the flagship Lou Malnati's at 6649 N. Lincoln (which wasn't there until 1972). And I now remember Richard's had a twin burger that was the precursor to the Big Mac.

Richard's Drive In sold the California Twinburger 15 years before McDonald's introduced their double burger in 1969 but I wouldn't consider it the precursor to the Big Mac. At the risk of oversimplifying hamburger history, both the Twinburger and Big Mac were patterned after the Big Boy, popularized by Bob's in Southern California in the 1940s. Bob's Big Boy was probably the first (or at least the most influential) double-decker burger on a three-piece sesame bun, dressed with shredded lettuce and special sauce. Unlike the Big Boy, the standard Twinburger came with sliced tomato but no cheese. The Big Mac is a closer copy of the Big Boy (though the sauce is different).

jnm123 wrote:OK, got another one, near there, don't know if it's ever been mentioned: Obie's, seem to remember near Touhy & Lincoln, for a few years in the mid 1960's. First all-you-can-eat buffet-style place I had ever seen. It's also where our family coined the phrase 'mountain of food'. Why do I think there was some kind of Lettuce Entertain You connection with Obie's? That timeframe was still a few years before LEYE, when all the Melmans had was Mr. Ricky's in Skokie.

Obie's was a small regional chain of buffet restaurants that started in Highland, Indiana in 1966. An ad from 1967 mentions only the original and another in Calumet City. I don't doubt there was an Obie's in Lincolnwood but I can't find any reference to it. The closest I found was one in Waukegan.

Excellent info, Rene. Yes, Obie's was there, somewhere in that confluence of Touhy/Lincoln/Kostner, for a short period of time. Also nearby, where L. Woods (and Bones before it) stands now, there was The Kenilworth Inn, which I recall being in the same vein as Elliott's Pine Log. I remember my dad taking my grandparents there for a 'special' dinner, not much else, think it was gone by the early '70's. Funny how Skokie/Lincolnwood was considered outpost-like enough in the forties & fifties to have rustic-style supper clubs.

jnm123 wrote:OK, got another one, near there, don't know if it's ever been mentioned: Obie's, seem to remember near Touhy & Lincoln, for a few years in the mid 1960's. First all-you-can-eat buffet-style place I had ever seen.

I remember it and it too was my first introduction to a buffet

jnm123 wrote:Also nearby, where L. Woods (and Bones before it) stands now, there was The Kenilworth Inn, which I recall being in the same vein as Elliott's Pine Log.

Elliott's Pine Log Inn continues to this day in Edison Park. It's run by the son of the original owner and is now called Elliott's Seafood Grill & Chop House. It's still got somewhat of a supper club feel and serves the same meat jello ribs as the original Pine Log Inn. The steaks and seafood are clearly the better choice, but if you're up for a bit of nostalgia...

Elliott's Seafood Grill & Chop House
6690 North Northwest Hwy
Chicago, IL 60631
(773) 775-5277

We moved to Lincolnwood in 1955. I lived on Kedvale and Lincoln. Here is a list of the old familiar places:
1. The Kenilworth Inn, became Bones, now L Wood Tap
2. Novak's Chicken-in-the-Rough, now Lou Malnetti's
3. Jalin's on Lincoln & Crawford
4. Howard Johnson's on Lincoln & Crawford
5. Gabby Hartnett's snack bar on Lincoln
6. King Cole on Touhy & Crawford
7. Rubin's Deli on Touhy, later became the short lived Poochie's
8. Algauer's on Lincoln & Touhy
9. Biasett's on Touhy
10. DeMar's on Touhy
11. The Whistler on Devon
12. Thompson's Dairy on Devon
13. Tasty Freeze on Devon, which became a Dairy Queen
14. Henry's Drive-In on Lincoln, became Alpha's
15. Brady's on Lincoln, next to the police station

"chicagostyledog"]We moved to Lincolnwood in 1955. I lived on Kedvale and Lincoln. Here is a list of the old familiar places:

do you remember Alberti's pizza in downtown skokie? it was on the southwest corner of either lincoln or niles center, just north of oakton. there was a bar in front and booths in the very dark room. i remember a large circular booth my family preferred. i have no idea how i'd rate the pizza now; but back then it was my family's 'go-to' pizza joint.

chicagostyledog wrote:We moved to Lincolnwood in 1955. I lived on Kedvale and Lincoln. Here is a list of the old familiar places:

You missed one of my favorites, Johnstone's on Peterson & Cicero. Great fried chicken, and a relish tray served to every table. I wish it was still there. I could walk over for chicken.

This one is a little odd since this place only closed in June. But it hasn't been the same place I remember for well over 20 years.

I'm talking about Laurie's Pizza on the corner of Foster and Broadway. In it's heyday it was a booming business. I remember it was one of the few places that provided their own cars (Jeeps actually) for their delivery drivers. They had great thin crust pizza with excellent fennel loaded sausage. It was our go to place for delivery when I was a kid. I don't know when they opened originally, but I seem to remember them as far back as 50 years ago.

I also remember going there back then and actually eating in the restaurant. For me, it was a fancy place. It was probably a dump then, but I remember it being dark with wine bottles with candles stuck in them on tables. It was true special occasion for my poor family.

I'm sorry to hear they finally closed. I'm even sorrier to hear what happened that finally caused them to give up. But really, it hasn't been the same for a long long time.

justjoan wrote:do you remember Alberti's pizza in downtown skokie? it was on the southwest corner of either lincoln or niles center, just north of oakton. there was a bar in front and booths in the very dark room. i remember a large circular booth my family preferred. i have no idea how i'd rate the pizza now; but back then it was my family's 'go-to' pizza joint.

Alberti's was at 8050 N. Lincoln Ave. The current location of Village Inn Pizza.

Pics of lost Chicago restaurants - how many do you remember or miss?

http://www.craigslostchicago.com/lost-eateries.php

toria wrote:Pics of lost Chicago restaurants - how many do you remember or miss?

http://www.craigslostchicago.com/lost-eateries.php

The Mayflower donut shop. I loved watching the donut machine in the window.

There is still a Golden Bear in Alsip 12001 S Cicero Ave Alsip, IL 60803
http://www.eatatgoldenbear.com/welcome.html

And a De Mar's coffee shop in Blue Island.
12941 Western Ave Blue Island, IL 60406
(708) 388-3422

toria wrote:Pics of lost Chicago restaurants - how many do you remember or miss?

http://www.craigslostchicago.com/lost-eateries.php

Wow, surprised at how many of those I've eaten at:
Arthur Treacher's: Always enjoyed that, but for some reason the very similar Long John Silver's is always a mistake
The Buffalo, of course
Golden Bear - noted above that there's still one, but I'd been to the one in Deerfield as a kid
Ponderosa, Bonanza, Sizzler, and Rustler -- won't be missed. Surprised at how man of those chains there were
Skobel's hot dogs in Mt Prospect - nobody but me seems to remember that place and the theater next to it
Cock Robin - Sadly missed, I had ice cream from there a lot as a kid in Skokie
Amy Joy Donuts - Were they the one next to Wrigley?
Farrell's & Swensens -- how many places had a "Kitchen Sink" that your mom would never let you get?
Big Boy
Poppin Fresh - It's just Baker's Square
Demon Dogs - snif
Bresler's
The Prime Minister -- really good, old fashioned stuff, now a gravel-covered vacant lot
McMahon's -- right next door to The Prime Minister, no loss. It's a banquet place now.
Shakey's Pizza was always my father's favorite chain place, I think I've only eaten at them while traveling outside of the area
Boston Sea Party -- I don't think I ever ate at one, but my parents raved about it when I was a young teen
Golden Ox -- Had one great meal there in the mid 80's
Stagger Lee's -- it became the Loft, then Bogie's Barn, sadly closed (I still need a new place for patty melt)
Peep's -- I didn't even realize it was gone... but if you're in that neighborhood, you should be eating at Paradise Pup
John's Garage was on the lower level of Woodfield, right?
Doc Weed's -- We ate there frequently when we lived near Golf Mill, it's been torn down and there's a Portillo's there
Ground Round and Pickle Barrel - is there a difference?
Sambos -- wow, I think I remember that place, being taken there by my grandmother
Chi-Chi's -- Better than most of the chain mex places, the site of my older son's first complete sentence
Ho-Jo's -- Miss Wednesday Fried Clams

JoelF wrote:Ground Round and Pickle Barrel - is there a difference?

HUGE difference. All they had in common was peanuts.

John's Garage was in the Woodfield expansion wing on the lower level.
Farrell's was upstairs by the (name escapes me) German beer hall& hot dog place. Another favorite there was the Greek place that moved to a mall in (Naperville?), the Creperie across from the pet store,
Hot Sam's pretzels, and years later I took my then four year old to the Mars 2112 place that abruptly closed. That was fun but expensive. Oh -there was a buffet place above the skating rink that had great fried liver. I lived across the street (literally) before Woodfield was built so I went there a lot to eat. My mother thought that the Roy Rodgers (mid level) had the best fried chicken and always had me bring back some. Hippo's was the closest place when we moved in and Higgins (72) was two lanes DIRT. Schaumburg didn't even have a post office-the mail came from Paatine. (And for reference, I'm only 50).

It is depressing that thanks to my parents I ate at 90% of those on the list and worked at a couple of them.

My favorite story was from Chez Paul when there were only two couples there. The other couple was George Hamilton and his wife. He had a bad bottle of wine and was so upset that he brought it to our table and asked what I thought about it. The best comment on the place was the brokerage that bought the place when asked about it mentioning how filthy everything was and that the reconstruction crew was astounded that people ate in such conditions. (Must have changed since I was there).

JoelF wrote:

toria wrote:Pics of lost Chicago restaurants - how many do you remember or miss?

http://www.craigslostchicago.com/lost-eateries.php

Wow, surprised at how many of those I've eaten at:
Arthur Treacher's: Always enjoyed that, but for some reason the very similar Long John Silver's is always a mistake
The Buffalo, of course
Golden Bear - noted above that there's still one, but I'd been to the one in Deerfield as a kid
Ponderosa, Bonanza, Sizzler, and Rustler -- won't be missed. Surprised at how man of those chains there were
Skobel's hot dogs in Mt Prospect - nobody but me seems to remember that place and the theater next to it
Cock Robin - Sadly missed, I had ice cream from there a lot as a kid in Skokie
Amy Joy Donuts - Were they the one next to Wrigley?
Farrell's & Swensens -- how many places had a "Kitchen Sink" that your mom would never let you get?
Big Boy
Poppin Fresh - It's just Baker's Square
Demon Dogs - snif
Bresler's
The Prime Minister -- really good, old fashioned stuff, now a gravel-covered vacant lot
McMahon's -- right next door to The Prime Minister, no loss. It's a banquet place now.
Shakey's Pizza was always my father's favorite chain place, I think I've only eaten at them while traveling outside of the area
Boston Sea Party -- I don't think I ever ate at one, but my parents raved about it when I was a young teen
Golden Ox -- Had one great meal there in the mid 80's
Stagger Lee's -- it became the Loft, then Bogie's Barn, sadly closed (I still need a new place for patty melt)
Peep's -- I didn't even realize it was gone... but if you're in that neighborhood, you should be eating at Paradise Pup
John's Garage was on the lower level of Woodfield, right?
Doc Weed's -- We ate there frequently when we lived near Golf Mill, it's been torn down and there's a Portillo's there
Ground Round and Pickle Barrel - is there a difference?
Sambos -- wow, I think I remember that place, being taken there by my grandmother
Chi-Chi's -- Better than most of the chain mex places, the site of my older son's first complete sentence
Ho-Jo's -- Miss Wednesday Fried Clams

What a great site that is!

McMahon's - is that where the Boondocks was beforehand? I used to love the Boondocks as a kid. Ribs (probably meat jello, but delicious to this kid), great steak fries, peanuts, baseball games on tv, video games, etc. This was probably my favorite Northbrook joint as a kid. I seem to recall Prime Minister was newly built next door later on.

Golden Bear - I remember loving the fried chicken at the location at Lake Cook just west of Waukegan.

Sambo's - mmmmmm . . . tiger butter! haha

Chi-Chi's - Ate at the location just off Pfingsten and Lake Cook frequently as a teenager - right near Ed Debevic's and Shaw's, and my first ever fried ice cream. And I thought I was eating authentic Mexican!

Ground Round - I think I loved all places where I could throw peanut shells on the floor without repercussions.

I remember listening to the Harry Caray ads for Chicken Unlimited and driving all around to find one . . . when I did, I still loved Harry Caray, but decided I wouldn't trust his chicken advice any more.

I always preferred Bonanza to Ponderosa as a kid - all about the Texas Toast - scared to get near any such place now for fear of destroying childhood memories.

Of course, it's many of the now-shuttered Ameri-Chinese places I miss the most. Finding well made food of this type is really becoming harder to find (not sure that's necessarily a bad thing, except for nostalgia purposes).

BR wrote:Golden Bear - I remember loving the fried chicken at the location at Lake Cook just west of Waukegan.

+1 on the chicken and an honorable mention for their pancakes, a delightful end to more than a few substance induced late-night snack attacks.

Amendment: Chi-Chi's sucked, I had confused it with El Torito, which we enjoyed.