chicagostyledog wrote:There were some great pharmacies along Crawford from Devon to Church:


Landsman's on Church & Crawford

Wasn't Landsman's at the southwest corner of Main & Keystone?

Yes it was, Landsman's SW corner of Main/Keystone. Between them, Musket's, Mal's, Leon's (just east of Howard/Crawford), and Alexander's (NW corner of Knox/Oakton), those were our to-go places for Topp's baseball cards in the late 1960's.

BTW, Chgofood---Inferno on Central in Evanston was owned for a stretch by none other than Burt of Burt's Place fame.

stevez wrote:

stevez wrote:

chicagofoodies wrote:The Milk Pail on Howard was fun with the knight costume on display.

The Milk Pail was on Devon just west of McCormick, wasn't it?

My entire family (parents, aunts, uncles, grandparents) used to call it Dutch Dairy. I always wondered where that came from.

Now that you mention it...didn't the sign have a Dutch girl in wooden shoes and a milk pail?

I haven't seen the hot dog stand just east of the corner of Lincoln and Gross Pt. mentioned. It changed names several times but boasted a Lincoln theme for years. Each booth was named (John Wilkes Booth, Claire Booth Luce). We walked there or rode our bikes a lot as kids.

We also at at the hot dog stand on Golf and Lockwood a lot. I liked their fries but using the bathroom was an adventure. You went out the back and up the stairs to the creepy office space above the restaurant.

And not a restaurant exactly, but there was a Good Humor man stationed on the northwest corner of Golf and Harms for most of the 60s and 70s. You could ride there from the stables across the street for an ice cream.

chicagostyledog wrote:There were some great pharmacies along Crawford from Devon to Church:

Landsman's on Church & Crawford

I think it was Endler's at Church & Crawford.

Anyone remember a restaurant called Piccolo Mondo on Dempster on the south side of the street?

Also, I believe Endler's Pharmacy was on Crawford and either Oakton or Main. (NE corner)

Endler's was definitely on Crawford and Church. On the corner of the strip mall with Happy Foods.

The Chinese restaurant near LaRosa was New China. It's still there and is a not too bad American style Chinese place now with a strong Filipino twist. In the day it featured some of the best egg rolls ever.

For many years there was a sign in the window touting "Famous Chinese chef Henry Jew". Given the local demographics I always wondered if that was an example of sublime synchronicity or just clever marketing.

how bout gulliver's on howard street, yesterday's in downtown evanston (Where lou malnati's is now) and the loft on custard street which was upstairs from where lupito's is now on main street

chef joe

chef joe wrote:how bout gulliver's on howard street, yesterday's in downtown evanston (Where lou malnati's is now) and the loft on custard street which was upstairs from where lupito's is now on main street

chef joe

What is the loft (on Custer, not custard )?

I fondly remember Yesterday's. I was sad to see if go, but it is nice to have a Malnatti's in the area.

Gulliver's is still there.

Edited to change "Custar" to "Custer". How did I miss the red underline?

I think that one of the best restaurants ever in Skokie ( but perhaps it was already within Morton Grove) was LA MEME CHOSE at 5819 W. Dempster.
It was blend of Californian and French cuisines, with an emphasis on fresh seafood and vegetables. It was relatively fancy with white linen and good quality silverware.
It closed in the mid eighties.

lol..... yes it is custer...not custard....the "loft" was an upscale restaurant with waiters in classic french style butler wear......no one knew about it though because you had to go upstairs.....it didn't last long unfortunately....the food was pretty good

does anyone remember Oscar's on wakgeon(SP?) rd in morton grove(Near Dempster) their onion rings were great!!!

I remember Oscar's on Waukegan. At the time, I thought it was one of the better seafood options in that area.

JoelF wrote:

Artie wrote:

midas wrote:There was more than one Mark # on Dempster. I don't remember the actual numbers, but I know there was at least 2 of them at one point. According to that quote it was all one place that just kept adding a number occasionally.

I think there may have been one in Morton Grove @ Dempster & Waukegan where Produce World is now located.

That had a number, but I think it was "November 5"

I thought that was a Vosnos..."fine" dining, I seem to recall the signage had fancy lettering and a picture of a carriage on it?

Also, re: Kelly's, does anyone remember if there was ANOTHER Kelly's on Milwaukee Ave in Niles, I swear it was in the same location that later became Tasty Pup.

Oh PLEASE, PLEASE tell me about Kelly's Drive In!!! I am trying to get the exact inside set up of the one (the only one I know of) I went to on Main just west of McCormick in Skokie Circa 1970. I swear the uniforms were red striped vertical. The middle of the restaurant had this glass enclosed booth like area where you ordered your food. The glass slanted upward almost like an old airport tower...

any help (or little league pictures) would help.

Thanks

Chef Joe

chef joe- as you can see, people are off and running about skokie restaurants in general. have you thought about stopping by the skokie historical society to browse their picture collection? justjoan

i dunno if this is relavant, but Marshall Field's in Old Orchard had a pretty nice restaurant, at least in the mind of this little kid. I remember the waitresses in black dresses. "hard roll, soft roll, or hot apple kuchen?"

thanks joan....yes, i have called the shs, but i guess i need to go there to look....as of yet, between writing the book and working...i haven't gotten around to that part as of yet...i thank you, and all the rest...please keep the restaurants that you kinow/knew and loved in the skokie/evanston area running!!!

ty

joe

Am I too late to join the discussion? Sort of long, sorry.

I googled "'picnic tree' +skokie" to see what would happen and it brought me here.

If I recall correctly, Picnic Tree, located on the northeast corner of Dempster and Kildare was a walk-up counter restaurant (like McDonald's) and it had, to this day, the best french fries I ever ate. The seasoning made the fries so very tasty. I can still taste it. The hamburgers were decent. My fond memories of that short-lived restaurant are what prompted me to google it just to see what I would get. I remember the restaurant being built. I don't recall what was there before Picnic Tree but the Chandelier restaurant moved in after it.

Remember Charcoal Oven on Golf near Crawford? I passed by it a million times as a kid in the family car and as a grown up and I never, ever saw a car in their parking lot. Was it any good? Didn't they once have a fire?

What about Elliot's Pine Log on Skokie and Lincoln? Drove by that one as a little kid in the family car but we never went in. Was it any good??

What about Peacocks Dairy Bar on Skokie Boulevard just north of Old Orchard Road. I used to love their hot fudge sundaes.

I also remember a restaurant that was located on Skokie Boulevard and was adjacent to Turnstyle, now a Marshalls. Each table had a telephone on it. The waitress would hand out the menus and then when you were ready to order, one person in your group would pick up the telephone and place the order over the telephone to a loudspeaker in the kitchen. "This is table 12 and we want three orders of hamburgers....". I don't recall the name of the restaurant but I think the name King was in it.

How about the cafeteria-style restaurant on the top floor of The Fair (and then Montgomery Wards) in Old Orchard? That was a great place (for what it was). How about Edwards, also in Old Orchard? Good fries. And Henrici's? Was that in Old Orchard as well?

I thought Wesley's was a great place. We would order chicken and ribs from them on Wednesday's for dinner and my dad would pick it up. I thought their fries and pizzas were good as well. They closed in the very late 1970s or early 1980s. It was bizarre. It's like they closed one day and moved out in the middle of the night. I'd sure like to hear about what happened. Stereo City and then several banks occupied that site on the northeast corner of Dempster and Crawford.

As an aside, remember Dempster Pharmacy (Rexall) on Dempster and Niles Center Road? I remember they had a comic book dispenser machine. Comic books cost twelve cents. You would put in a dime and two pennies in the slots next to the comic book you wanted, push in and pull out the lever and presto, your comic book would come out. Remember the television tube tester they had near the front door?

Remember West Point Pharmacy on the corner of Dempster and Bronx, (now a currency exchange)?

This is one of the things I love about LTH...old threads being revived. So many memories. Now I am wondering if chef joe ever finished his book.

JustMeFromSkokie wrote:Remember Charcoal Oven on Golf near Crawford? I passed by it a million times as a kid in the family car and as a grown up and I never, ever saw a car in their parking lot. Was it any good? Didn't they once have a fire?

Don't know anything about a fire, but Charcoal Oven is still going strong, now under the founder's daughter and son in law. There's a thread about it here, and LTHers have organized dinners there, documented here.

Yes, I have finished my book. No I don't have a publisher and yes, I remember most if not all of those restaurants/hang outs. Have I mentioned Hot Dog Island and there was a restaurant on Gross Point Road that is now a Russian Dinner club I think. Anyone know what I am talking about?

JustMeFromSkokie wrote:What about Elliot's Pine Log on Skokie and Lincoln? Drove by that one as a little kid in the family car but we never went in. Was it any good??

Elliott's Pine Log Inn closed long ago, but the son of the original owner operates Elliott's Seafood Grille & Chop House in Edison Park. The original Pine Log ribs are on the menu, but I'd skip them in favor of one of their steaks.

Elliott's Seafood Grille & Chop House
6690 N Northwest Hwy
Chicago, IL 60631
773-775-5277

Dave148 wrote:How about Desiree' at the northwest corner of Oakton & Lincoln?

I remember walking to Desiree every sunday with my parents and sister for breakfast, i used to love that place. 2 eggs scrambled with sausage patties.....

strtcar wrote:

Dave148 wrote:How about Desiree' at the northwest corner of Oakton & Lincoln?

I remember walking to Desiree every sunday with my parents and sister for breakfast, i used to love that place. 2 eggs scrambled with sausage patties.....

I used to date a waitress that worked there.

chef joe wrote:Yes, I have finished my book. No I don't have a publisher and yes, I remember most if not all of those restaurants/hang outs. Have I mentioned Hot Dog Island and there was a restaurant on Gross Point Road that is now a Russian Dinner club I think. Anyone know what I am talking about?

You are thinking of the Tower Garden, which had the really cool fountain in the middle of the room, and the best rack of lamb I've ever had. I have fond memories of it, because my in-laws and my parents met there, before my wife and I got married. As I recall, the food at Tower Garden was excellent, with a continental menu, I sort of remember it as "the Bakery North".

After they closed, there was a short lived French restaurant, I visited once, had cassoulet Toulousian, but it closed relatively quickly. I cannot remember the name. After that, Zhivago took the space, and they remain to this day.

Does anyone remember a place called Columbo's, at or around the intersection of East Prairie and Dempster? It was here when we moved into the neighborhood, but we didn't get to it until right before it closed. I recall having a good meal there.

And finally, does anyone miss the pasta alla Scoglio at La Rosa's, in the strip mall where Larsa's now stands?

That's it the Tower Restaurant near Schaffer's. Thanks. Yes I remember La Rosa, and the grinders down the street, best pizza bread I ever had.

Can't forget the original Zwieg's Deli on Church and Crawford, accross the street from Endler's Pharmacy.

chef joe wrote:That's it the Tower Restaurant near Schaffer's.

Well, I knew it started with a "T"

rfleisch1 wrote:After they closed, there was a short lived French restaurant, I visited once, had cassoulet Toulousian, but it closed relatively quickly. I cannot remember the name. After that, Zhivago took the space, and they remain to this day.

Wasn't that location also the original Carson's (or was that where Shaffer's is)?

The original Carson's was on Niles Center, between Conrad and Crain, IIRC, opposite the entrance to the Skokie Swift parking lot. Townhomes/Condos there now.