So Long, Randhurst

One of the best kept secrets for cheap eats is going under in a month or 2 . --the Randhurst food court in mt prospect. Asian 3 entree combo dinners for $5-$6.

Getem before they go.

Sakkios--Good teriyaki/ tempura, beef or chicken or shrimp. Sarku at other malls. And they offer jasmine rice for steamed white rice. gotta love it.

Cajun Grill -- Bourbon chicken---alot like cantonese char siu pork only its healthier chicken.
Jambalaya -pretty good spicy chicken
Blackened Fish-- ok, grilled fish, but its ga great offering

chinese kitchen--replaces the panda express and its pretty good

sbarros, subway, a philly place, an ice cream place. etc still there.
mc donalds skippin out early.

Its not high class-- more like the nw burbs hole in the wall, but it was great for what it was. Other malls have food courts but i liked this mix.

Going going gone.

Any idea what will replace this space at Randhurst? Other food? Or more stores?

I can't say I'll miss the food court but I will Gala Tea. This is nice little tea shop made all the better by the wonderful proprietor, Sofia. She is a warm and inviting person whose joy in selling tea is infectious. I drink a lot more coffee than tea but was drawn in by her while passing by. After you ignore the herbal and infused crap, that is all the rage, she has some fine solid teas available. My favorite is a green tea, Osmanthus Mao Feng. She's moving to Arlington Heights on Rand Road, I think a place called Deer Park Mall.

Most of Randhurst is being knocked down (Costco, Steve & Barry's and maybe a couple of the other large exterior stores are staying) and will be replaced with a "lifestyle center"- similar to Deer Park, actually, which is located on Rand, but past Arlington Heights, just before Lake Zurich.

It's been so long since I've been in the mall (I usually hit Costco and get out) I didn't even know there was a tea store in there. Did they serve tea or just sell it?

I can remember making the drive out to Randhurst from Wilmette when I was a kid -- to see the first indoor shopping mall. It was a big deal. Though I most commonly hit Bed, Bath, and Beyond or Costco when I'm there now, I do stray inside occasionally -- mostly for the shop that buys/sells CDs, but there have always been a few nice stores that hung on. Always sorry to see any place with a history vanish.

The managers of Randhurst have been jumping the gun to get on the reconstruction project -- leases are not being renewed, and lots of stores have already bailed out. For instance, Applebees -- which was just relocated a couple years ago -- is out (no big loss), and Comix Revolution moved to downtown Mt Prospect.

Meanwhile, no plans or permits have been submitted to the village of Mt Prospect, nothing is approved.

This place has been going down for years, but I always liked it, because it was always empty but still had some good standby stores and a theatre. But as I get older and more intolerant, especially of teenage whippersnappers, the idea of an outdoor mall (yes I said it! MALL!) sounds great.

I still miss that little train outside Carson's that I still wanted to ride even though I was way past the age to even fit on the seat. I always dug that food court, since half of it was built on two levels in the center. I remember when the downstairs was new, and there was a record store selling Debbie Gibson's latest, advertised by a life-size cutout poster of Debbie in shiny pink and blue spandex. I sound like I'm 300 years old.

I didn't know there was a tea shop there, so I'll have to run over before they move. Does anyone know if the little sandwich-and-soup stand at the top of the food court is still there, or did they go out a long time ago? That place had some great stuff, and it tasted fresh.