Bye Bye

Only slighly outside of Chicago was Simonini's in Algonquin on the corner of Rte. 62 and Rte. 31. Sim's was a classic super club run by several generations of the Simonini family, Lucky was the hostess, Tubby was the manager/good will ambassador and Bob ran the bar. I grew up with several of the children and as teens, we were always welcome in the kitchen for an after school snack. The place burned to the ground in the 60's and was never rebuilt but locals still talk of it.

How about great or noteworthy restaurants that have closed recently, restaurant obits basically.

Here's one:

Jay's Jayburger, Santa Monica at Virgil, Los Angeles.

I'm so glad that I stopped by for a double with an egg on my last visit.

The Radical Rye in Madison...torn down to make way for a staircase. Mmmm...turkey reubens...I can still almost taste them.

Jacki

Hattyn wrote:I was thinking out of state.

This board is defined beyond the Chicago Metropolitan area. Lake County is Chicagoland, though Rockford, Champaign, Springfield and Cairo are beyond Chicagoland.

Almost this could be not-about-Food since the places discussed do not exist any longer.

JeffB wrote:How about great or noteworthy restaurants that have closed recently, restaurant obits basically.

Here's one:

Jay's Jayburger, Santa Monica at Virgil, Los Angeles.

I'm so glad that I stopped by for a double with an egg on my last visit.

Are you certain?

Erik M.

JeffB wrote:Jay's Jayburger, Santa Monica at Virgil, Los Angeles.

Jeff,

Sorry to hear that. Coincidentally I was just at In-N-Out in San Rafael, California, with my dad, who likes the Original Tommy's. He's never been to Jay's and I had suggested a JayBurger on his next visit to LA.

Jay's JayBurger RIP


Enjoy,
Gary

Erik, that's good news. But the "thanks for 37 great years" sign makes it sound like Jay's family isn't too optimistic.

I was a little surprised by the generally mixed response this new got on the LA board. Even if the food were no good, the place is iconic there on the crossroads of a crossroads neighborhood. But the food was good.

I also was surprised to see that there were some who had never heard of it (but not too surprised).

RIP:

Gay & Larry's, Riverside, CA

My little discussion with Annie on the Denver thread regarding ancient, kitschy gringo-Mex places led me to check up on the venerable Gay & Larry's in Riverside. Well, Gay & Larry's just closed.

I was not surprised to find that the place had been open for over 60 years and that it was once a renowned roadhouse stop between LA and Palm Springs for Rat Packers and the original LA swingers who emulated them. Nor was I surprised to see the brutal and accurate reviews from those who ate there before it closed. I had forgotten that the speciality of G&L were the chile rellenos. G&L likely introduced more gringos to the stuffed Mexican chile than any single restaurant, and was serving them in the 40's. Of course, the corndog-like fritters, with little discernible chile and covered with Velveeta/brown goop, were rather unique to the place.

On the other hand, I saw comment from people who had been going there since the 50's and loved it. The best review, though (written for some kind of conference) focussed on the place, not the food, which was the only fair way to approach G&L. To paraphrase, the place was perfect, not only because of the neo mission exterior and 1953 vinyl Mexican/Tiki interior, but because of the surrounding environs: an abandoned highway, forsaken by the masses for the freeway, dirt lot, some auto body and tire shops and a few "squalid" shacks. Incredibly, this scene exists in a "city" of 250,000. But anyone who has been to downtown Riverside, the seat of a county that stretches nearly from Pomona to Arizona, knows that almost all of the residents are working and looking well to the west. Downtown is a well preserved old boom town turned near-ghost town.

I wish Gay and Larry's could have lived, so too with Jay's (maybe it will), Binyon's, the Golden Ox, Schulien's, Chez Paul, and the Farris Steakhouse near Carbondale (a hillbilly prom night destination spin on the rural roadhouse, also frequented by celebs pre-interstate on drives between NO/Memphis/Chicago).

Viva El Coyote. Long live Italian Village, on balance.

http://www.digitalcity.com/losangeles/d ... serreviews

JeffB wrote:[...]Viva El Coyote[...]

LOL!!

Erik M.

JeffB wrote:Erik, that's good news. But the "thanks for 37 great years" sign makes it sound like Jay's family isn't too optimistic.

Here is the lastest news in the Jay's Jayburger saga.

Erik M.

Erik M. wrote:

JeffB wrote:Erik, that's good news. But the "thanks for 37 great years" sign makes it sound like Jay's family isn't too optimistic.

Here is the lastest news in the Jay's Jayburger saga.

Erik M.

And, now, HERE is the latest news in the Jay's Jayburger saga.

Jay's Jayburger R.I.P. , fo' real.

E.M.

The Lees seem like particularly evil folks. Razing the place would have been much kinder. No offense to "Sean," if there is such a person, but I'd be worried that someone might make things right for the Lee's treatment of Baucis and Philemon (Jay). I'll certainly never eat there.

Along with Second Avenue Deli, Rascal House and so many others, another iconic establishment bites the dust. Is the Great Jewish Deli headed for extinction?

http://www.ejpress.org/article/news/france/5194