i don't know. i was to young to drive. i thought it was out in the burbs, skokie maybe.

Oh yeah, almost forgot to mention: welcome back to Chicago, jf.

thanks. very kind of you. what i missed not living here.

i noticed you live in rogers park where i was born and raised, and joined lth on my bday.

jazzfood wrote:thanks. very kind of you. what i missed not living here.

i noticed you live in rogers park where i was born and raised, and joined lth on my bday.

Ah yes, that is a good time of the year. (My birthday's in May.) While I've long lamented the lack of fast food options around my house, there are a large number of ethnic establishments I still need to explore in the neighborhood (namely, all the Indian/Pakistani restaurants on Devon). Judging by your web site, it looks like you've explored more than a few culinary avenues in your time. Eat well, my friend... eat well.

growing up in rogers park, it was a cultural soup. i loved it all, and it's no wonder i ended up cheffing. there used to be great salami and kishke @ romanian on touhy and clark. don't know if it's still there. also, devon is great for indian. if you need a name i can find you a few from my old remaining friends in the hood. morse used to have good korean, but that i know is gone. i hear andersonville has some good food options, that's not to far from you.

i've just moved to wicker park, a place i would have never considered back in the day, but there's lots nearby, and intend on working my way through them.

i read about this site in a reader article today. very glad i found it. glad you viewed my website as well.

i've worked, cooked and played throughout europe and japan. nothing like travel to expand your taste buds and world view.

bon appitite'

jazzfood,

Checked out your site. Loved the Venetian masks and music (8 PM right?). 'Chiarro y scurro' gave me chills, just awesome.

I was actually in the market for those masks last week, until I hit upon a different Halloween disguise.

Pleasure to make your acquaintance,

Hammond

the pleasure is mine. thanks for checking out my site. i just found this one today. love hooking up w/like minded people.

those pix just opened fri @ an exhibition in the miami design district through the end of the year. good ear w/the nino rota. when i was there, i felt like i was in a fellini flix... so i thought the music was appropos.

just got back to town after to long in l a and s fla. 2 hurricanes in 3 wks. i missed the opening to move back.

by the way, all of those shots are one offs. none are posed. just me and a 1/4 million people in the piazza. that one was waiting for me to cross the bridge. she couldn't get by me because her bustle was to large, and had to wait. so i just snapped a quick shot and that was it.

Wing Yee on the west side of Clark Street just south of Wrightwood.

Pretty good Cantonese food and a popular neighborhood gathering place.

JpelF,since you mentioned living in the area,do you remember the name of the coffee shop/pancake hpuse on Oakton just west of the Skokie Swift?It is now Annie's Pancakes.I cannot remember what it was called in the late 70s/early 80s.And at one point I believe it was called Pineapple Tunneys or Touhys of which IIRC there was also one in Park Ridge.

I am rejoicing that Fannie May is back among the living. FM is one of my earliest memories. Even when we couldn't afford it, I remember looking longingly at the beautiful white baskets with the colorful ribbons at the Fannie May store in Glendale Mall in Indianapolis (so we're talking a good 35 years here!). I thought all was lost, and here's an anecdote of some interest. A couple of months ago, Mrs. JiLS received a gift package from an online casino (yes, she's something of a "high roller" in the internet gambling). Anyway, for some inexplicable reason, this off-shore gambling company included a half pound box of Trinidads in the gift basket. They were already stale, but I stuck them in the fridge and began rationing them out like oxygen on a leaking spaceship, assuming these would be the last Trinidads I or anyone else would ever enjoy. Lo and behold, Fannie May is coming back, and I couldn't be happier (although now I wish I hadn't forced myself to eat those nasty, stale Trinidads!)

Hi Jim,

It is better than that! I was at Walgreens picking up medication the other day plus some cough drops. Low and behold I followed the 'new product' sticker to the retail quantity of Fannie May Trinidads and Pixies. I bought the Pixies, I love the Trinidads but Pixies are the family classic choice, and gave them a taste! Just like they should!

My sister and her daughters were at the Fannie May on Skokie VAlley Road, between Edens Plaza and Old Orchard, where they were amongst the first customers. They were given gift boxes with 2 Fannie May candies inside to sample. My sister just advised the Pixies/Turtles were selling at $16. per pound.

Just in time for the holidays!

Does anyone remember Peraltas on Halsted and Wrightwood? It was rather short lived but I still remember breakfast was the best.

Flo's on Randolph
La Hacienda Del Sol and Cafe De La Margarita, Lincoln, Sedgewick, Armitage
Azuma Sukiyaki Broadway and Foster
Jimmy Wong's downtown
all of the Jewish delis downtown
the Bagel Nosh on Rush Street
Kamehachi on Wells near Treasure Island
The Chicago Claim Company on Clark near Belden
the Sunday brunch at Ratso's on Lincoln Avenue
the juice bar at the old Marshall Field's on the second floor
Star Market on Clark and Roscoe
The Bread Shop on Halsted
Kontiki Ports was located in the old Sheraton Hotel on Michigan near Ohio or Grand

hattyn wrote:JpelF,since you mentioned living in the area,do you remember the name of the coffee shop/pancake hpuse on Oakton just west of the Skokie Swift?It is now Annie's Pancakes.I cannot remember what it was called in the late 70s/early 80s.And at one point I believe it was called Pineapple Tunneys or Touhys of which IIRC there was also one in Park Ridge.

Nah, sorry. That was one of the endless rotating locations. It was middle eastern in the early 90's for about two months, then went back to pancakes and 'oring bordinary' restaurant stuff (y'know, patty melts, chicken soup, etc.).

With Searle/Pharmacia gone, that whole stretch is going to be hurting: everything from the Subway to the Ace Hardware (OK, they're next to each other, but I meant conceptually) depended on that major biz.

Rumor has it there's a new owner to the site, but they'll need tenants.

I haven't seen a lot of talk about the western 'burbs here, but I'll bring up a couple of places that are missed:

1. The Last Word on Ogden in Downers Grove. The Last Word was a hugely popular family dining spot that closed in the 1970s (I think). The fried chicken was amazing, and in my memory beat anything that White Fence Farm on DR's CHicken Basket ever turned out. They also had some wonderful cinnamon rolls that came with the dinners. They tried to expand into a buffet place and it did not go over so well.

2. Barnaby's Pizza on Ogden at the W end of Downers Grove. Heck, I'll add Shakey's, too for the atmosphere, but Barnaby's had some pretty good thin crust pizza. The best part was waiting for the light at your table to come on so you could go pick up the pizza! I understand that there is still one around somehwere, maybe near O'Hare?

Ok, I will resist listing my old employer, Ponderosa Steakhouse. Give them credit, though, they did popularize the concept of the salad bar!

RSMBob wrote:but Barnaby's had some pretty good thin crust pizza. The best part was waiting for the light at your table to come on so you could go pick up the pizza! I understand that there is still one around somehwere, maybe near O'Hare?

I grew up alternating my thin crust choices between Candlelite and Barnaby's on Touhy, west of California.

There is still a Barnaby's on Skokie Blvd. south of Dundee (Northbrook), and I belive the one on Caldwell in Niles is still open.

Best,
EC

RSMBob wrote:...Barnaby's had some pretty good thin crust pizza.

I used to pass by the one on Caldwell (and Touhy?) all the time. I'll have to stop by now.

Falafel King on Oakton in Skokie.There also was a Dolly Madison outlet there.I believe there is a new sandwich shop there.This is near Village Creamery but on the south side of Oakton.

hattyn wrote:Falafel King on Oakton in Skokie.There also was a Dolly Madison outlet there.I believe there is a new sandwich shop there.This is near Village Creamery but on the south side of Oakton.

It's still the samew ownership. They just fancied up the menu a bit, but the falafel is the same. I believe the owner's daughter graduated from culinary school and took over the operation about a year or two ago.

I am trying to remember the name of a restaurant that was in Evanston around the mid 1980s.It had one floor and a loft IIRC.Might have beev where the health club is on Benson just North of Church St.I believe it was mixed Argentine and Italian cuisine or maybe separately one after the other.I remember having gnooci there.Thanks in advance.

There was,or may stll be,a place that made all sorts of different flavored sodas.In Chicago but am unsure of the name.I think it was Lasser's or Lassiter's.Does anyone know of they are still around?Thanks in advance.I believe they were mentioned in a guide from Chicago Magazine IIRC late 1970s -1980s.

Are you possibly referring to:

Filbert's Old Time Root Beer
3430 South Ashland Avenue
Chicago, IL 60608
773-847-1520

Not only root beer, but sodas flavored of watermelon, grape, lemon-lime, ect. They private label for others was well.

Cathy2 wrote:Are you possibly referring to:

Filbert's Old Time Root Beer
3430 South Ashland Avenue
Chicago, IL 60608
773-847-1520

Not only root beer, but sodas flavored of watermelon, grape, lemon-lime, ect. They private label for others was well.

C2,

I believe hattyn is referring to Lasser's; check http://www.rootbeerworld.com/modules.php?name=Brands&rbop=Brand&bid=887

David "Lovin' that Google" Hammond

Hammond,

From the website, I guess that place is a goner, too.

For Thanksgiving, I'm going to buy a case of Mexican Coke at La Unica and a case of Filberts. Just to keep things lively. If these things are supported, then it keeps them round just a bit longer.

David Hammond wrote:

Cathy2 wrote:Are you possibly referring to:

Filbert's Old Time Root Beer
3430 South Ashland Avenue
Chicago, IL 60608
773-847-1520

Not only root beer, but sodas flavored of watermelon, grape, lemon-lime, ect. They private label for others was well.

C2,

I believe hattyn is referring to Lasser's; check http://www.rootbeerworld.com/modules.php?name=Brands&rbop=Brand&bid=887
David "Lovin' that Google" Hammond

It's long gone. I used to live in the neighborhood when it was open. You could drive up to a garage door and load up with any flavor you could (or couldn't) imagine. The building was torn down and turned into high priced condos.

C2,

Yes, Thanksgiving would be a perfect time to get a case o' mixed Filbert's.

Hammond

I have vague memories of Planet Cafe.IIRC we met the owner or co-owner at one of the bars.

hattyn wrote:I have vague memories of Planet Cafe.IIRC we met the owner or co-owner at one of the bars.

Yes, there was a Planet Cafe on North Lincoln not far from Grizzleys, and on sunday if you wore pajamas to breakfast, you got a percentage off your check. I also seem to recall that they had a "bed", so you could actually get breakfast in bed...

leesh

Both in Evanston:Gold Star and Stir Fire.Both buffet but Stir Fire was like I have heard Flat Top is,you would put together your own bowl and they would cook it for you.