Farewell to Francheezies and Sissy Reubens

Great article in today's Trib by John Kass. My co-workers used to get together for lunch under the guise of Cambridge House Club meetings. The thick shakes were good, too.

Cambridge House caught in the middle


Published February 22, 2006

I've got some terrible news: The Cambridge House is about to close. Where the heck am I going to eat lunch now?

"We'll stay open this week, and the weekend, and Sunday," said manager John Colovos. "But we'll close Monday. And guess what? Forty years are gone. That's it."

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/colu ... i-news-hed

I like Kass' line about the "trough" alternative: "This is lunch as livestock, about one step away from supersizing it" The sad thing is, I'm not sure if that step toward supersizing is a step down or a step up in relation to the trough option. Real food seems to be under siege.

"The people that own this building are going to make it a condo,"

Does this mean that Sayat Nova is also under threat of extinction?

The Uptown Snack Shop is closing, too. Pretty soon it's going to be all sushi bars and trattorie.

http://www.suntimes.com/output/news/cst ... eet19.html

I liked Newsmakers' more than Cambridge House, actually. It's been gone a few years now.

I like the idea of Sayat Nova (the sort of 60s-dark-and-romantic decor; plus it's named for the same poet as my least favorite film of my favorite Soviet director) but the food is boring. Not bad, in fact, quite decently done, but the least adventurous middle eastern food in the city.

Does this mean that Sayat Nova is also under threat of extinction?

It looks like we've dodged a bullet here, or at least the boomerang on its first sweep past:

Blessedly, it's staying put, at least for now.

"They try to buy me out," said the building and restaurant's owner, 73-year-old Arsen Demirdjian, adding that he declined a $2 million offer from the developers of the planned condo tower. Demirdjian, a Lebanon native who has run the restaurant from this spot for 36 years, sees no reason to sell. He finds the place entertaining, especially when the Tribune's foreign editors come by and talk politics. And it offers a good living, even if isn't making him rich.

"Like they say in the Old Country," he said, referring to his income stream, "it's not flowing; it's dripping."

For the full article by Blair Kamin, which also discusses the loss of Cambridge House see:

http://www.chicagotribune.com/features/ ... 3557.story