El Panzone wrote:Seminary restaurant at lincoln, fullerton and halstead--now a mcdonald's

Sorry to hear that, my grandmother lived on Burling until 1995, she used to run Locke's Camera and Hallmark store on Lincoln. Whenever I would come in to Chicago, she would take me to the Seminary for lunch, this was maybe 40 years ago. We would also have dinner at the Burgundy Inn, I believe gone now too.

Oh man, I just discovered this site, does anyone remember The North Star Inn, it was torn down to build the Snuggery on Division, there were all those pictures of Al Capone on the walls, rumor was that he owned it at one time, there was rice in the spinach, I think the chef from there went on to Gianotti's, well that was a really long time ago,,, Sandy

Does anyone remember The Purple Cow on Western Avenue. I know they moved to Tinley or Orland but have since closed. Does anyone know if they re-opened anywhere?

Sorry I can't be any help. Other than to comment on that I do remember the place. It was nearish to my grandfather's and we'd stop in there sometimes when I was a kid for ice cream.

I didn't hear anything about it relocating unfortunately.

I still have a plastic purple water glass from the Purple Cow. I don't remember how I ended up with it, but it's still here. I think the last time I went there must have been around 1971.

Suzy

menhary wrote:Oh man, I just discovered this site, does anyone remember The North Star Inn, it was torn down to build the Snuggery on Division, there were all those pictures of Al Capone on the walls, rumor was that he owned it at one time, there was rice in the spinach, I think the chef from there went on to Gianotti's, well that was a really long time ago,,, Sandy

I've been reading your posts and boy does this bring back memories, couple more that my dad used to take us to I remember are:
Nantucket Cove, northwest corner Oak & Michigan, the turtle soup came with a little pitcher of sherry,
The Beachcomber, on the south side of Oak just west of Michigan,
I can't remember the name, there was a place on the southwest corner of Chicago & Michigan that we used to go to that had an ice cream fountain,
and a place called Harry something had a sign out front that said "bad food, weak drinks, great view" was in an old brownstone

menhary wrote:I can't remember the name, there was a place on the southwest corner of Chicago & Michigan that we used to go to that had an ice cream fountain,

Was that Charmets?

midas wrote:

menhary wrote:I can't remember the name, there was a place on the southwest corner of Chicago & Michigan that we used to go to that had an ice cream fountain,

Was that Charmets?

yeah, that sounds right, maybe spelled Sharmets?

menhary wrote:yeah, that sounds right, maybe spelled Sharmets?

Definitely Charmet’s. By the way, it was mentioned earlier in this thread by spinachdip.

menhary wrote:yeah, that sounds right, maybe spelled Sharmets?

Could be, I was never actually there. My grandfather owned the news stand on the corner. He was always talking about the place but I never went myself.

oh hey, what about Rocky's on Navy Pier, I used to walk there almost every day and watch the old men fish, before Rocky died I remember his beat up chair at the front door

does anyone remember the name of the grocery store that used to be on the east side of State just south of Division, near the Bagel Nosh, and the restaurant on the corner, Bertheen was the lady's name

The grocery store on State you're asking about was Purtill's (not sure of the spelling), which was a small operation with a carriage trade business to Lake Shore Dr. and Astor St. residences.

On the same block was a fine restaurant called the Bon Ton--great shish kebab dinners.

This is sure a blast from the past. Some of the places I remember are Villa Sweden, they had ligonberry pancakes that were to die for. They were on Clark where Ann Sathers is now. The Seven Hills Italian Reataurant around 3000 W Peterson had a huge menu. Piqueo Peruvian, also on Clark by Villa Sweden. It was just a storefront but the food was really spicy and good, they had a Prix-fixe dinner menu that had great variety. I also loved Costa Brava a storefront Spanish restuarant around Broadway and Irving. They had huge portions that were served in large metal pots. I also miss Pradhans, a vegetarian restaurant in Evanston. It was on Main st. They had a lot of curry dishes and also quite a few Mexican entrees. I also remember the Golden Bull which was a Hungarian place at about 7300 N Rogers, they had a great Hunters Stew.

WIGIRL56 wrote:Piqueo Peruvian, also on Clark by Villa Sweden. It was just a storefront but the food was really spicy and good, they had a Prix-fixe dinner menu that had great variety...... I also remember the Golden Bull which was a Hungarian place at about 7300 N Rogers, they had a great Hunters Stew.

Was that the name of that Peruvian place? It was fantastic. You never knew what the owner would be cooking up. It was like having dinner at a friend's house. I never left there hungry. I just drove by that space at Rogers and Damen where the Hungarian restaurant used to be (next door to The Ho). All these years later, it is still empty and boarded up. I remember they used to serve venison, boar and other game meats at really reasonable prices. The hunter's stew was the the real thing.

Years ago when my former boss, a rather eccentric elderly woman, would come in from Florida for a couple of weeks every year, the household staff would order groceries from Purtill's. They had lovely produce, went out of their way to please their customers, and best of all, they delivered.

I was always appalled when the bills came, though. I just couldn't imagine paying that kind of money for groceries. We would call the owner, he would take the order personally for us and they never said they were out of anything.

Suzy

d4v3 wrote:

WIGIRL56 wrote:Piqueo Peruvian, also on Clark by Villa Sweden. It was just a storefront but the food was really spicy and good, they had a Prix-fixe dinner menu that had great variety...... I also remember the Golden Bull which was a Hungarian place at about 7300 N Rogers, they had a great Hunters Stew.

Was that the name of that Peruvian place? It was fantastic. You never knew what the owner would be cooking up. It was like having dinner at a friend's house. I never left there hungry. I just drove by that space at Rogers and Damen where the Hungarian restaurant used to be (next door to The Ho). All these years later, it is still empty and boarded up. I remember they used to serve venison, boar and other game meats at really reasonable prices. The hunter's stew was the the real thing.

Yup, Piqueo was like eating at someone's house. I loved the papas rellenas. There was also La Llama on Peterson that was also Peruvian but I thought Piqueo was so much better.
The Golden Bull also has a platter, it was sausage, pork loin, schnitzel, sauerkraut, spatzle and I think some other meats. My hubby loved it.

Brasserie T in Northfield was the perfect restaurant. The goods to suit any mood.

Another goner: Cafe Demir on Lincoln.
I wrote about it after eating there after my father-in-law's funeral viewing, almost two years ago.

MrsF and Thing2 just returned from a mission trip from Appalachia, looking for something with flavor (food was adequate, starchy, good but dull down there). So we tooled up Lincoln looking for something interesting. Passing Wellington, I remembered there were *two* Turkish places just south of there, so we pulled over and parked.

They're both gone. There's a Thai place (Thing2 isn't particularly fond of Thai), and Papacito's Mexican. We ate at the latter, which was merely adequate, not worth its own writeup.

About a half-mile up Lincoln is still A La Turka (sp?), and apparently, there's a Demir Fast Food somewhere around there, but I didn't know to look for it until I came back here.

(bup)(bup)(bup)Anotheronebitesthedust

Dunn's Pizza (great beef sandwiches!) 67th & Damen

Oswalds (S. Ashland Ave.)

Original Gerties on 59th & Kedzie

Hoffman's Bakery (63rd & Kedzie)

Hot dogs in the basement of Sears off 67th & Ashland

HOUSTONS!

So sad it closed. Between the live nightly jazz and the perfect ribs. It was the perfect restaurant that doesnt really exist in that part of the city anymore. Dont even mention Bandera to me....Gale street might be able to fill some of the void...

Jack

OK, this one goes WAY back...

Does anybody remember a Superdawg-style (actually more like Arnold's on 'Happy Days') drive-in on Lincoln Ave., north of Devon, probably near the original Lou Malnati's, called Richard's Drive-In?

My dad used to take my brothers and I there in the early-to-mid 1960's, and I definitely remember the big blue neon sign, the carhops, the trays teetering on the car windows, and of course the spillage!

No idea if the food was any good or not--I was more concerned at the time with tormenting my little brother...

Geez, the memories return in a flood...

Not too far from Richard's, I'm thinking around the Touhy/Lincoln/Kostner intersection, there was my first exposure to an all-you-can-eat buffet called Obie's. Probably circa mid 1960's as well.

I remember being amazed watching an immense man take an immense plate of food back to his table and my dad saying, 'you know, he's going to eat all that...'

***

And then, my first taste of BBQ baby back ribs came at about that same time--Wesley's on the NE corner of Dempster & Crawford in Skokie. The ribs and 'broasted' chicken came in buckets--obviously there were no intellectual property laws on food in paper buckets at the time, or the Colonel would've been all over them.

I do remember, even at that age, just grooving on the gnaw-off-the-bone quality of the ribs, and the tangy sauce. Maybe someone who's a little older can shed some light on the real quality of the ribs.

Wesley didn't close down until (I think) sometime in the 1990's, but had fallen into food disrepair long before that.

Original Gerties on 59th & Kedzie

A Gertie's banana split! Right after the double feature at the Colony (I believe that's the right name--altho I'll not forget how fast you had to run from the theatre to commandeer a booth).

jbw wrote:

Original Gerties on 59th & Kedzie

A Gertie's banana split! Right after the double feature at the Colony (I believe that's the right name--altho I'll not forget how fast you had to run from the theatre to commandeer a booth).

Definitely! I've had I don't know how many of those banana splits and the hot fudge was so hot I could barely pick up the little plastic container! How sad that it's not there anymore!

nomustard wrote:

jbw wrote:

Original Gerties on 59th & Kedzie

A Gertie's banana split! Right after the double feature at the Colony (I believe that's the right name--altho I'll not forget how fast you had to run from the theatre to commandeer a booth).

Definitely! I've had I don't know how many of those banana splits and the hot fudge was so hot I could barely pick up the little plastic container! How sad that it's not there anymore!

What?

No mention of the tummy buster?

Now that, was a sundae (visualize a large vase, filled with just about everything in the store)

I use to love watching little kids finish one off at one booth, taunting the guy in the next booth who couldn't put a dent in one.

Willkat98 wrote:

nomustard wrote:

jbw wrote:

Original Gerties on 59th & Kedzie

What?

No mention of the tummy buster?

Now that, was a sundae (visualize a large vase, filled with just about everything in the store)

I use to love watching little kids finish one off at one booth, taunting the guy in the next booth who couldn't put a dent in one.

I forgot all about those! Enormous!!!!! Made my stomach hurt just looking at them!

I miss Victoria Station -- great roast beef, and their BBQ ribs were full-sized ribs from their prime rib. Plus they had Triscuits and Merkts cheddar in the bar.

At Evanston's Coolie's Cupboard (not sure of the spelling -- I was mighty young when I went -- but the sound is correct), I saw my first petit fours. As a child, I thought that was as high-end as you ever needed to get.

And I don't remember the full name, but there was some place called Phil something at the corner of Lake Cook and Waukegan, where Borders is now. My mom told me my grandfather used to stop there. I loved it because it had a separate building (with a viewing window) just for the racks of chickens being spit-roasted.

And there are a ton of places already mentioned that I miss -- La Chosa and the Pickle Barrel particularly. I think the Pickle Barrel had the most amazing pastrami sandwich on the planet.

Of course, there are other places I remember fondly that might not be quite as fabulous if I went back in time. I think of the Hoddle House, where I first had hash browns and chocolate cream pie. And there was a place in Winnetka called Mary's Cupboard, where I loved the minute steaks, hush puppies, and spaghetti (served with garlic bread!). That was all pretty racy stuff when I was a tot, but might not get me going today. But it's still fun to remember.

Oh -- and Fritz That's It. That was a wild place. One of the early Lettuce Entertain You places, back when it was all about being completely over the top. They had a drink called I Dig Fig, with a whole, fresh fig in the bottom. And their menues were lots of fun.

And speaking of funny menues -- D.B. Kaplan at Watertower Place. How did that not survive. The menu was hilarious (Ike and Tina Tuna, Chive Turkey, Any Pork in a Storm, Kahlua Bankhead), and the food was sensational -- deli fare, but all top notch, with generous portions.

And I miss HoJo fried clams -- though I had stopped eating them long before they vanished. But I knew they were there.

Wow. I haven't thought of some of these places in years. Thanks for the opportunity to walk down memory lane.

Cynthia wrote:And I don't remember the full name, but there was some place called Phil something at the corner of Lake Cook and Waukegan, where Borders is now. My mom told me my grandfather used to stop there. I loved it because it had a separate building (with a viewing window) just for the racks of chickens being spit-roasted.

Phil Johnson's RIP

Cynthia wrote:I think of the Hoddle House, where I first had hash browns and chocolate cream pie.

That's the Huddle House (the one time sister restaurants to the Waffle House chain), which is a chain still in operation. I just saw a few Huddle Houses on my recent trip to Indianapolis.

Im only 25 so I dont back too far but ill never forget Fazzio's. The original was at 2801 Lincoln where Gino's East currently resides. Ive proably tried over 100 diifferent beef sandwichs and this place intorduced me to them. To go with a great beef they also offered the best fries Ive ever found and some really good fresh squeezed lemonade. Put all three into a meal and you got a lunch made in heaven.

This time of year I think about the wonderful black raspberry ice cream at Peacock's in Skokie. In season, it was the only flavor I would eat as a child. I usually didn't have to beg my parents too hard to go there.