Tell Me About Places that are Gone

Getting started on issue #8 of The Hungover Gourmet and it'll have a special section on places that are going or gone. I'd love to have some contributions from the folks here at Roadfood. If you're interested in finding out more, drop me a line at editor@hungovergourmet.com.

My favorite place that's no longer there? The Howard Johnson's in Willingboro, NJ. Probably twice a month my parents would take my brothers and me there for the Friday night all-you-can-eat fish fry. Big pieces of flounder drenched in bread crumbs and fried. Aw, my mouth's watering just thinking about it. I think that's where I developed my life-long devotion to tartar sauce!

hungover,
I'd have to say that my most poignant loss would have to be Pilgreen's Steak House on Lee Street in Southwest Atlanta. I only managed to eat there once, but it made this website... until fire closed it. - The place is still sitting there, balefully vacant, its empty facade staring out into the passing traffic.
I'll never forget the chartreuse fluorescent lighting that made everyone look like varying degrees of Martianness.
Michael, how many such listings have you been forced to pull? Maybe you could replace them all into a "You Missed These" thread somehow. It would be interesting, if only for historical sake.
Losing It Was A Bitter Pilgreen To Swallow, Ort. Carlton in Nearby Athens, Georgia.

I agree with Ort. about Pilgreen's. Thanks to his recommendation, Jane and I were lucky enough to eat there one time, and it was a classic in every way.

Personally, I miss the old Jimmie's of Savin Rock (Connecticut) where the hot lobster rolls were ultra-buttery, the split weiners were crisp, and the countermen were like Marine D.I.s on crystal meth. Another New Haven area place dear to my heart is the old George & Harry's, an ancient Greek-run cafeteria/tavern with spectacular carved woodwork everywhere.

Also, two other long-gone greats in Georgia: Mrs. Bonner's of Crawfordville, for the greatest sweet potato pie; and CH Mitchell the Bar B Que King for BBQ and Brunswick stew.

Then there's the chicken at Mary's Cupboard in Winnetka, Illinois ... and the world's best hot fudge sundae at The Sweet Shop, also in Winnetka (my home town) ... and ... oh, this is too sad...

Ship's coffee shops and Ben Franklin's...both in Hollywood. Cool Googie architecture, waitresses stubbornly carrying those beehives through the 1980s, and toasters at every table. Great for 3 am sober-you-up food and weird star sightings.

Check this thread out for some other suggestions:

http://www.roadfood.com/Forums/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=479&SearchTerms=,defunct

Wow... thanks for the quick responses. I've just started posting to the forums here and I'm thoroughly impressed by the knowledge, enthusiasm and input from the group.

Do you guys mind if I use some of this input for the newsletter?

"Marine DIs on crystal meth," what a word picture THAT paints!

A favorite place of mine that's on its way out is The Pennsauken Mart in Pennsauken, NJ. It's an indoor flea market and they have this place in there called Italian Village that makes some of the best Italian hoagies in the Philadelphia/South Jersey area. There's also another place that makes incredible Philly Soft Pretzels. The Mart has a rep for beinbg a little "dirty" so the soft pretzel place is almost hermetically sealed!! They're tearing down the Mart to put up a convention and expo center.

I miss Woolworth's lunch counter. They had great hamburgers and shakes, as I recall. Holiday Inns had their own dining rooms once. It was the place to go for "fine dining" when I was growing up.

quote:

Originally posted by KimChee43

I miss Woolworth's lunch counter. They had great hamburgers and shakes, as I recall. Holiday Inns had their own dining rooms once. It was the place to go for "fine dining" when I was growing up.

Yes! I remember going to a Holiday Inn dining room, the Yellow Pages ad for which boasted, "Dinner Served with Continental Services." Sounds a little funereal to me.

The Stern's may remember this place...Whities(not sure if that is the correct spelling), on route #1 outside of Guilford, CT. Nothing was better as a child growing up in the New Haven area, then to be taken to this seasonal restaurant where steaks, corn and clams where grilled outside and served up in the rough. And after you finished dinner a side trip to the old Maple Shade dairy factory for some freshly prepared ice cream.

As a kid in Chicago, my father used to bring me to the F&T Restaurant on Milwaukee and Division. It was primarily a steam table affair with and they had great roast beef sandwiches. Sometimes, when seating was tight, a stranger would sit at our table and we would all start to chat. I thought this was the wierdest thing.

quote:

Originally posted by 10X10

The Stern's may remember this place...Whities(not sure if that is the correct spelling), on route #1 outside of Guilford, CT. Nothing was better as a child growing up in the New Haven area, then to be taken to this seasonal restaurant where steaks, corn and clams where grilled outside and served up in the rough. And after you finished dinner a side trip to the old Maple Shade dairy factory for some freshly prepared ice cream.

10x10, it's still there , now called[url='http://www.roadfood.com/Reviews/Overview.aspx?RefID=191']The Place[/url]. Same menu (higher prices, though!); and still summers-only, BYOB.

Thats it!I can still remeber climbing the hills of sun bleached clam shells! Thanks for the memories

quote:

Originally posted by Michael Stern

quote:

Originally posted by 10X10

The Stern's may remember this place...Whities(not sure if that is the correct spelling), on route #1 outside of Guilford, CT. Nothing was better as a child growing up in the New Haven area, then to be taken to this seasonal restaurant where steaks, corn and clams where grilled outside and served up in the rough. And after you finished dinner a side trip to the old Maple Shade dairy factory for some freshly prepared ice cream.

10x10, it's still there , now called[url='http://www.roadfood.com/Reviews/Overview.aspx?RefID=191']The Place[/url]. Same menu (higher prices, though!); and still summers-only, BYOB.

"wolfie's delicatessen" South Beach Miami and Merrick NY (no affiliation)

I miss the old Jimmie's at Savin Rock, and Turk's and Phyliss', too. I Also miss G&H on Wall Street in New Haven, and the Arena Grille, where you could get the best lasagna in the world on Wednesdays. I miss Waybright Cafeteria on Dickinson Street in Charleston, West Virginia, and the Hub for barbeque and fried bologna sandwiches at the corner of Dickinson and Quarrier streets. I miss White Towers and Royal Castles, as well.

The year that the first ROADFOOD came out (1977?), we ate our way through the New England states with a copy. What fun it was. A highlight of our yearly trips through that area was our stop at Shirley's Dining Room in Skowhegan, Maine. I will never forget the wonderful and huge breakfasts that we enjoyed there. When I saw someone in the kichen actually peeling the peaches for my bowl of peaches and real cream, I was sold! I can remember huge slices of French toast dripping with REAL maple syrup and the slices of homemade bread, toasted! The slices were so big that we could not believe our eyes. The first two times we ate there, we ordered way too much food.........after that we learned! I am fairly sure that Shirley's Dining Room is no longer there and I have never found another breakfast to duplicate the ones we enjoyed so much.

quote:

Originally posted by 10X10

The Stern's may remember this place...Whities(not sure if that is the correct spelling), on route #1 outside of Guilford, CT. Nothing was better as a child growing up in the New Haven area, then to be taken to this seasonal restaurant where steaks, corn and clams where grilled outside and served up in the rough. And after you finished dinner a side trip to the old Maple Shade dairy factory for some freshly prepared ice cream.

I remember Whitey's. I understand it is still there, but with a different name. I also remember Chello's Oyster House just down the road to the west. That was a great place, and they had the biggest pile of oyster shells anywhere.

Hot Shoppes at Tysons Corner Mall in Fairfax, VA. It was one of the last vestiges of a pre-Galleria style mall. It left about the same time the Woolworth's did.
And I will always miss Howard Johnsons! I love aqua and orange and fried clams all in the same room. (Thanks Jane Wagner)

In Chicago, Bertini's Steak House on Wells, right about where Crofton on Wells is know. To this date, still the best steak I've ever eaten in my life.

quote:

Originally posted by chezkatie

Shirley's Dining Room in Skowhegan, Maine.

Oh, yes! Thanks for the memory. I had forgotten Shirley's. One of the all-time greats, and one of the places that convinced us Roadfood was worth doing.

I forgot all about the Hot Shoppes. They had great fried chicken and mashed potatoes

quote:

Originally posted by Route 11

Hot Shoppes at Tysons Corner Mall in Fairfax, VA. It was one of the last vestiges of a pre-Galleria style mall. It left about the same time the Woolworth's did.
And I will always miss Howard Johnsons! I love aqua and orange and fried clams all in the same room. (Thanks Jane Wagner)

Sherrell's and Sholl's Cafeteria -- both in DC and both gone.

quote:

Originally posted by i95

Sherrell's and Sholl's Cafeteria -- both in DC and both gone.

As is Duke Zeibart's.

You're right jpatweb. And hungovergourmet, if you post these on a site, make sure you invest in a sound card to play Tommy Keene's (http://www.tommykeene.com/) "Places That are Gone" in the background.

quote:

Originally posted by hungovergourmet

Wow... thanks for the quick responses. I've just started posting to the forums here and I'm thoroughly impressed by the knowledge, enthusiasm and input from the group.

Do you guys mind if I use some of this input for the newsletter?

"Marine DIs on crystal meth," what a word picture THAT paints!

A favorite place of mine that's on its way out is The Pennsauken Mart in Pennsauken, NJ. It's an indoor flea market and they have this place in there called Italian Village that makes some of the best Italian hoagies in the Philadelphia/South Jersey area. There's also another place that makes incredible Philly Soft Pretzels. The Mart has a rep for beinbg a little "dirty" so the soft pretzel place is almost hermetically sealed!! They're tearing down the Mart to put up a convention and expo center.

Make sure to post a link to the newsletter so we can check it out!

quote:

Originally posted by EliseT

Make sure to post a link to the newsletter so we can check it out!

I'm compiling the 'Going, Going, Gone!' piece for issue #8 of The Hungover Gourmet which is the food, drink and travel newsletter I put out a couple times a year. I will definitely post info here when the issue comes out this summer. If anybody's interested they can learn about our current ish at http://www.hungovergourmet.com

I saw somebody mentioned Woolworth's above. The Cherry Hill Mall in Cherry Hill, NJ had a sunken grill luncheonette outside Woolworth's that made it look like they only hired height-challenged individuals. They also had a place called The Harvest House which was their sit-down restaurant and I think that was part of Woolworth's, too. Can't be positive.

Frisches's Big Boy. Geez, it's been so long I think I've even spelled the name wrong.

Here in Gainesville i miss Skeeters. it boasted "biscuts as big as your head" it was downtown, and open all night. so we would lurch in there feet hurting ears ringing after a night of dancing at 80's old wave night at the University club and eat a huge breafast. Its now a nasty nasty little club.

quote:

Originally posted by Sushi_Girl

Here in Gainesville i miss Skeeters. it boasted "biscuts as big as your head" it was downtown, and open all night. so we would lurch in there feet hurting ears ringing after a night of dancing at 80's old wave night at the University club and eat a huge breafast. Its now a nasty nasty little club.

I nearly fell over when I read SKEETERS in Gainesville. My husband's uncle, who was famous for saving every penny he could, used to brag the the people up north how he would take his wife out for breakfast in Gainesville, Fl where the biscuits were so huge that they each would order a coffee and share a biscuit! We shook our heads over that for years! Now be honest with me...............how big WERE they??

quote:

Originally posted by Sushi_Girl

Here in Gainesville i miss Skeeters. it boasted "biscuts as big as your head" it was downtown, and open all night. so we would lurch in there feet hurting ears ringing after a night of dancing at 80's old wave night at the University club and eat a huge breafast. Its now a nasty nasty little club.

Oh yeah! The L'il Asher was my favorite. I went alot when they were on 13th St. The thing they could have done without though was the "talent". After drinking and dancing you did NOT want to hear that. But I guess that was just part of being "Skeeter's". Did you know the guy that owned that also owned "Cafe' Risque"? Speaking of nasty..

ChezkatieThey were giant biscuits, i would say about two fists together big and round. we would get one and two sides of gravy and pig out.

quote:

Originally posted by chezkatie

quote:

Originally posted by Sushi_Girl

Here in Gainesville i miss Skeeters. it boasted "biscuts as big as your head" it was downtown, and open all night. so we would lurch in there feet hurting ears ringing after a night of dancing at 80's old wave night at the University club and eat a huge breafast. Its now a nasty nasty little club.

I nearly fell over when I read SKEETERS in Gainesville. My husband's uncle, who was famous for saving every penny he could, used to brag the the people up north how he would take his wife out for breakfast in Gainesville, Fl where the biscuits were so huge that they each would order a coffee and share a biscuit! We shook our heads over that for years! Now be honest with me...............how big WERE they??

Bigger than a saucer for sure.