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Does anyone remember the AutoMat (aka Horn & Hardart)? My grandfather used to talk about AutoMats when I was growing up. There were not too many left by the 70s/80s, but I remember there was still one in mid-town Manhatten in the early 90s.
Last edited by MegoMonk; May 14, '22, 4:40 PM.
Reason: spelling
Rax Roast Beef and Taco Town. Loved eating at both of those in the mid to late 80s but they both closed down shortly after. Loved Big Boy as a kid but they changed it into Shoneys in the mid 70s. Not really fast food but I miss Godfather's Pizza too.
I have a Godfather's takeaway about five minutes away and a sit down restaurant about a half hour away. The pizza is still just as good as I remember back in the 70s/80s.
Does anyone remember the AutoMat (aka Horn & Hardart)? My grandfather used to talk about AutoMats when I was growing up. There were not too many left by the 70s/80s, but I remember there was still one in mid-town Manhatten in the early 90s.
Back in the late 70's during my 8th grade class trip to New York City, we stopped at the Manhatten AutoMat for lunch.
Don't remember how the food was but I remember the whole experience was incredibly fun.
Does anyone remember the AutoMat (aka Horn & Hardart)? My grandfather used to talk about AutoMats when I was growing up. There were not too many left by the 70s/80s, but I remember there was still one in mid-town Manhatten in the early 90s.
I went to Horn & Hardart in Philly once. I remember having a slice of pie, but that's about it.
My assumptions. Seem to see that a majority of these are all from the northeast coast. With the rest in California. Illinois/Chicagolandarea has had its share of joints.
Obviously, White Castle is the dominant monster.
Superdawg has only had three locations and one of those was in Midway airport and it's gone, leaving the original on Milwaukee Ave and the 'new' one also I Milwaukee Ave in Wheeling.
Portillos had a ton of places but I really don't eat there as much.
Buona Beef is the new alternative to Portillos, they have better beef and burgers.
Ronny's steakhouse was a very small chain, that was open all night and was a place we're the criminal element would hand out! Imagine a eatery they the ROGUES would eat and drink at. That was Ronny's!
And it would be remiss of me not to mention TWO California transplants that made inroads here in Chicago back in the 2007-2012 period.
DEL Taco opened it's only location on 95th and Cicero and I loved it. Besides great tacos, they offered burgers, fries and other choices.
Then FAT BURGER opened up a location in Orland Park on I believe it was 152nd and LaGrange avenue. The line was out the door and it took me 45 minutes to get my order completed. It was that way for the first few weeks. It lasted about 3? 4? Years and it was gone. That moron Kanye West opened up another one in Evergreen Park about a year and a half later. On 95th and Western. He franchise d it and it we as closer to my house, and the food was just as good and it along with the other one in Orland Park went belly up.
Around the same time so did Del Taco. I never 'got it' on how two Juggernauts could not make it in Illinois? You had the perfect locations,
"Da Southside". ( Da Bears, Da Bulls, Da Sox, etc.etc). Home of the Fatass!!! ( Maybe I resembled that remark at times!?!?? 🤔 ).
I remember talking to a professor of mine who specialized in food studies and he basically blamed it on locations. Would a white castle or Browns chicken make it in Southern California?
How would you explain an "Italian beef" to someone from Orange County? And what if they tell you it's a "French dip". Hahaha.
And lastly. Browns Chicken
Your obligatorial Fried chicken joint based here in the area, it's been a fixture since the 1940's and I my opinion the best friend chicken I ever had. I should know, it was MY job in high school. I started out with one day a week and made $17 bucks a week in 1983, before they gave me more days.
With that $17 bucks, I would buy comic books, soda, guitar strings and still have money Left over!!!! Now look at me now, making a lot more and I am always skint!!
Good times, good times. Working at Browns did wonders for my social life as it was located close to Mother Macaulay high school and a lot of the girls worked there!! 🤗. As I said good times, good times. But Browns has lost a lot of stores over the years. Tinley Park gone. Countryside gone. 55th and Archer avenue. Gone. I wonder if it will survive?
We had a local franchise of a little Midwestern burger chain called Clancy's, its mascot was a 'toon Keystone cop. I ate there several times as a child in the '70s. Good burgers, much better than McD.
Burger Chef was a place I enjoyed because you could build your own burger at a salad bar-type set-up, and they had these cardstock play-trays for your food that included punch-out toys, crafts, masks, etc.
But my favorites as a kid were KFC and Arthur Treachers. Loved York Steakhouse at the mall, too.
WANTED: Dick Grayson SI trousers; gray AJ Mustang horse; vintage RC Batman (Bruce Wayne) head; minty Wolfman tights; mint Black Knight sword; minty Launcelot boots; Lion Rock (pale) Dracula & Mummy heads; Lion Rock Franky squared boots; Wayne Foundation blue furniture; Flash Gordon/Ming (10") unbroken holsters; CHiPs gloved arms; POTA T2 tan body; CTVT/vintage Friar Tuck robes, BBP TZ Burgess Meredith glasses.
The places I like are still around but in much lower numbers
Roy Rogers for sure. For a while I could get my fix at rest stops on the NJ Turnpike or NY Thruway but all that had Roy's are being renovated. There's one (an actual full restaurant) like an hour and twenty minutes from me so I plan on going there soon.
Chicken Delight: There's one a few towns over from me and another (re-named but still uses the recipe) about 45 minutes from me. When I go there now I load up and freeze a bunch as dinners.
Fuddruckers: One small one (used to bigger but they are now in half the space they used to have) also around 45 minutes away. I'm still there usually 3 out of 4 weekends a month because it's just so good. Plus there a few movie theaters nearby and an arcade so I can usually make a day of it.
Fuddruckers: One small one (used to bigger but they are now in half the space they used to have) also around 45 minutes away. I'm still there usually 3 out of 4 weekends a month because it's just so good. Plus there a few movie theaters nearby and an arcade so I can usually make a day of it.
I would always hit the Parsippany one on my way to the US-1 fleamarket
^ Mikey, that's true and true for a lot of other things, as well. Change was always happening, but conditions came together that either accelerated the rate or made what happened obvious to everyone all at once.
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