My favorite old time food place that is still around: Der Wienerschnitzel

There is one about an hour North of us. When my kids played Pop Warner football we'd stop there after a game.

My favorite that appears to be gone: Shakey's Fun Time Pizza


I think there are still Shakey's Pizza places around but not like the ones when I was a kid. They would show old black and white movies (Laurel and Hardy, Abbot and Costello, Lil Rascals), and it was kind of like an old timey Chuck E. Cheese. They even had karaoke. A player piano was set up on stage and the words would appear on the movie screen. If no one wanted to go up then they'd play a classic sing along song. There was an arcade, not a video game arcade. I'm talking old games that you could play for a dime or a nickel.

Who remembers The Buttonwood Tree in the KC Board of Trade Building. Was a five star restaurant by most national rating companies.

However they closed a couple of weeks back

Buttonwood? Nope, probably too rich for our blood. But then there was the Branding Iron Steakhouse that I do remember.

We had a fast food place called Sandy's here before the big chains moved in. Also ate a lot at Big Boy. Godfather's Pizza was our main pizza fix, which is still around, but in many areas not available.

A&W. The old-school ones with phones in the booth.

Yep.

http://www.joplinglobe.com/food/x715...-bowl-of-chili

In elementary school we used to argue which hamburger was better, Smacks or McDonalds. I used to get Tenderloin sandwich and tater tots.

I went to Truman State when it was still called Northeast Missouri State. Was the Blue Moon Cafe just north of the square still around when you went? The old lady would pan fry hamburgers and serve with a Double Cola.

Heh! My sister was a waitress at Waid's in high school (1970s). It's still exactly like it was back then. Old people, bad food and depressing.

This is a review from kclunchspots.com


This place is insane.
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3558/...a55cb1a5_b.jpg
For people who like odd experiences, who like to challenge their notions of comfort, for those who can’t abide the ubiquity of tin ceilings, exposed brick and conical glass lampshades, this place is for you. The strangeness here is rivaled only be the old Nichols Lunch. And as with Nichols, just don’t expect to eat well.

Walking into Waid’s I found myself the object of dozens of octogenarian eyes and suddenly wondered if I had mistakenly walked into the dining room of a cheap retirement home. What in the hell was this place? It was quiet, dark and entirely devoid of any redeeming physical characteristic. I’m sure Waid’s used to be cute and retro, but they didn’t have the good sense to pursue a nostalgic vibe. Indeed the 1980s makeover is all too apparent, made more creepy by all of the seemingly unintentionally depressing details: hotel room art, drop ceilings, industrial carpeting, and the blandest of American diner menus.

If the Prairie Village Waid’s was a movie, David Lynch and John Waters would co-direct. There was the guy coughing and hacking up phlegm, three ladies going over every detail of their check to make sure they hadn’t been swindled and a certifiably crazy woman with papers and change all over her table.

My waitress had the sort of shocking cheeriness reserved for overprescribed mental patients and Maharishi disciples. I’m pegging her for the former. She had this odd way of speaking with incredible gleefulness and vigor while never really making eye contact. As I have implied, the clientele was almost entirely senior citizen–not a bad thing in and of itself, but I did feel odd, almost like an interloper into a world in which I did not belong.

Naturally Waid’s is not the sort of place where one expects great food. Ordering a salad never entered my mind, though they have several on the menu. I took forever deciding on my order because I didn’t want something gross. This was a futile pursuit. I can’t begin to tell you what to order here. You’re on your own.

When asked about the soup of the day, our server told us it was steak soup. “But it’s different than it used to be,” she said, “we used to make it with hamburger and now we use…you know, steak.” I did not order the soup.

I’m sure breakfast is passable at Waid’s, it’s not hard to make eggs, bacon and toast after all. Lunch is a different affair, presenting you with possibilities like chili dogs, tuna melts, fried cod, reubens and burgers. I wound up ordering the chicken fried steak sandwich for god knows what reason. Life is too short to eat one more substandard reuben. My sandwich came to me aptly presented but utterly bland and kind of dry since I opted not to use the cup of mayo they provided.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3627/...79f323f1_b.jpg

Despite a decent appearance my sandwich tasted like nothing and was cooked to death. The french fries, however, were woefully undercooked.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3364/...95a7f265_b.jpg

You know the restaurant that you always have to take your grandma to when you swoop into town for a once a year Sunday lunch to stave off the crippling guilt of not really finding her that interesting? Waid’s is that restaurant. It’s crazy but a lot of older people have a singular ability to overlook the sheer creepiness of a place in favor of comfort and familiarity. They know the waitress, the know what they like to order, they know how much it will cost. They could be eating in a dungeon for all they care.

I, on the other hand couldn’t help but notice the overwhelming sense of drabness: scratched faux-stained glass, ancient institutional carpeting, water-stained ceilings and water glasses that had been through the dishwasher about 800 times too many.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3381/...8a4df799_b.jpg

Waid’s is a local chain and one that used to be fairly prevalent in the metro area as I understand it. From what I can tell, there are only 2 current locations: Prairie Village and South KC (and maybe Lee’s Summit?). I’m sure a lot of folks who frequent this place have done so for a very long time and don’t really pay much attention to the details anymore. I am not qualified (or old) enough to know if it has become worse over the years. In its present state, it is just another American casual restaurant in the vein of Big Boy or Denny’s. Thus Waid’s is an imitation of something that had no business being imitated.

Boone & Dauben's-Fort Scott, KS
Chicken Annie's-Girard, KS
Great Plains Deli-Fort Scott
Papa Don's Pizza-Fort Scott
Trail Blazer-Middle of nowhere, MO

it's still there, but i believe it's changed hands a few times...closed and opened back up. wife said she went there there w/her friends on "girls night" a few weeks ago. wasn't impressed at all.

back in the day, it was pretty good. just awful dark in there.
sec

The OP mentioned Annies Sante Fe.....I waited tables ther thru college and several years after. The money waas WAY better than starting salaries that were offered at the time.

Chicken Annie's Girard is still going strong. It's easily my favorite of the Chicken Annie's/Mary's establishments.