Restaurants of yesteryear

[Simply Red]

What Restaurants did you grow up around? I'm not talking super fancy and yes fast-food counts. What distinctive memories do you associate with them?

Mine?

Taco Via-(the lit up menu of the various taco plates displayed on the wall), WhiteCastle-On a paper plate with fries and Pepsi, Arthur Treachers(off Noland), Tippins(off Noland), Perkins(the free toy well), Country Deli(awesome local deli to Blue Springs heated sandwiches on Sourdough buns), Zarda BBQ and Dairy, FunHouse Pizza(of Course)(Dark. Video- Games,Electonic Riding Bull and 25-cent Taco night) Annes Sante Fe.

Keep in mind I never see these anymore living in Georgia.

[chinaski]

Here is another one...

Macy's had a restaurant at Independence Center. I remember going there and thinking it was 'fancy'

[srvy]

Originally Posted by chinaski

Was that the one by the Blue Ridge Mall? I remember that place.

Also in Raytown, Hobo Joes BBQ and Dicks Root Beer Stand. Anybody remember Pizza Inn on Raytown Road? I think it was near that Marvins Gardens nursery place?

There was also a Seafood place my parents liked called Neptunes Galley

Hobo Joes was just awful bbq and the only pizza place to be in Raytown was Funhouse.

[Baby Lee]

Originally Posted by srvy

Hobo Joes was just awful bbq and the only pizza place to be in Raytown was Funhouse.

I think that building that's an El Maguey nowadays used to be a Pizza Inn.

[tarheel23]

Nickerson Farm at the junction of 7 and 71

[Baby Lee]

Originally Posted by tarheel23

Nickerson Farm at the junction of 7 and 71

The sign has been gone forever, but isn't that huge barn structure that's been abandoned for decades in mid-MO right on I-70 an old Nickerson Farms?

People who've travelled I-70 know what I'm talking about. Practically by itself, big peaked roof with a parking lot crumbling around it. I wanna say around Danville EDIT: High Hill.

[CoMoChief]

Probably already mentioned but..

Texas Tom's
Shoney's
White Castle (at least in KC area)
Hot n Now (cheaper McD's knock off)
Stephenson's Apple Orchard n Restaurant
TCBY (at least in KC area)

[loochy]

The freakin Gold Buffet

[sd4chiefs]

Originally Posted by loochy

The freakin Gold Buffet

My Dad took us there on a Sunday all the time. I remember that they would charge you extra if you left a lot of food on your plate. So there was always some kids crying because the parents were making them eat all the food they took.

[Baby Lee]

Nothing sounds more delightful for a kid than a Saturday with a plate of tomato aspic and Foster Brooks on stage!!

[sd4chiefs]

There was a dumpy hamburger joint just south of Westport called Little Angus. It was very small and only had about six stools to sit on. They had this little guy in the back grilling burgers on their sh*tting grill. People would line up at lunch time to get their amazing burgers to go. In the early 80's some Ahole bought the place and tore it down to build a bigger one. It lasted about 6 months be it went belly up.

[Rain Man]

Originally Posted by Baby Lee

Like I said first time around, it started out as ridiculously popular. Good food, friendly staff, great portions. Early on it was literally like Jaws was for movies, the first 'blockbuster' casual dining restaurant, with as many people waiting for a seat in the dining room as were actually dining.

And the aesthetic wasn't so much unpolished peasant as salt of the earth hillbilly. Think more Coal Miner's Daughter than Wild Whites of WV. ie, The 'Po' Folks' might not know much cipherin' and spelin' but they knew hospitality and good cookin'.

It ended up failing because as soon as they developed their customer base, they immediately started cutting back on all the things that set them apart. Less hospitality, smaller portions, no drink refills, guff about substitutions, higher prices, etc.

One wonders if they even could have sustained their business model as initially composed, though. Because the food at first was so good and so cheap, you almost felt like you were ripping them off.

I only ate there a couple of times. Was it a buffet or did you order off a menu?

It seems like a buffet with that type of branding is doomed from the start. You're going to draw a lot of people who self-identify as poor, which means that they'll eat as much as possible during their visit.

On that note, I don't understand the pride at being poor. By definition, you want to not be poor. But then you go to the Branson airport or Po Folks or any of a million other places in the Ozarks, and the architectural style is "Hillbilly Ramshackle". They're spending money to make it look like they have no money. Why? I don't get it. That's not an environment that I enjoy being in. I've been there. I got out. I don't want to go back. Stop it, Ozarks! Stop it!

[Baby Lee]

Originally Posted by Rain Man

I only ate there a couple of times. Was it a buffet or did you order off a menu?

It's menu order.

And it's not so much about people reveling in being 'poor' any more than soul food is reveling in slave scraps.

You probably get your salsa from New York City.

The notion is, if you put enough 'love' into your cooking, even inexpensive ingredients can be delicious. Meat you can raise yourself, veggies you can grow in your garden. . . 'Merkin ingenuity.

As for what the food itself was like, a good bit better than Cracker Barrel, not quite as good as Lamberts. And IIRC kind of like Lamberts, the entree was menu ordered, but at least some sides [fries? greens?] you could get additional portions if you asked.

[Buzz]

Originally Posted by srvy

Hobo Joes was just awful bbq and the only pizza place to be in Raytown was Funhouse.

Dude, I loved Hobo Joes growing up. I always got the box car sandwich and a side of beans. I was so disappointed when they went out of business.

[Nickhead]

Originally Posted by Simply Red

FOUND IT!

i said donald DUCK not dick

[Pitt Gorilla]

Anyone remember the Gazebo in Joplin, MO? It was a huge buffet.

1106 in Pittsburg was a great burger.]

Jack's Steakhouse in Pittsburg (used to be the Tower Ballroom as well) was great (better than Jim's, IMO)

Nick's Restaurant in Girard (KS)

Mel's Smokehouse (later Mel's Old Mill) were great BBQ in Pittsburg.

The Asian Place in Pittsburg was outstanding.