Hey All, Podcast Rob here.
Not gonna lie, been a rough brain month this month so far, which makes me glad we pre-recorded June to give me a breather and Hatton some well deserved time in “The North”. That said, I was tooling around on the internet last night (like you do…) and stumbled across a list of ‘restaurants that no longer exist’ and I fell down this rabbit hole sans parachute.
So now I give to you, PCR’s list of ‘Food Places of the Past’…specifically, ones I loved going to.
4 – Steak and Ale
From it’s Tudor style exterior, to it’s salad bar, to it’s… dimly-lit interior, this was a place you went to if you wanted to feel ‘rich and important’ on the cheap. The prices were good, the steaks were (surprisingly) good and inexpensive, and the overall atmosphere was friendly yet high-class… kind of like a casual Brookstone.. but with food.
3 – Chi Chi’s
Good-sized portions, endless chips, good prices.. what could go wrong? (Hint : Hepatitis A).
True Story. A roomie of mine and I went to a Chi-Chi’s for lunch one day. After siting there for nearly 30 minutes with no contact from anyone on the wait staff, and having finished our chips, we left and walked next door to a Red Lobster… where we proceeded to spend almost $200 on lunch and drinks and apps. Taking a photo copy of the receipt, we went BACK to the Chi-Chi’s where the hostess greeted us and offered to take us to a table. We explained to her we were there previously, never got helped, so went elsewhere and handed her the copy of our receipt to show what they missed out on. Ahhhhh.. good times, good times.
2 – A&W Drive Ins
I’ll be honest, the memories of these are foggy as I was VERY young, but I remember the excitement of my mom and dad when we were headed there as a ‘treat’ for us. I don’t remember anything amazingly special about the food, but the frosted mugs certainly stand out, as does the Root Beer Floats… THOSE I will remember forever.
1 – The Ground Round
Man… to be a kid and go eat here again. Endless popcorn, the mostly-wood interior, the screen in the middle playing endless Heckle and Jeckle cartoons, the ribs.. THE RIBS MAN… this place was a Shangri-La of fun in the ’80s. I honestly don’t think there’s anyplace that exists now that is on the same level that The Ground Round was back then.
Ok Somethings, what were YOUR favorite places to eat as a kid? Chime in on our socials and let us know!
-PCR
