In article
>,
val189 > wrote:

> l
>
> How could I forget to mention the old Pal's in Deerfield Beach, FL.
> Great atmosphere on the Intracoastal Waterway, one could dock a boat
> alongside, efficient and civil waitstaff, valet service, excellent
> menu and food. For many years, their signature item was popovers,
> delivered fresh and hot to every table as a 'free' appetizer. It
> became a Charlie's Crab, then closed.

I'll arrange this in semi-chronological order. Some of these places may
still be in existence.

Café Cancun in Dallas. This place went under in the late 80's. They
overextended themselves. It was one of the first places where I ate
Mexican food that was more refined than Tex-Mex.

The original Johnny's Big Red Grill in Ithaca. Great Italian food.
It's now a Thai restaurant, but the Johnny's sign was declared a
landmark and is still there. The original owners also created the world
famous Hot Truck, home of the Poor Man's Pizza (PMP). This was the
model for Stouffer's French Bread Pizza.

Gloria's in Dallas. This used to be our default dining spot on nights
when I didn't feel like cooking. I have yet to find a Salvadoran
restaurant that's as good as they were.

La Calle Doce in Dallas. Great Mexican seafood. Our backup default
dining spot.

Pizza Patron in Dallas. This place caused a ruckus amongst the
conservative bloviators a few years ago because it accepted pesos as
well as dollars. It wasn't transcendent pizza, but it was cheap and in
our old neighborhood.

Saigon Cuisine in Greensboro, NC. Best and most refined Vietnamese food
served in a former hot dog stand. Not to mention the comic relief
offered by Duckie, the brother who ran the front of the house.

Jack's Corner in Greensboro. Good, inexpensive Middle Eastern food.
Some yahoos of the Jesse Helms persuasion wanted to boycott the place
after 9/11. SO and I made a point of eating there, and encouraged our
friends to follow suit. Jack's lived to serve felafel long past that
day.

Wicked Burrito and Besa Mi Burro in Chapel Hill, NC. These places
served fantastic and inexpensive Mexican food. Both went under when we
still lived in Greensboro.

Larry's Market in Seattle. They overextended themselves and went
bankrupt. The store on Aurora Avenue is now a Vietnamese megastore.

The Rascal House in North Miami Beach. We're talking quintessential
South Florida Jewish cuisine. When we'd visit SO's mom, we would
usually eat there at least once per trip. It was razed to make room for
condos, which probably will never get built since the real estate market
is DOA down there. The mom is now in a nursing home here, so we may
never go back down to Miami.

Cindy

--
C.J. Fuller

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