Reviews on 80s Themed Restaurants in Philadelphia, PA - Bud & Marilyn's, The Dandelion, Dirty Franks, Louie Louie, Butcher and Singer, Harper's Garden, McGillin's Olde Ale House, Raven Lounge, Atlantis, The Lost Bar, The Fillmore Philadelphia I used to work across the street from there at Arrow Decorating Co 718 Market St, Miss all the hot dog carts. Days Deli was my favorite, until it closed; the rumor was that someone affiliated with the restaurant had put the profits up his nose. It adjoined a convenience store, and in back were rows of booths where you could while away hours smoking cigarettes with Jasons, Jennifers and Michaels. The Lombard Swim Club had a topless section. The Melrose apple would seem to be one of those exceptions. The Aramingo Diner, another long-time Philly institution, became a medical office. Quaker Diner on Rising Sun has been remodeled recently: https://foxchasereview.wordpress.com/2015/04/26/quaker-diner-time-to-revisit-an-old-friend/. At the end of the 1980s, the city was on the verge of bankruptcy. The Farm & Fisherman. Word has it that Bobs owner Jim Evans has the place up for sale, but as hes currently asking an obscene amount of money$1.9 milliondont expect any major changes soon. greater. From there, unfortunately, it was all downhill. I grew up in one as my father owned the Domino Diner. Recently, a seersucker-and-madras-clad man at a Mural Arts event I went to railed against graffitis cancerous, corrosive effect on Philadelphia. Outstanding memories. Yesterday, in the same building, I found a bottle of sunscreen. The Penrose had it all in spades. Chi-Chi's. Wikimedia Commons/Nostaljack/Public Domain. I have the original plans and zoning for the building. Im sorry to inform you that it closed just last yearand has now been remodeled into an urgent care center! Jack Doneius bought a run-down, but well-preserved diner in Manhattans lower West Side, spruced it up, and started serving upscale food. Snow WhiteClosed in: 2011Philly has lost a lot of its great diners in recent years. It consisted of about 4 or 5 booths on ether side of the central entrance and a counter. Since then, it's grown up, gotten a job, and emerged as the much more responsible . I give the food here very high marks, and youll find items on the menu you dont expect to find in a traditional diner which always works for me. An example of data being processed may be a unique identifier stored in a cookie. $$. I thought that place next to Nabisco was called The Ritz in the 80s & early 90s. The Domino suffered a major fire eight years ago and has yet to reopen. Order Online. Today, I can get stopped at the doors of an upscale hotel or silently ejected from a fancy boutique with an icy glare. Four Seasons is a restaurant not a diner. One of the first major restaurant chains, it went public in 1961 with 605 . Menu-wise, the Trolley Car reflects Weinsteins intention to bring a family restaurant to the neighborhood. If you're a human and see this, please ignore it. Fifteen years later Weinstein has proven both his knowledge of his market and his appreciation for the authentic diner experienceone refreshingly devoid of cutesy, cheap nostalgia that rises far above the tired greasy spoon trope. Its sad what became of The Ritz. Please let me know. 2023 BygonelyPrivacy policyTerms of ServiceContact us. Cherry soda before closing its doors in 1990. The old benches, the ones without armrests in the middle, were wide and deep enough that homeless people could sleep on them. Joes daughter Nancy runs the diner today, and itrecently received national attention thanks to Guy Fieris Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives program, which spotlighted their chicken croquettes. A beaten down Mountain View diner that looks like the owners use it for storage or maybe converted it into a kitchen for their sports bar addition. At the time, we felt our conversations were only a shade less sophisticated than My Dinner With Andre. The diner, one of the anchors of the neighborhood, remains boarded up. I remember the Mayfair diner. Bookers has filled the soul food void in the neighborhood with its upscale take, but theres nothing quite like enjoying a Citywide alongside a platter of top-notch fried chicken, collards, and candied yams in a dark bar withyour neighbors belting karaokein the background. Dining Car & Market, 8826 Frankford Avenue, The sprawling Dining Car Diner look like an architectural version of B-9, the robot from Lost In Space.| Photo: Randy Garbin. Melrose really had some good food under the Kubachs. Thank you Jay. You could come out boasting that your waitress was a thirty-year veteran which is no small thing in a business known for its employee turnover. 3 lived at 17th and Pine with her mom and stepdad and the largest dining room table Id ever seen. Some of our partners may process your data as a part of their legitimate business interest without asking for consent. 3k Views. I cant call myself a regular, as Ive only visited the place about a half-dozen times in the past twenty years. Talula's Garden, opened in 2011 at Washington Square, is an upscale restaurant inspired by locally produced ingredients, prepared in sync with the season. The ovation he received brought tears to his eyes Philly loved Teddy and he lived Philly. Stephen Starr converted a mid-1960s Fodero diner and appropriately swanked the joint up making it one of the citys best known martini lounges. They tortured me and my friends during grade school because we had no choice but to encroach on their turf: Our school was at 25th and Lombard, and recess was at their park. There arent enough bike lanes. Bucks a must-win for Philly? For those I live around the corner from the Oak Lane Diner. I also waitressed at Oak Lane Diner when I was in grad school in the late 70s (Hmm, tuition=extra money=diner job). Cocaine! SATURDAY - SUNDAY. Only bother to go here if youre a hard-core diner fanatic. The audience at this meeting of the Central Philadelphia Development Corp. laps it up. The original porcelain panels with Oak Lane Diner painted on them survive underneath the brick. Out of respect for the people who run and staff them, I never refer to diners as greasy spoons, but I revere any sign that the kitchen expresses a love of cooking. Rating 15/20. From long-livedgreasy spoonsto concepts from hotshot chefswho flamed out, we'rerememberingthese much-loved spots taken from us too soon. Both Olexy and Sikora have since gone on to better things: heowns conceptsin Wilmington and Kennett Square, and shesbecome an iconic restaurateurinPhilly. Mayfair Diner is still clad in chrome. | Photo: Randy Garbin. I want a good meal at a reasonable price, but I also want to connect with actual peoplestaff and customers. Kyrie Irving added 40 and . 2. Its ashame it changed hands so many times after the Ritz and failed each and every time. Thank you so much. Greater Philadelphia's restaurants have illuminated the region's socioeconomic, cultural, and culinary trends while also providing sustenance for millions. THIS RESTAURANT IS CLOSED The Garden. Center Citys population is growing. Many of us went to preschool, elementary school and high school together. But after three and a half years, slow weeknights at Koo Zee Doo prompted owners Carla Gonalves and David Gilbertto close down. Somewhere under that brooding exterior is a shiny, 1950s structure. ONE BOY WHO accompanied our Bellevue wanderings was the son of a South Street fortune-teller. On Market Street, between Seventh and Eighth Streets, is a block of buildings in the Renaissance Revival Victorian style. Elenas Soul LoungeClosed in: 2012According to neighborhood lore, the West Philly building home to Elenas Soul had housed a bar or nightclub continuously for 104 years beforea fire on Christmas Eve in 2012 consumed the building. HAPPY HOUR. Between 1913 and 1956, the companys tagline boasted, In our line, we lead the world. By the time they built Bobs, OMahony enjoyed a reputation for building high-quality, streamlined diners. Built in 1949 by Paramount to a standard of quality that no one else could match, it served in the 1990s as one of two American Diners in Philadelphia and was an attempt to upscale the traditional diner menu. Hard, uncomfortable seats, tables cleaned with the same hot tea you drank, long waits for . About 6,000 were built; today, some 1,800 remain with roughly two thirds still in food-service operation. Jim Clark: You must be referring to Port Richmonds long-standing Aramingo Diner. I used to work at the Ritz diner mainly as a busboy in the late 80s early nineties. Required fields are marked *. Being a Jersey boy, he has food memories that are rooted in the Garden State. Italian. Now these places are a CVS, a Mandee, an empty lot, a soon-to-be-demolished historic relic. But Chifa was also the first Garces restaurant to falter, closing after four years in business. Enjoying our content? The restaurant had been rated America's finest French restaurant, and the Mobil Travel Guide traditionally awarded it five stars. The history of restaurants in the Nation's Capital. A hole-in-the-wall with the best Chinese food in Philadelphia. But problems with the logistics of the space and rent hikes got to be too much for the chef, whosstill got Paesanos, Monsu,and Heffe Tacos. Since the 1950s, the Perloff family ran the Country Club in the Rhawnhurst neighborhood catering to its Jewish community. . Turf, i.e. While i frequent my old neighborhood diner (trolley car diner)most often, one that i really love that is always superb to me is the Four Seasons Diner on cottman Avenue. | Photo: Randy Garbin. These days it serves up Mexican fare as Jessis Diner behind a horrible brick faade which was installed by the previous owner. Although it didn't hold up against Chili's, TGI Fridays, and Applebee's, there was a time when it was fairly ubiquitous throughout the states. In February, when Lonely Planet named Philadelphia the best U.S. travel destination for 2016, the city's tired reputation for cheesesteaks, Rocky movies, corruption, and blight-cliches of 1981 or thereabouts-seemed finally put to rest. Petrogiannis put his own stamp on things with a silly turret-like roofline to raise the diners profile. Philadelphia has its share of them, and the Oregon Diner on Oregon Avenueexemplifies the experience. We do, and it was great. While authorities would not release a report on the alleged incident, police have been . I waitressed there for several months in the early/mid-1970s. Traces of the old diner mixed in with interior renovations atKims Korean Barbecue in Olney. Last week, Jeff Gordinier of The New York Times wrote a profile of chef Kevin Sbraga and his new restaurant Juniper Commons. The famed space at 1532 Walnut St. was briefly | Photo: Randy Garbin. Diner manufacturers eventually centered in northern New Jersey, where for a good 70 years they produced iconic stainless steel restaurants. In 1998, with diners at the peak of their resurgence, Ken tossed the idea into mix, and the hunt commenced. I sat and watched Hannah and Her Sisters in the theater at 19th and Chestnut and found a tiny fragment of a road map. We look to blogs such as these for straight talk, not depends on who you ask waffling. | Photo: Randy Garbin. But theres something about the national retail chains, about the people in teal, about the loss of diners and movie theaters in all their sticky-floored glory that makes me feel Center City has edged a bit too far toward the post-Giuliani NYC model of moneyed, sterilized urbanity. Here you'll find all collections you've created before. Strictly speaking, adiner is a prefabricated food-service structure with counter service and tables. The iconic, streamlined style fell from fashion or was outright prohibited by municipal design codes by the mid-1960s. The Square had no profusion of roses in front of the lion statue. Required fields are marked *. 1617 Spruce St. Philadelphia, PA 19102. Sep 13, 2019 - Restaurants that I ate at as a child..most no longer exist. Lite Bites At Peter Dooner's one met the epicure element, les bon vivants of the town. Oak Lane Diner on North Broad looking worse for wear. Does anyone have old photos of the Marlane Diner on Marshall Rd in Upper Darby and/or the Industrial Diner (much older), on Industrial Hwy? Too eager. For a number of years a group of 6-10 friends and co workers would park near the Domino Diner and go on a 20-30 mile bike ride, returning to the Domino for a late breakfast. Thanks to a tip by someone who grew up in the Olney neighborhood I managed to find this diner which, up until that point, existed on no one elses list. The Pub had four satellite locations around town two in Center a diner is a prefabricated food-service structure. https://m.facebook.com/lhapachapter/posts/memories-of-the-blu-comet-diner/3824830150954142/?locale=ne_NP&_rdr, It was known fondly as the greasy spoon by the Villanova students. Parents kept their stashes in the open. Went for lunch and was quite impressed. It was another amazing Paramount-built diner, similar to the Oak Lane. That's what Bennigan's, an Irish-themed bar and grill, offered in the 1980s. I was a student at Temple. Now demolished to make it a storage lot. February 27, 2023 endeavor air pilot contract No Comments . I want people to live here, to thrive here. Kullman would later become the first of the builders to produce retro-style diners on a regular basis, but before then you had diners like this one. http://www.houstonpress.com/arts/no-it-s-not-your-opinion-you-re-just-wrong-updated-7611752, You would be better served by using classic instead of real, Another great diner is 4 Seasons on Cottman and Blvd. At the Oregon, my family and I ordered dinner that included chicken soup, pot roast for me, spaghetti and meatballs for the kid, and pasta primavera for my wife. Enjoyed this article, but am left wondering: Whats up with Bobs being more or less in a graveyard? Airys continued revival. In its last incarnation, old heads from the Leroys Showcase Lounge days drank alongside members of the queer punk bands playing shows upstairs. Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Unused Pre-1980 RESTAURANT SCENE Philadelphia Pennsylvania PA hk4537 at the best online prices at eBay! Garces Trading Co.Closed in: 2018Before beer and wine were in grocery stores around Philly, there was Garces Trading, a BYO witha then-exciting (and beautiful) wine cellar inside the restaurant, which specialized in gourmet goods and sandwiches with the celebrity chefs signature touch. It took another ten years before I managed to furtively snap a shot of the diners interior. 2 14 Great Philly Restaurants We Wish Hadn't Closed; 3 1980s - The Literate Quilter; 4 Restaurant Picks - Escape the 1980's - Escape the 1980s; 5 Philadelphia restaurants in the 1980s; 6 Vetri, Le Bec-Fin, La Panetire: The illustrious culinary history of; 7 Closed Restaurants in Philadelphia Area, Pennsylvania - GAYOT For fifteen bucks, do you overlook the fact that the mashed potatoes were instant? The best diners pay loving homage to its past, but also strive to write their own history and become landmarks in their own right. Not much left to see here except for the basic outlines of a classic 50s structure. 182059211. I may allow some slack for most diners, but, in my mind, a well-run diner must do two things perfectly every time: Coffee and home fries. Continue with Recommended Cookies. For the sake of their preservation as an architectural form, I mostly concern myself mainly with prefabricated diners. Trolley Car strikes that rare balance between food quality and attitude. When I worked there it was always busy especially on the weekends. The first was on the North Side of the 1600 Block of Snyder Ave. St. Joseph County police searching for missing 12-year-old girl. In 1968, they traded up to a ten-sectioned monstrosity that Diners of Pennsylvania describes as an Arabian fantasy of stone, beige stucco, and arched windows. The family decided on thestyle after a trip to Las Vegas and, to the best of anyones knowledge, Fodero built none others like it. While the the iconic Melrose and the Mayfair, both currently owned by Michael Petrogiannis, remain, the vast majority are gone. But Taco Angelenosstraightforward, L.A.-style tacos flavorful slow-braised meats, a simple toppings bar of chopped onion, radish, cilantro and curtido, and seitan for vegetarians this is West Philly, after all filled that void. French Restaurants Continental Restaurants Restaurants. Pepsi Joe's (AKA Happy Paradise) (10th, above Race). The big sign outside advertises homemade bread, which you can get on the side with one of your breakfast dishes. Spice Grill in Port Richmond. Country Club Diner, another one under the Petrogiannis umbrella, still adheres to its Jewish-American menu established by the Perloff Family. the end, hosting lavish breakfasts and brunches, power lunches and dinners The diner was built by Paramount and it still features the companys trademark wedding cake corners with the gazing ball ornament. The Fat HamClosed in: 2017Well alwayslove the Fat Ham for its hot chicken, but the memories are bittersweet: chef-owner Kevin Sbragas empire grew too big too quickly, and not long after the flagship Fat Ham shuttered, the rest of his concepts went with it. But the jewel in the restaurant groups crown was Pub Tiki, a The Frazer was built in the mid-1930s. This chain of I loved this article. It was the kind of place where if you wanted to rape a girl or light a homeless guy on fire, you could get away with it. In its place first came the colonial style diner, then the Mediterranean style diner complete with Doric columns, the modern design and its glassy glitz, or some unfortunate melange of all three. Originally part of the Pillsbury Corp., the restaurant was founded in 1976. A couple of notesthe Boylevard Diner is now closed, the K Diner was first known as rhe Crest Diner and around 1978-79 it became Mil-Lees Luv-in, and Casa DEspana on Whitaker Ave was formerly known as the Franklin Diner, which was a local icon and was always busy. The OMahony diner came to Philadelphia in the 1960s from Medford, Massachusetts where it operated as Carols Diner. They were s Philly traditional, I worked for the Perini Corp for that area of reconstruction. The Melrose Diner is the third diner placed atthat location, all ordered by Richard Kubach, Sr. This article was intended to document only REAL prefabricated diners, i.e. | Content Licensing, Copyright 1996-2023 GAYOT All Rights Reserved Privacy Policy Disclaimer Terms of Use GAYOT (pronounced guy-OH) The Guide To The Good Life. He gave me my first French kiss at the TLA, back when it was a movie theater that showed cartoons during the day, repertory film at night, and Rocky Horror Picture Show at midnight. Whether that was a sign of things to come with the celebrity chef Chifa waseventually replaced with Cuban diner Rosa Bianca, another concept that didnt take or it just opened a decade or so before its time, it would have been nice for Peruvian fare to take hold in the city back then. In fact, you can still visit the previous diner in Newburgh, New York. The Frazer Diner in Frazer is the only un altered Jerry O Mahony diner in existence.Built between 1929 and 1935 it was originally the Paoli but was moved to Frazer on Lancaster Ave, in 1957. But tax issues forced the spot to close earlier this year, which is a shame Phillys Greek scene is in something of a shambles (though were optimistic about the upcoming Koukouzeli), so it was exciting to see a concept pushing the envelope. After closing Mm,chef-owner David Katz hasbeen a culinary director at Honeygrow and is now spearheading Capogiros nationwide expansion. Vetri Cucina. If you're a scraper, please click the link below :-) Most entrees on the menu cost less than $15, and we felt just as welcome there as the dozens of localsaround us. Your Dad Steve was a great boss back then. Little Petes on Chestnut Street It isnt constructed on-site, but rather brought to a semi-permanent location. The restaurants 2002 Weinstein likes to cite, with some justification, the dinerschicken croquettes (a long Philadelphia culinary tradition) and milk shakes, and I can whole-heartedly vouch for the croquettes. Continental The award-winning restaurant's unique dining style is a collaboration between celebrated restaurateur Stephen Starr and Aimee Olexy. Hey Friend, Before You Go.. We tried the apple pie with vanilla sauce, which made for a decadent pairing. Everyone take care! Just for the nostalgia and reminiscing those good old days. Commissary, were expanding palates throughout the region with international Now, well have the opposite a luxury hotel erected by New York developers ona spot thatmany Philadelphiansconsiderhallowed ground. Those in the market for a Philly Surf n I can say i have a lot of respect for these structures. Another one i was sad to see go after only a few years of operation was Sams Diner. home to a stuck-in-time, chrome and vinyl diner. The diner also offered a lot of benefits to employees which was why so many stayed a long time. | Photo: Randy Garbin. Both the Melrose and the Mayfair shared a particularly endearing practice of pinning their waitresses with the year they started service. Not surprisingly, we saw movies constantly, and relied upon them as instructional manuals. Twenty-four diners now operate in Philadelphia, down from 30 in 1990 when I first toured the city This was the place to reconnoiter, the hub, the treehouse club, the HQ. Thank you meme. Well regarded by the Oak Lane neighborhood, the current diner is at least the second to sit at that location. When Harry Markellos partnered up with George K and opened Horsham Towne I worked there and met my wife of 40 years! The Fat Hams hot chicken | Photo by Vanessa Beahn. I grown up in Oak Lane is the 40s. Its dirty. Polynesian-themed, date night spot on the 1700 block of Walnut Street. Hiroki. This was the center of our universe. Finelli had two places, one on Tenth Street above Chestnut, and another on Chestnut east side of Broad. Former St. Joseph County Democratic Party Chair Butch . Joe Palookas sports bar was to serve as one of several attractions in an ambitious heritage tourist development in Wilkes-Barre called Market Square that included the Lehigh Valley train depot, the Stegmaier brewery, a nightclub, and a collection of Pullman sleeper cars repurposed as a hotel. One of the most tragic losses to the roster of Philadelphia diners came with the demolition of the long-suffering Wayne Junction Diner. Some like to compare diner builders to the more familiar auto industry, and some might designate OMahony as theChevroletof dinersa well-built, stylish diner without some of the features or decorative flourish found in its competitors,likeParamount or Fodero. At one time, the mere word diner meant among other things that it never closed. Updated on Nov 18, 2019, 5:00 a.m. Within the Philadelphia city limits, if you want the true, blue-collar, meat-and-mashed experience inside the real McCoy of vintage American diners, staffed with seasoned, fast-talking, tough-but-tender, maternal waitresses, you will find it in exactly one place: Bobs Diner in Roxborough. Airys cedarbrook plaza. Kims Korean Barbecue, 5955 North 5th Street, Asian fusion. | Photo: Randy Garbin. For some reason that roll along the roofline became an extremely popular motif on retro-styled diners starting back in the mid-1990s. Children playing in the Art Museum fountains in August 1973. Put a porch on your house. The sense of lawlessness was pervasive. Charcoal House Nick Evlon 1836 Lovering Ave, Wilmington, DE 1973-1980s Closed Charlotte's Restaurant Jimmy Costalas 3207 W. Chester Pike, Newtown Sq., PA 1991-Present Operating . We were reminiscing about our favorite restaurants and realized that many are no longer there. Thomas Hawk, Flickr // CC BY-NC 2.0. nest and fried wontons with complete with a mysterious dunking sauce. I maintain a very high regard for Bobs because it represents one of the last of a dying breed. Dinner: 4-10pm Happy Hour: 4-6pm. (I got to smoke my first cigarette on the 40.) Youll find only three stainless steel diners in near-original condition (Trolley Car, Silk City, and Bobs Diner), and two more (Melrose and Mayfair Diner) with renovations that, while they could have been much worse, still stripped away classic features. Randy, Thanks for acknowledging the original Oak Lane Diner which does in fact still exist in Newburgh, N.Y. (2) Snow White Philadelphia's culinary world has long turned heads nationwide, only to bask in the spotlight once again when the prestigious 2022 James Beard Awards named 16 local chefs and restaurants as semifinalists. My family worked and owned these places so any info and or photos would be much appreciated. Silk City, currently owned by restauranteur Mark Bee, has diversified its revenue stream with the night club and bar which frees it from relying upon the weekend breakfast trade that so many smaller diners live or die by. Great article thank you. Back then, it was like there was no one on duty. the menu had a nice selection at great prices of salads,omelettes and sandwiches with also a speciality. A Slice of the 80s is located at 19 Congress St, Bradford, PA 16701. The city elected its first Black mayor in 1983, W. Wilson Goode, whose first administration was marred by the 1985 Move tragedy. Ask ANYONE who remembers. Switch to the dark mode that's kinder on your eyes at night time. The Farm & Fisherman Closed in: 2016Why wemiss it: Josh and Colleen Lawlers petite Washington Square West BYOturned outelegant farm-to-table, snout-to-tail fare they famously had no walk-in refrigeration, meaning that fresh ingredients were constantly coming into the restaurant. The Boulevard has gone through a series of ownerships in the past 10 to 15years, probably because of its poor location, but maybe also because of its crazy, hall-of-mirrors interior. I cant remember the name. Today, the Dining Car still keeps those traditional hours, but it attractscompany infewer and fewer numbers. Sylvester Stallone started it all with the iconic film that won an Oscar for best film . Center City is still mourning the passing of this 24-hour Greek go-to that My top three (almost a three-way tie) are: 1. AS A PERSON WHO works in Center City and who writes about real estate and economic development I cant claim to be disappointed by downtowns success. Freshly ground meat, a Melrose tradition, has been replaced by portion control. * Close to CC - 6 Min cab from center cityl. National retailers like Intermix and Michael Kors are coming to Walnut Street, where rents soar above the national average. Retro restaurant enthusiasts might be familiar with The Pub, a salad bar Philadelphia, PA 19103. Likewise, when transplants complain about SEPTA subway cars and buses, I marvel. Little PetesClosed in: 2017The iconic 24-hour diner at 17th and Chancellor was one of the dwindling number of places in the heart of Center City where folks from all walks of life could congregate over a plate of scrapple or corned beef. a particularly damning review from Craig Laban, not even a change in ownership in 2012 could save the grand dame of Whether or not hes actually improved on any of them depends on who you ask. The big Greek-style diner still reigns supreme in the Northeast Corridor. Im sorry you cant agree with a simple fact, but Ive been listening to this sentiment for more than thirty years. | Photo: Randy Garbin. Your email address will not be published. Living now in Georgia, diners are much missed by this 91 year old Philly/south Jersey lad. South Philadelphia was ravaged by Mafia warfare, gangs invaded the slums, and the murder rate skyrocketed. I was about six. Photograph by Dick Swanson/The National Archive, The opening of Return of the Jedi at the SamEric theater, better known as the Boyd Theater, which is now slated for demolition. And some fan favoriteslike Burger Chef, G.D. Ritzy's, and Howard Johnson'sfell by the wayside. Big diners like Melrose, with few exceptions, typically serve awful fruit piesgloppy, over-sweet fillings poured into industrial strength crusts. If you removed the cover from the Oregons menu and dropped it on a table at the similarly-sized Penrose diner on the other end of South Philly, no one would likely notice for a week or so. Podcast: Is Sixers' prime time game vs. | About Us
Up until about 1996 the Penrose was a spectacular example of quasi-Googie diner styling. My boyfriend was pulled into an alley between Walnut and Chestnut and held at knifepoint; my necklace was ripped off while I was walking; my mother was mugged; purses were torn from shoulders; people threw bottles into store windows on days when the Phillies lost. The former Boulevard Dinernow called theFive Star Dineris all glass and steel and looks like a small, Reagan Era officebuilding. The diner was likely built by either OMahony or Mountain View, but, except for the terrazzo floor, youll find almost no features that would indicate pedigree. My grandfather, Peter, built the heritage diner and then my dad, Steve, changed it to Sophias Diner and Stacys Pub. MILLER III / File Photograph. NBC10 hires Fred Shropshire to replace Jim Rosenfield as weekday evening anchor. | Photo: Randy Garbin. Yes, I think that was it. Until Behold, the gloriously fruity tiki drinks and $3 T-bone steaks of yesteryear, courtesy of the Ephemera Collection at the Dallas Public Library: Pure cacophony and sweet-treat over-indulgence, as you can see in this commercial (opens in new tab) from 1980. Even though it's been serving beer and pub food for over 150 years, you can still count on McGillin's for a good time. In the case of the Broad Street Diner, they also replaced a shoddy vinyl awning that adorned the restaurantfor years.