Most Missed OKC Restaurant

[SoonerDave]

Finished reading the Life On the Line today. It made me miss Dodson's fresh veggies & rolls. Does anyone remember Across the Street restaurant? It was on SW 59th street. Great chicken fried steak.

I miss their chocolate icebox pie.

One of my fondest kid memories from one summer was when, on a lark, my mom took me over to Dodson's and bought a whole chocolate pie, then took it over to my grandmother's house (she lived just a couple miles south of there), and we divvied up the whole thing into three big slices and scarfed it down. We knew how outrageous it was, but we laughed while I gulped down a big glass of cold milk. Wish I could remember how old I was at the time - maybe ten or eleven, not sure - but is a fun, fun memory.

[ctchandler]

But no other steak place had my ham radio buddy Wally Brown at the organ, or served such a wonderful smorgasbord at noon most every day!

I'll grant that Junior's served a great steak the only time I was there, but I could have taken my wife out more than 10 times to Glen's for what I paid for that one anniversary dinner at Junior's -- and Wally wasn't there to give us "Tico Tico" as soon as he saw us walk in... Dub Farley in the piano bar was good, but no replacement!

Jim,
Their smorgasbord was excellent, and although I don't remember him (senility of course), Mr. Brown at the organ sounds like a nice addition to a good meal. Although not a steak place, Mr. Joe Dodson on the piano at Dodson's Cafeteria is a great memory. And yes, Glen's was cheaper than Junior's, but not much cheaper than Jamil's or Eddie's. I would say the cheapest place in town for good steaks during that era was Hardy's, then Glen's, then Jamil's and Eddie's, then Jaques, and at the top, Christopher's, the Haunted House, and Junior's. I always enjoyed Hardy's but it was hardly a special occasion place. But boy would I love to have a shore patrol (wilted lettuce) salad. That's the only place in town that served it.
C. T.

[ctchandler]

Finished reading the Life On the Line today. It made me miss Dodson's fresh veggies & rolls. Does anyone remember Across the Street restaurant? It was on SW 59th street. Great chicken fried steak.

Southside,
I ate at the Across the Street that was on Northwest Highway (now Expressway) across the street from Baptist Hospital. And I just posted a comment about Dodson's. My mother held my wedding rehearsal there. I grew up going to the original over on Western, and the rehearsal was at their 59th street location. I think I lived about three blocks from the one on Western. Wasn't it at about 38th and Western?

[ctchandler]

No, not really, CT. Christopher's was closed by the time I found out what it was, and I never visited Junior's. Been to Haunted House, and while it was a very elegant atmosphere, I wouldn't say it was arbitrarily better than Glen's - besides, I think that's a little apples-to-oranges comparison. HH is/was a destination/theme place. I used to imagine/hope to take a date I really wanted to impress to Glen's, but it was gone before that era of my life arrived

Eddy's in its heyday was great, so yes, I'd put it in that Glen's category, What disappointed me about Eddy's was when I took my family there during their "going out of business" era that last couple of weeks, and I should have known better - it was very much reflective of the status of the restaurant (going out and not very good).

I realize all of these preferences are subjective, so if some folks don't like Glen's, c'est la vie. I remember it fondly, and wish we had it back.

SoonerDave,
As I have said, I took my prom date to Glen's, and Jim reminded me of their really good smorgasbord, but I am surprised at your comparison of Glen's and the Haunted House. As you say, subjective, and my late wife and I enjoyed Glen's, but we went there just when we were in the mood for steak, if it was a special occasion it was usually the Haunted House, Jaques' (One anniversary we had steak Diane, and Baked Alaska), or maybe Jamil's. The other's were either not worth the distance, Christopher's and Junior's or like Jamil's and Eddie's so similar we went to Jamil's because it was closer. If we were taking my mother, she liked Eddie's so we did go there once in a while.
C. T.

[ctchandler]

I miss their chocolate icebox pie.

One of my fondest kid memories from one summer was when, on a lark, my mom took me over to Dodson's and bought a whole chocolate pie, then took it over to my grandmother's house (she lived just a couple miles south of there), and we divvied up the whole thing into three big slices and scarfed it down. We knew how outrageous it was, but we laughed while I gulped down a big glass of cold milk. Wish I could remember how old I was at the time - maybe ten or eleven, not sure - but is a fun, fun memory.

SoonerDave,
My favorite pie as a child was lemon and at a grade school bake sale a friend of mine and I bought a lemon pie. We each ate half of it and I haven't been able to eat lemon pie since. Do you still like chocolate pie?
C. T.

[SoonerDave]

SoonerDave,
My favorite pie as a child was lemon and at a grade school bake sale a friend of mine and I bought a lemon pie. We each ate half of it and I haven't been able to eat lemon pie since. Do you still like chocolate pie?
C. T.

OMIGOSH yes. Yes yes yes, 1000000x yes

It's obviously one of those things that's like four gazillion bajillion gormillion calories, but man, a fresh-made, scratch chocolate icebox pie with real whipped cream and fresh crust is just one of the things that make life special

[SouthSide]

Yes Dodsons was at the Reding Shopping Center .

[ctchandler]

Yes Dodsons was at the Reding Shopping Center .

Southside,
It seems to me it was in a detached, standalone building to the North of the Reding shops, which makes me a few blocks off when I said "38th". It seems like the original Reding Shopping Center ran from 44th (that's a given, it was on the corner of 44th and Western) and stretched to about halfway between 43rd and 42nd, so Dodson's would have been very near 42nd street. My first real job was at Humpty Dumpty, first as a sack boy, then I worked in the produce department. I grew up playing in all of that vacant pasture from 44th to 36th and West of Douglas from 44th to 41st.
C. T.

[SouthSide]

CT,

You are correct Redding was at SW 44 & Western. Now that you mention Dodson's was a stand alone location that seems familiar. My memories are mostly of the SW 59 location. The Dodson's book is pretty interesting and makes you realize how a handful of individuals played such a large part in developing SW Okc. The man who developed the Redding Shopping center owned the Humpty Dumpty grocery stores.

[ctchandler]

CT,

You are correct Redding was at SW 44 & Western. Now that you mention Dodson's was a stand alone location that seems familiar. My memories are mostly of the SW 59 location. The Dodson's book is pretty interesting and makes you realize how a handful of individuals played such a large part in developing SW Okc. The man who developed the Redding Shopping center owned the Humpty Dumpty grocery stores.

SouthSide,
So, was the Reding Humpty Dumpty a franchise or do you mean the owner of the Humpty Dumpty corporation developed the shopping center? I suspect he was the "franchisee". About where did you live, I lived on SW 37th, very near the first Dodson's. I would guess you lived in the Hillcrest area since you are more familiar with the 59th street Dodson's.
C. T.

[SouthSide]

CT,

The book states he owned the Humpty Dumpty chain of stores and he developed the Redding Shopping Center. His name was Sylvan Goldman. He also invented the shopping cart. I lived on SW 66 by Prairie Queen.

[Jim Kyle]

I always enjoyed Hardy's but it was hardly a special occasion place. But boy would I love to have a shore patrol (wilted lettuce) salad. That's the only place in town that served it.
C. T.

I was introduced to Hardy's by an advance man for Sol Hurok Productions, while riding the Toonerville Trolley between Centralia and Columbia, MO, in the spring of 1951. He told me about it when he discovered that I was from OKC, and said it was the favorite of most show business folk who came through the city.

My wife fixes wilted lettuce from time to time. although it's been years since we had any. Leaf lettuce is a bit difficult to find in the stores, and that's the only kind that comes close to duplicating the Shore Patrol. To wilt it is easy, just fry up a pound of bacon until it's real crisp (almost burned in fact) then pour the hot grease over the lettuce and crumble in the bacon.

Years after the original Hardy's burned, a bowling friend bought up the recipes and goodwill, and re-opened it on SW 29 about half a block west of Western. He re-created the whole experience quite well, but neither the location nor the economy at the time were in his favor and his venture failed.

Is the familial relationship between Jamil's and Eddy's general knowledge? When we were shutting down our abortive venture into the food industry (Kernal Korn's Popcorn Factory, which we owned for just over a year in the mid-80s) I became acquainted with Chris Young, to whom my banker steered me as a possible purchaser of some of my assets. Chris owned and managed Eddy's, and told me that Jamil was his nephew. I toured the kitchen area at Eddy's and it was quite impressive. Chris, though, was more interested in selling things to me, than in buying anything from me. Not long afterward, he shut the place down.

You could have gone for days without reminding me of the chocolate icebox pie at Dodson's. While I didn't eat there often, whenever I did that's the one thing I could never pass by! I really hated to see the Reding area vanish...

[Jim Kyle]

CT,

The book states he owned the Humpty Dumpty chain of stores and he developed the Redding Shopping Center. His name was Sylvan Goldman. He also invented the shopping cart. I lived on SW 66 by Prairie Queen.

He had two sons, Al and Monte, who followed their father into development. When we bought our first house at 2737 SW 60, they were planning a shopping center to rival Redding for the SW corner of 59th and May. They still hadn't started it when we moved to California a year later, though. I don't remember just when they finally got it going!

[Mel]

They used to have a pretty good coney dog place at the 59th and May shopping center. They also served a killer carrot cake.

[SoonerDave]

CT,

The book states he owned the Humpty Dumpty chain of stores and he developed the Redding Shopping Center. His name was Sylvan Goldman. He also invented the shopping cart. I lived on SW 66 by Prairie Queen.

Interesting bit of trivia....I know someone who worked with a man whose father worked for Sylvan Goldman. Apparently a jack-of-all trades type, this guy actually cooked up the idea for and constructed that first shopping cart, but since he was Goldman's employee, Goldman received the credit for it. Guess I should insert all the appropriate "allegedlies" in here, but this guy relayed numerous stories about his dad having worked for Goldman and I don't really have any doubt what he relayed was true.

[ctchandler]

CT,

The book states he owned the Humpty Dumpty chain of stores and he developed the Redding Shopping Center. His name was Sylvan Goldman. He also invented the shopping cart. I lived on SW 66 by Prairie Queen.

SouthSide,
That would be the owner of the Humpty Dumpty corporation. That's why I asked. And yes, he invented the shopping cart. I believe he was from Tulsa. Well, you were about 29 blocks South of me, I was three houses East of McKinnley so a little over a block East of Blackwelder.
C. T.

[ctchandler]

I was introduced to Hardy's by an advance man for Sol Hurok Productions, while riding the Toonerville Trolley between Centralia and Columbia, MO, in the spring of 1951. He told me about it when he discovered that I was from OKC, and said it was the favorite of most show business folk who came through the city.

My wife fixes wilted lettuce from time to time. although it's been years since we had any. Leaf lettuce is a bit difficult to find in the stores, and that's the only kind that comes close to duplicating the Shore Patrol. To wilt it is easy, just fry up a pound of bacon until it's real crisp (almost burned in fact) then pour the hot grease over the lettuce and crumble in the bacon.

Years after the original Hardy's burned, a bowling friend bought up the recipes and goodwill, and re-opened it on SW 29 about half a block west of Western. He re-created the whole experience quite well, but neither the location nor the economy at the time were in his favor and his venture failed.

Is the familial relationship between Jamil's and Eddy's general knowledge? When we were shutting down our abortive venture into the food industry (Kernal Korn's Popcorn Factory, which we owned for just over a year in the mid-80s) I became acquainted with Chris Young, to whom my banker steered me as a possible purchaser of some of my assets. Chris owned and managed Eddy's, and told me that Jamil was his nephew. I toured the kitchen area at Eddy's and it was quite impressive. Chris, though, was more interested in selling things to me, than in buying anything from me. Not long afterward, he shut the place down.

You could have gone for days without reminding me of the chocolate icebox pie at Dodson's. While I didn't eat there often, whenever I did that's the one thing I could never pass by! I really hated to see the Reding area vanish...

Jim,
When did Hardy's burn? We were eating there in the early 70's. My aunt was a waitress there and all of the pictures and autographs on the wall were really fun to look at. I don't remember them on SW 29th. I knew the owners of Jamil's and Eddie's were connected, but I don't remember them being related. It doesn't surprise me though. Do you remember the differences in the hors d'oeuvres? It's not a trick question, Jamil's had thick sliced baloney. Or was it the rib? It was one or the other, Eddie's was short one item.
C. T.

[Martin]

i don't remember ever getting bologna at eddie's... so that must have been at jamil's. -M

[Prunepicker]

I voted for Windy City because "Bottom Line Transaction", aka BLT, played there 2 to
3 nights a week and I was the bassist. Good pizza, good music and good money!

[Prunepicker]

i don't remember ever getting bologna at eddie's... so that must have been at jamil's. -M

I never had bologna at Eddie's but I did have it at Jamil's. Freddie's, in Sapulpa,
also serves smoked bologna.

As far as Lebanese restaurants go I like Freddie's. Jamil's is 2nd and Eddie's is a
distant 3rd. Those are the only 3 I've knowing dined. Don't get me wrong, Eddie's
was very good, just not up to the standards of Freddie's or Jamil's.

I've never eaten at the Jamil's in Tulsa.

[Prunepicker]

Personally my most missed restaurants are Herman's Seafood, El Charrito and
Shipman's Cafe.

Another was Garland's Smorgasbord on SW 29th. I know they weren't "Haute Cuisine"
but I have some fantastic memories of those eateries. I thought Smorgasbord meant
all you can eat for $1.59.

My favorite missed breakfast cafe is Beverly's.

[Prunepicker]

Tony's Italian Specialties, on N Penn, was very old school and superb. I once
took Prunette on a date and about had a heart attack when, after the meal, I
found out that he didn't take credit cards. I told Prunette to go to the car and
take the "emergency funds" from the ashtray of my car. I just got by.

Some people mistake Tony's Italian Specialties for Tony's via Roma that was
on NW Expressway. They weren't the same. Two completely different
Italian schools of cooking. I liked TIS.

[Urbanized]

Ah, good times...

Hey Prunie, by the way - totally unrelated question - what are you driving lately and where do you park these days?

[RadicalModerate]

Personally my most missed restaurants are Herman's Seafood, El Charrito and
Shipman's Café,

I have to say that your mention of Shipman's (the one on Robinson(?) rather than Reno) jogged fond memories. After some serious thought, I think the restaurant I miss most is Der Dutchman. My tastes were much less experienced when that place was still around, but at the time I thought their gumbo was about as good as gumbo gets. A bowl of gumbo, a side of boiled shrimp and some hush puppies was one of the best--if not healthiest--meals ever.

[Jim Kyle]

Jim,
When did Hardy's burn? We were eating there in the early 70's. My aunt was a waitress there and all of the pictures and autographs on the wall were really fun to look at. I don't remember them on SW 29th. I knew the owners of Jamil's and Eddie's were connected, but I don't remember them being related. It doesn't surprise me though. Do you remember the differences in the hors d'oeuvres? It's not a trick question, Jamil's had thick sliced baloney. Or was it the rib? It was one or the other, Eddie's was short one item.
C. T.

Frankly, I don't remember. It must have been the very late 70s; I didn't take up bowling until the early 70s, and met Andy Anderson at Windsor Lanes' weekend green-stamp sessions. Perhaps I'll dig the date out from the Oklahoman's archives...

Actually I've never been in Jamil's, and only ate at Eddy's a couple of times. Mediterranean cuisine wasn't my favorite in those years. By the early 90s, though, I got introduced to Cello Kabob and learned to love it, especially when sprinkled with sumac...