[Magdalen] oldest restaurants in Chicago

[Georgia DuBose]

My sister and I LOVED Henrici's. The food was good, but the best part for
an 8 year old and a 6 year old was the curved staircase to the downstairs
bathrooms,  with the brass rail standing in the center. We felt it was so
elegant, and we visited the ladies' room a lot for that reason.

My dad introduced me to oysters at the raw bar at the Palmer House, where
his father had first taken him in the 1920s. He loved the Berghoff, and
when both of us worked in the Loop in the 1970s,, we would meet there for
lunch. One of the waiters remembered my grandfather, so he had been working
there for many years, as had most of the waiters in their white shirts,
white aprons and black pants. (Joe, am I correct in recalling that only the
senior waiters got to wear a vest--or was that some other restaurant?) My
godmother took me to the Walnut Room for tea: I remember thinking it was a
really special event.

After I had my first child, I stayed home for 16 months, and my job at
Chicago Public Library had been filled, so I went to work as a library
technician at Illinois Masonic Medical Center, which had a really good
medical library. I ate at Ann Sather with some of my colleagues from time
to time. It was "American-adapted Swedish Food," but I really enjoyed it.
No lutefisk, however.

Eileen, I loved the Como Inn, too. Our favorite seafood place was in the
Drake Hotel. Was it the Cape Cod Room? I remember the name Well of the Sea,
but not the hotel, except something is rattling around in the back of my
brain about the Morrison Hotel?????

Georgia+



On Tue, Jan 5, 2016 at 2:19 PM, Joseph Cirou <romanos at mindspring.com> wrote:

> I've been to 3, 4, 8, and 12
>
>
> I also ate at Henrici's fairly regularly when I was in high school and
> college (downtown for my organ lesson)
> It was opened in 1867 but closed 30 or 40 years ago.
>
> The Berghoff, I think is from 1898.
>
> Almost everytime my mother and I went downtown we'd meet my Father for Tea
> at the Walnut Room (We managed to get there before 5PM when the dinner menu
> started. Tea was as good as a late lunch or early supper.
>
> There were a few other store restaurants that we frequented for variety.
> At the time my Dad taught at Washburne Trade School at Sedgwick and
> Division ( I think the building is still standing) but the school moved to
> 33rd and Kedzie in the 60's. My father still ate well since he ate with the
> chefs who taught the cooking program. Mr. Zenker was in charge so we had
> frequent German dinners brought home from leftovers. I kept up the habit
> with those favorite restaurants. We used to go to the Italian Village on
> Opera Night, sometimes Henrici's. None of these was really expensive in
> those days. ( With the money I made from playing the organ for daily Mass
> and funerals, I could afford a season ticket (cheap) and dinner on opera
> nights and tickets on the Rock Island (It was considered safer than taking
> the L and CTA at 1AM)
>
> Joe
> -----Original Message-----
> >From: Charles Wohlers <charles.wohlers at verizon.net>
> >Sent: Jan 5, 2016 2:05 PM
> >To: magdalen at herberthouse.org
> >Subject: Re: [Magdalen] oldest restaurants in Chicago
> >
> >Haven't been to any of these, but I have been to the Union Oyster House
> >(1826), Durgin Park (1827), and Jacob Wirth's (1868), all of which predate
> >all those on this list.
> >
> >Chad Wohlers
> >Woodbury, VT USA
> >chadwohl at satucket.com
> >
> >
> >
> >-----Original Message-----
> >From: Judy Fleener
> >Sent: Tuesday, January 05, 2016 1:39 PM
> >To: magdalen at herberthouse.org
> >Subject: [Magdalen] oldest restaurants in Chicago
> >
> >I enjoyed reading this list and was surprised at how many of these I have
> >enjoyed,
> >
> >
> >
> >1. Schaller's Pump, *3714 S. Halsted St.*
> >
> >2. Daley's Restaurant, *809 E. 63rd St.*
> >
> >3. The Berghoff
> ><
> http://chicago.everyblock.com/news-articles/jan04-chicagos-oldest-restaurants-have-changed-but-not-much-7281994/?utm_campaign=digest&utm_medium=email&utm_source=digest
> >
> >, *17 W. Adams St.*
> >
> >4. The Walnut Room
> ><
> http://chicago.everyblock.com/news-articles/jan04-chicagos-oldest-restaurants-have-changed-but-not-much-7281994/?utm_campaign=digest&utm_medium=email&utm_source=digest
> >
> >, *111 N. State St.*
> >
> >5. Pompei, *1531 W. Taylor St.*
> >
> >6. Valois Cafeteria, *1518 E. 53rd St.*
> >
> >7. Green Door Tavern, *678 N. Orleans St.*
> >
> >8. Lou Mitchell's, *565 W. Jackson Blvd.*
> >
> >9. Lindy's Chili, *3685 S. Archer Ave.*
> >
> >10. Italian Village, *71 W. Monroe St.*
> >
> >
> >*Numbers 2, 3, 4, 6,8 and 10.*
> >--
> >Judy Fleener, ObJN
> >Western Michigan
> >
>
>
>
>