NOPE. Cardozo's is still there. Both were "down the stairs" that much is true. The building in which the BarRR resided however is now gone.

Check it out for yourself, if you wish. ;) :D

Dave

You're right. When I saw that post, the first thing I though of was the bar/restaurant in the space that preceded Cardozo's on Washington. It also had a western name/theme and served very spicy chili. For the life of me, I can't remember the name of it.

Yep, in Bolingbrook, right? Someone has a tribute website up.

Yes, but I didn't eat or party there. I took my Little Brother (BBBS) there to ride on that roller coaster that went upside down (might have been one of the first ones that did that).

I remember them fondly also.

I also found it interesting there were 3 Indian buffets within a block or 2 of each other. In addition to Moti Mahal, there was the one on Sheffield just north of Belmont and SIR (Standard Indian Restaurant) - also on Belmont but east of Sheffield.

BTW, this may be hard to believe, but SIR is actually getting good. They put a little money into the restaurant and it is not nearly as drab as it used to be. They have their buffet in the evening: the food and size of the buffet is good. Lastly, they are BYOB.

Somebody needs to organize a DO!

I miss the Blackhawk Lodge. Their mustard-crusted rainbow trout was one of my favorite dishes anywhere.

Thanks for the reminder. I preferred its predecessor, Randall's Ribs. ^

Anyone remember Ann Sather's, in its original location, when Ann was alive and most of the waitresses were 85 years old and took care of you like grandma would? There was one old lady that would give me as many cinnamon rolls as I wanted! :)

According to their website, Ann sold to the current owner (Tom Tunney, now the alderman as well) in 1981 and died in 1996. They were still in the original location until 2-3 years ago.

Actually, they were not. The current Belmont location is the third. Tunney moved to a former funeral home some time after buying the restaurant from Sather. A couple of years ago, they moved to their current location after Tunney sold the building for a couple million bucks. I was referring to the first location. Interestingly, they have all been located within several doors of each other.

Oh, okay, thanks. Wasn't aware that the second location (which looked quite old!) wasn't the original.

Not as surprising when you learn that Tunney owns a bunch of buildings on that block (I used to live in the 44th and would read his disclosures)

Sather's had at least one other location, 57th Street in Hyde Park that closed probably in the mid-late 1990s. Very close, maybe next door to, Medici.

Back in the day, Ann Sather was known as the "safe" place to bring your parents who were in town for the weekend, fresh from the farm. Ann herself always wore a red dress and was very much a presence. In a famous interview from the time she sold, she revealed that she wasn't actually Swedish.

The Hyde Park location was actually pretty grim, and it was a blessing when it closed.

Absolutely! No one had to worry about being taken to a place that was too fancy or stuffy and the food was good. The only question anybody ever had was "What is fruit soup?" :)

Yes... they did have a place in Chicago called Diamond Jim's Restaurant. It was at 163 N. Dearborn St. I think you are right about the free meal if you could finish it. I think it was like $300; this was in the mid-sixties. As I recall, part of the attraction was that they described the meal which was gargantuan in size with bowls of oysters, etc.