They have Green River at the South Side Diner! Looks like it's time for a road trip to Goshen, Indiana! Neither of the two large grocery chains in Chicago (Jewel or Dominick's) has Green River, though I remember seeing it at Dominick's in the last few years.

I've been to the Frosted Mug for their car cruise night. I had the beef...dry with sweet and hot. The night I was there, I watched a waitress, uncomfortable on roller skates, struggle the entire night to keep her balance. She never went down, but every time she hit the lot, you'd hear everyone say, "Here she comes!" Just waiting for her to take a tumble...

I think they also did a piece on the drive-in hot dog place near Milwaukee and Devon -- Superdawg -- when they did a hot dog themed show. I still prefer Gene & Jude's in River Grove for hot dogs. Walk in with a $5 dollar bill. Leave with a full tummy and change.

But the best place of all in the Chicago area was Skip's Drive-In on North Avenue in Melrose Park over by dere... Skip's is gone but it was the quintessential drive-in from the 1960's with the little intercom and carhops to bring your food. I believe at that time the property in that area was "unincoporated" -- it hadn't been annexed by any of the neighboring suburbs so it fell upon the township to provde essential services and the county for law enforcement...which was slow to respond. Someone had painted a starting line and a finish line, a quarter-mile apart, on North Avenue for street racing. And you could light it up pretty good since that stretch of road was bordered by forest preserves for almost a half mile on the westbound side of the street. Skip's was down the block from three other classic institutions, Kiddieland Amusement Park, Maywood Park race track (harness racing), and Polk Bros. Skip's closed in the late-'70's or early-'80's. Polk Bros. burned to the ground in 1986 earning the nickname "Smoke Bros." And Kiddieland, despite its popularity and success, may very well close in another year or two since the property owners have "other plans" for the real estate.

tony b.

tony b.