tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-659361804634685374.post185617801252677452..comments2024-02-13T09:38:20.413-08:00Comments on My Dinners w/ Richard & other musings: BAYSIDE, THE BIRTHPLACE OF A FOODIEilona saarihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12539769672758181010noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-659361804634685374.post-1591079806911103432024-01-15T15:42:52.752-08:002024-01-15T15:42:52.752-08:00Thank you for the review. My mother was raised in ...Thank you for the review. My mother was raised in Bayside she talked about Mcelroy's all my life . You made me feel like I was there too. Much obliged Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-659361804634685374.post-11467175435271601032022-04-07T09:50:32.952-07:002022-04-07T09:50:32.952-07:00Thank you for your Bayside memories, Al... I neve...Thank you for your Bayside memories, Al... I never knew about the station bar & grill -- I would have loved to have gone there. ilonailona saarihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12539769672758181010noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-659361804634685374.post-51867251294409012942022-03-30T15:43:56.289-07:002022-03-30T15:43:56.289-07:00My father was a waiter at McElroy’s ever since I c...My father was a waiter at McElroy’s ever since I could remember until his death in 1965. I loved the Blvd. and the local eateries. The Bell diner was your typical diner.The 5&10c store had a great lunch counter.The German bakeries will never be repeated again….those were bakeries !! If we were good…my folks would take us to the station bar & grill.They had a small dining in the back..but their shrimp basket would make your eyes pop…it was so big. We had anything and everything on the Blvd. anyone could need. Fond memories for sure. My brother “finally” let go of the family house after nearly 60 years and moved on. He thought by staying there,nothing would change…well it does and it did. Alhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13945907593848635726noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-659361804634685374.post-66608519946764226192017-05-22T13:06:29.108-07:002017-05-22T13:06:29.108-07:00And I totally agree that Bayside was a special pla...And I totally agree that Bayside was a special place then - a fabulous town to grow up in. Thanx all for sharing your memories. I hope more people will, too.ilona saarihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12539769672758181010noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-659361804634685374.post-56715522030524444712017-05-22T13:04:19.583-07:002017-05-22T13:04:19.583-07:00Loved Schmidtt's - hung out there w/ Gisela an...Loved Schmidtt's - hung out there w/ Gisela and other friends after school, too. I guess it was our "Mel's Diner" like in "Happy Days." And yes, the grilled cheese was fabulous. And I loved the black & white ice cream sodas.ilona saarihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12539769672758181010noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-659361804634685374.post-87675492733991585872017-05-22T12:03:23.461-07:002017-05-22T12:03:23.461-07:00Loved this! I, too, loved Sal's, although I w...Loved this! I, too, loved Sal's, although I wouldn't touch pizza until I wanted to impress my older sister's boyfriend be eating "grown up " food. McElroys was where my husband and I invited my parents to join us one night to tell them that we were having our first baby. Sat at the bar just like real adults, too. It will always hold a special place in my memories. But what about Schmitt's? Hung out there after school with Melinda Lee and talked about boys, boys and more boys! Best grilled cheese sandwich ever! Bayside was a special place with its proximity to all the City had to offer, but also all the small town comforts of home.LBChttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08933597496730039174noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-659361804634685374.post-42728317620448559682017-05-22T09:35:21.904-07:002017-05-22T09:35:21.904-07:00Lovely article!!!
It brought back so many memories...Lovely article!!!<br />It brought back so many memories of eating out(which was such s big deal) with my mom and dad in the Oil refinery town of Elizabeth New Jersey...<br />Eugenia<br /><br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-659361804634685374.post-44964240698310662532017-05-22T09:30:20.269-07:002017-05-22T09:30:20.269-07:00Sandra, the only restaurant I went to was in the G...Sandra, the only restaurant I went to was in the Griswald(sp?)Inn in Old Saybrook a few times when I was an adult - still a favorite memory. I have scant memories of Essex since we moved to Bayside when I was 3 or 4.ilona saarihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12539769672758181010noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-659361804634685374.post-40371246969956725792017-05-22T09:27:41.520-07:002017-05-22T09:27:41.520-07:00What beautiful memories. A knowing laugh at the &q...What beautiful memories. A knowing laugh at the "coke in a bottle". The ultimate big kid moment to be trusted with a bottle! NorrthAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-659361804634685374.post-79374526450473972092017-05-22T03:56:51.218-07:002017-05-22T03:56:51.218-07:00I think every kid shares memories like this!! I gr...I think every kid shares memories like this!! I grew up in a tiny town in the middle of "no where" the larger cities Rochester/Buffalo were 200 miles away!! I grew up on Mom/Pop places and some still exist 50 years later. If we went out for a more "Fancy" dinner it was in a neighboring smaller city 40 miles away. So, it was an adventure to get dressed up and pile in the car for the drive. Great Italian place called "The Castle" which --looked like a Castle. So 60's-70's cheesy but great memories!<br />Great blog. I could sit here and dish about childhood food experiences all day !kdmaskhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05308182064350109835noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-659361804634685374.post-35146792669294533132017-05-21T17:50:38.690-07:002017-05-21T17:50:38.690-07:00Having grown up during the same time period and in...Having grown up during the same time period and in the same town as you did although I was 2 years ahead of you I have almost the same memories of Bayside, the Howard Johnson clam dinners at 10 did not excite my then uneducated palate but and so when my first taste left me cold, my dad told me that it was "good, because they were too expensive for me anyway" only made them more desirable and years later that was my Saturday go to dinner. I didn't go to McElroy's with my parents at any age so had to wait until I was 18 to make into the bar/restaurant where a few years later my then fiancee and I went to celebrate our engagement and you are right , it then reminded me of Sardi's where I also frequented later in life. I stayed in Bayside longer than you did and saw the evolution of choices, with UNO's Chicago Pizza become the first chain restaurant but long before a "pizza parlor" had opened up which my friends and I frequented on a Friday evening, more a gegitmate hangout type of place as long as you kept ordering something. For the life of me though I cannot place what you are referring to as Sal's Try as I might I can only place Stella's which was just off the corner of 38th before Buzz and Mac's and the movies and one block down from our church. I know we have shared so many Bayside memories in common but this one eludes me Stella's is the only Italian restaurant that fits the description of white table cloths and napkins but I didn't start going there until I was about 18, seems my culinary world started opening up about that time when dates included trips to Manhattan and drives out on the island Is it possible that before I was going there it was Sal's and then became Stella's. With my grandmother living with us we didn't go out to eat much in the early days and like you said there weren't many choices, but Manhattan trips always included dinner at some place that seemed exotic to me. Luchow's,, Keene's chop house, anywhere in LIttle Italy sstand out but I am sure there were many others. Since I lived in Bayside until 1997 the evolution of dining was not always what it seemed. Donvan's then became the place to go or you went further afield. Susan L.https://www.blogger.com/profile/15608587534327120446noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-659361804634685374.post-66813624851845302372017-05-21T15:33:46.030-07:002017-05-21T15:33:46.030-07:00Lovely evocative memories of a time long past. Tha...Lovely evocative memories of a time long past. Thank you for sharing. They say that only specifics can resonate as universal, and this piece has awakened a lot of long forgotten family dining experiences. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-659361804634685374.post-73965443802751965152017-05-21T13:55:29.196-07:002017-05-21T13:55:29.196-07:00Ilona,what wonderful memories!Do you remember or d...Ilona,what wonderful memories!Do you remember or did you go to Woodie's in Essex? It has changed some now, but back in the day the lobsters were out front crawling around to entice you and the fried clams were almost the best around. Farnhams were the best. Both were places my family went to when we were "back east". Now I have different choices.Sandra Lewinnoreply@blogger.com