Are You a Regular at Any of Your Local Restaurants?

The quick answer, none. But… with that said, let me share the restaurants I remember as a teenager back in Elmira, New York.

Loved it. Number one on my list. The occasions were rare, but treasured. Family, sometimes extended family and friends, would precede after Sunday morning church services to Curly’s Chicken House https://www.curlyschicken.com/ Established in 1955 still exists today. Not fancy, but the food, prepared using “secret” family recipes, is always scrumptious. I always had the same sandwich, its name long gone. Best guess chicken BBQ sandwich with fries and a soda. A surprise unexpected treat when we stopped for a weekday lunch. I would sit ignored, feasting as I listened to adults banter. Wish I could recall those interactions.

Another, a hole-in-the-wall, on a dark street. Dad would pull up quickly, hustle inside, family waiting in our locked vehicle. Minutes later, Dad would reappear with a bag of chili dogs. The aroma was amazing; the taste fantastic. Sitting here, my mouth is watering. My best guess why we never went in, it was a bar and Christians would never enter a seedy bar.

The Red Wagon, https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=90227, built on a 1929 Chevrolet truck chassis, found evenings next to Wisner Park. I remember we ordered a box of popcorn, a box each, vendor filled the box that would literally “sweat butter” real butter. Napkins a must. Again, after-church service treat.

Next, an Italian restaurant, near an underpass where trains would pass by, headed in and out of town. The name of the eatery, long forgotten, but I know they had the absolute best spaghetti and meatballs the world has ever known. Oh my! Once I went with my aunt and uncle and cousin. I finished eating mine, finished my cousins’ leftovers, to their amazement, finished eating my aunts’, including all their garlic bread. The past always tastes better than the present.

Finally, remember we are talking about many, many years ago. McDonald’s reached Elmira Heights. Nineteen cents for a cheeseburger, fries ten cents and a drink ten cents each, a feast served in a bag in mere minutes. So for 3 cheeseburgers, 1 order of fries and a Coke, all for less than a buck, a banquet.

These are places I remember.