OldGuardGuy

I remember that U-tote-em! I used to shop there as a kid! They had a great magazine rack...a great rack...lol!!! I used to buy monster magazines and comic books there back in the 70's. I also remember the main office for all the stores used to be over where the big bridal store on 610 W near Bellaire Blvd. The building is still there. It used to have a huge totem pole on it...Heh, yeah, I remember Baby Giant! Do you remember Sunny's?"Robber fleeing the store..." BWAHAHAHAAHA!!!!I used to call Stop N Go, Stop N Rob...

There was a U-Tote-Um on Bissonnet near Ashby, as well as a Baby Giant on the corner of Greenbriar and Bissonnet. When I was in high school we used the terms "U-Cheat-Um" and "U-Scrotum" interchangeably.

The U-Tote-Um on Bissonnet was a life saver during the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Alicia - it was the only place still with power, and more importantly, cold beer!

As for odd names, in Amarillo there is a chain called the "Toot-N-Totum" - my brother-in-law refers to it as the "Fart-N-Carry".

If i recall i believe there used to be a Texas Historical Plaque located on Commerce between Travis and Milam on the Northern part of the street. Basically in the area by the new entrance with a canoe structure. It was removed when they remade the street and in parking spots. There is a tree next to where the plaque was located. It stated that 2 people were killed when they hit an artillery shell from a sunken ship in the area. The bodies were removed but the ship is still buried there. The ship was heading back/from Galveston. I have posted the question about the plaque about 8 months back. This was only a block away from the current crypt.

Do you mean this plaque?

I remember Busch Gardens! It was created quickly and why they put it in that part of town I will never know? Thas probably why it met an untimely demise. Who in the heck wanted to take their kids to an industrial area?

We would drive by it everytime we picked up my dad at work at nearby Roadway Express terminal. B Gardens looked so cool from far away because the rides looked very exciting, we were just glued to the car windows as we passed! Was very colorful and seemed like it was expanding. I bet it only lasted about 4-5 years at most? Anyone else know? I just recall it there until about 1975???

I remember going there on a school trip in 4th grade ('72) - there was an "ecology" film with Jonathan Winters in it that they played in the vistor's center.

Does anyone remember Maui Kai? It lasted only a short time, and I think it was on the same grounds of Busch Gardens.

Sorry but Rasputin's doesn't ring a bell with me.

Butera's had the best pasta salads ever and a navy bean soup that was good enough to provoke a spiritual awakening - soul-satisfyingly good. I wish I had some of their recipes. Do you know if any were ever published?

I guess I never went to Zimm's in the original location.

Try going to Paulie's - the owner use to be the head chef for Butera's, as well as creating almost all of their best receipes.

I have been trying for a long time to remember the name of the Russian restaurant in an old brick mansion at the corner of Yoakum and Richmond - was that Balaika's? This would have been pre-1978, I think. My first experience of Veal Orloff, butter squirting out of Chicken Kiev, Stoli dispensed tableside from a bottle encased in a block of ice.... A very memorable restaurant.

Butera's - originally a grocery store on Bissonnet, then the deli on Montrose just above the Glassell School of Art, right across from the Plaza. A great place.

Zimm's - still there I think. Earlier that had been a Steak 'n Egg.

There have been several discussions of George Dentler's Pier 21; it was still open in the early 70s because I went there a couple of times and I didn't get here until 1970.

Old Chicago Pizza - now Cafe Artiste?

I heard a lot about the original Rosnovsky's but never could get away from work long enough to go. Wasn't it in an old church or school gymnasium or something?

Dalt's - by way down Westheimer do you mean lower Westheimer? That one stumps me.

I've forgotten about the Russian restuarant on Richmond and Yoakum! Unfortunately, I forgot the name along with it - though "Rasputian's" lingers in my mind.

Butera's was a great place - especially the Butera family. I am saddened that nothing remains of Mr. Johnny's legacy.

The location that Zimm's is at now isn't the one they had in the '80s. Same strip, but they had the east corner location. I don't recall the food, but it was one of the few establishments that served Belhaven Scottish Ale (resulting in more lost brain cells and GPA points).

Old Chicago Pizza - as I recall the location became Cafe Artiste - I took my wife there on a visit about 5-6 years ago.

The old Roznosky's was an old school house - I think. I was shocked to find that they moved when I tried to show my wife the old location on a visit a few months ago - now its blocks of "luxury" apartments.

As for Dalt's, it was out past Hwy 6. It didn't last too long, but I remember some sort of cinnimon bun desert that was fantastic (and I usually don't like sweets).

Was Balaika the Russian place that was on Highway 6 not far from Memorial? The one with the bad food and service?

And was Casablanca the middle-eastern restaurant downtown on (I think) Market Square? The belly-dancing and no flatware rings a bell. They had a "fountain" by the entrance inside that was basically a hose pouring into a bucket.

Butera's I loved. Once I had a bet with a friend to see who would be the first to have one of every single brand of imported beer that Butera's sold. I won!

I remember the location being around Hwy 6, but the service and food was always excellent when I went. Off night, new staff?

As for Casablanca's, I do remember a fountain and the tent-like atmosphere, with persian rugs everywhere. The turkish coffee was always the highlight of my meal - on a dare one time, a friend of mine bet me that I wouldn't eat the grounds at the bottom of the cup. I did (winning the bet) and was quite surprised that not only did I like it, but that the consistancy was like pudding (I was a coffeeholic LOOOONG before Starbuck's was even an brief glimmer of an idea - I wan't called "Java Man" for nothing.)

Butera's - I fondley remember one Christmas party we had at the then "new" location on Montrose. This was after the Museum of Art purchased the original Deli location [formerly Jett's Grocery, a very small grocery store that also served as a front for a bookie operation - I'm not making this up]. Anyway, the party was in full swing, but the libations disappeared too quickly. What to do? With the one of the largest selections of imported beers in Houston within a mere 2 feet of the "off limits" sign, the answer was obvious.

All,

Although I haven't lived in Houston in over 10 years, here is what I recall (after removing some duplicates made by others in earlier posts):

• Jenny's Hideaway on W. Alabama (popular spot to recover the day after the night before . . . )
  
• Dalt's (located WAY down Westheimer, art deco/stainless steel style cafe)
  
• Balaika's (Houston's only Russian restuarant in the '80s. The head waiter was Igor, with a great, twisted sense of humor.)
  
• Dentler's (located near the Medical Center. Closed sometime in the late 60's - may be related to the potato chip manufacturer)
  
• Butera's (all deli locations and the store - I used to work at the store during my high school/college years)
  
• Zimm's Wine Bar on Montrose (original location had stained paneling everyway - great atmosphere!)
  
• Old Chicago Pizza Corp. (down the street from what is now the Demenille Gallery)
  
• Westcott's Drive In (great burgers!)
  
• Roznosky's on Fagan (I still have a series of coupons for free burgers that I won - from 1979!)
  
• Casablana's Moroccan Restuarant (belly dancing and no flatware - ah, the memories . . . )
  
• One's A Meal in West Gray (great all-night eating. The "fresh fruit in season" was ALWAYS bananas!)
  
• The Ale House (I put many a wait-staff through college here . . .)
  

If any of you had parents that worked in the hospitals in the Medical Center during the 60's and 70's, do you remember:

• The Faculty Club (located in the old Fannin Bank building (I think). I remember my folks taking my brother and sisters to the "shrimp peel nights" there.
  
• The Doctor's Club (closed in the mid-late '90s according to my father. The memberships were then transfered to The Petroleum Club. My father took one look at the membership fees and said something very unprintable. Scratch one membership . . .
  

In regards to an earlier post on Ethel's Southern Cafe, this was literally around the corner from my parent's house. Before it came into existence, it was a mechanic's garage. After it went under, it re-opened as a greek restuarant. After that folded, the property owners thought a parking lot was more suitable for that location.

All that brings to mind another place that is currently in the news - the apartments on Bissonnet and Ashby. Back in the '60s there was a place called KG Drugs that had a fountain and grill inside. When that closed, a Jones Apothecary opened up, but minus the grill. That closed (along with the other businesses along the strip there - a barbershop is all I recall), and the site was redeveloped as the apartments that are there now. Before "progress" razes it to the ground, be aware that above the front entryway nearest the Ashby/Bissonnett corner, under the stucco, is the ORIGINAL name of the building (either cast or carved) when it was first built. I noticed this when they where redeveloping the property back in the '80s. For all I know, the actual building may date back to the '20s or '30s.

Regards,

Old Guard Guy