Ding How Restaurant At 6800 South Main St.

[silverartfox]

Remembering defunct Chinese restaurants...when the cuisine was considered quite exotic...

In the 1940's-50's there was one called Ding How in a white stucco strip shopping center on South Main near Holcombe. It was a huge, cavernous space, dimly lit. Can't recall much about the food, though. A medical book store and a drugstore were in the same strip.

For many years there was a Chinese restaurant next to the River Oaks Theatre (before it became a multi-screen art house). A steady boyfriend and I went there often - dark, romantic interior and good food. Then one night we had to park behind the theatre building and I saw the back door of the restaurant and the kitchen! Filthy! The screen door was torn, had a rat-sized space under it and the cook was blowing his nose on his apron. I never ate there again. No doubt this was before the day of restaurant inspectors and Marvin Zindler's weekly Roach and Rat Report. Then again, maybe a little payola was involved.