You Know You're From Long Island When... (Hempstead, Union: ice cream, grocery)

[Ann1]

Originally Posted by nancy thereader

The Bird Cage at Walt Whitman Mall: I only vaguely remember it, Ilways wondered if it was something I dreamed up. I thought it was only there for holidays.

The Bird Cage. Wasn't that the restaurant inside Lord & Taylors?

The Bird Cage was Lord and Taylors. I always ate there. It was immaculate and the food was great. Not only women came in but quite a few of the husbands would come to eat there to. Shopped til I dropped and dropped at The Bird Cage.

[MoonlightFlight]

I apologize, I didn't realize I was going against policy. I hope my post won't be deleted, but I understand if it is.

John Savage (I)

[MoonlightFlight]

Hey lisa g ~ I'm in South Carolina now, but didn't leave Long Island until I was in my forties. It will always be my home. I raised my daughter in Northport.

Wow, we used to walk to the Twin Theaters, then go across the street to the diner, and then walk home again. Do kids walk anywhere these days? There was also a theater in the shopping center on the same side of the street as the diner.

As a matter of fact, the public library used to be in a storefront in that shopping center, before they built a new building for it across the street. Next door to the old library was a soda shop, and Pop made the most fantastic egg creams! My Dad got his Sunday papers there.

I think the supermarket in the shopping center was called First National, at least that was the first one. Very progressive, they had a conveyor belt out front for your groceries so you could load them right into your car. (I didn't visit airports very much when I was young, and this conveyor belt idea was novel to me.) They also gave out double green stamps.

It's amazing, the things that come back to me when reading this thread. I hope I'm not being boring. I wasn't much for going to the swinging places that everyone here remembers. I was working for the airlines at JFK, never got home before midnight, and had Tuesdays and Wednesdays off. Not a good schedule for enjoying L.I. nightlife. I missed a lot.

[UNIONDALE-IAN]

Originally Posted by lisa g

Hi Moonlight, I graduated from JFK HS in 1984. The pool/park was still there at that time, but I have no idea what's there now. In the early 80's I worked at the Old Country Twin theaters (across from the Plainview Diner), which is now a medical building I think. It was a very cool place to grow up.
Are you still in Plainview or on LI?

Plainview Diner 1094 Old Country Rd Plainview NY 11803-4918 516-822-0766

[UNIONDALE-IAN]

Does anyone remember the "texas ranger" in freeport , they made burgers with coleslaw on them,,,i can still remember them 30yrs later... I want one now...
Or the office lounge bar, also in freeport , ah the smell of a real bar...

[GigiBowman]

Originally Posted by UNIONDALE-IAN

Does anyone remember the "texas ranger" in freeport , they made burgers with coleslaw on them,,,i can still remember them 30yrs later... I want one now...
Or the office lounge bar, also in freeport , ah the smell of a real bar...

No but I do remember the Right Track Inn! lol

[lisa g]

Moonlight, yes, I walked to all those places!
And the theater in Plainview on the diner side - do you remember when the cost was whatever the year was? (in 1976 admission = .76c for example)
I lived next to the (new) library and across from First National which became Finast.

Ian, glad to hear the diner is still there! mmmm....french fries w/gravy!

[Barbara R. Lee]

OHhhh my gawd, I remember Camp Marydale. I went in 1969 and I was nine years old. My sister and I were the only black kids there. It was a weird scene. Lots of yellowjacket bees at that place but the pool rocked.

[OhBeeHave]

Originally Posted by lisa g

Moonlight, yes, I walked to all those places!
And the theater in Plainview on the diner side - do you remember when the cost was whatever the year was? (in 1976 admission = .76c for example)
I lived next to the (new) library and across from First National which became Finast.

Ian, glad to hear the diner is still there! mmmm....french fries w/gravy!

I was just telling my son and his friend about the year = admission price movie theatres. They thought I had lost my mind.

[UNIONDALE-IAN]

Originally Posted by scammed

I stand corrected, Mr. Softee. We had a Carvel place (I think it was on Elmont Road) There was a a Chinese restaurant and Stride Rite shoe store near it.
I will be calling my LI friends here in Houston and let them know about this thread.

I love Carvel, we live in Los Angeles now, and they had one out here combined with a Cinnabon but it went out of business. so sad. I never even liked Pistachio ice cream til they had it once when I was a kid, so crazy freezing your arse off standing out in front of a Carvels waiting for your turn to order a cone.