Favorite restaurants that are no longer there (Boston, Lowell: Valentine's day, insurance)

[Phouchg]

Any favorite places to eat that are now lost in the midst of antiquity?

I can think of Riley's Roast Beef in South Lawrence. Arby's has nothing on these huge roast beef sandwiches and thick shakes!

Anybody else remember Lum's? It was a chain, and I mostly recall the one in Salem, NH. There were tiffany lamps over each table, and the hamburgers had "Ollie Sauce" which was like spicy thousand island dressing.

How about York's Steak House? There was one at Methuen Mall and (I think) one near Liberty Tree Mall in Danvers. As a kid I loved having my own tray and picking out my dessert from the cafeteria line. The faux medieval decor was great, too.

Finally, anybody else remember Ruggles Pizza? There was one in Downtown Crossing and one in Harvard Square (probably more locations). They had pizzas with cheddar cheese instead of mozzarella. Loved them.

Alas, these are all no more...what do you remember of long gone restaurants in and around Mass.???

[leorah]

This time of year I often remember Hell's Blazes Tavern in Middleboro, MA. I think it was the oldest continually operating tavern in the country until the seventies. In it's heyday there was nowhere quite like it. It was built in the late 1600's and had old wood beams and antique hardware, and the grounds were beautiful, too. When the old building burned down it was rebuilt to try to keep the same ambiance. The food was good, and the atmosphere made any occasion special. They had a little nook they called the coat room that they'd set up on request with a table for two. Hell's Blazes was the most romantic place I've ever been and my husband and I used to celebrate Valentine's Day and anniversaries there every year.

[maggiekate]

thompson's clam bar in harwich, loved there song which played on the radio each spring
when they opened

[Valerie C]

Cathay Garden in Lowell, which closed in 1980 after a fire. They had the best Chinese food, and I can still remember their sesame candy which I have never been able to find since...

McIntyre's in Rowley/Ipswich had the very best fried clams. The Clam Box down the street is OK but still not like McIntyre's

I'm sure I"ll think of more...

[Boomerang]

Originally Posted by Phouchg

Anybody else remember Lum's? It was a chain, and I mostly recall the one in Salem, NH. There were tiffany lamps over each table, and the hamburgers had "Ollie Sauce" which was like spicy thousand island dressing

Wait....wait....dim recesses of memory....I do remember Lum's, but I think it was in CT, not MA (unless there was one along 495/290 somewhere....)
My gosh. I never would have remembered this.

[brightdoglover]

The Orson Welles Restaurant, next to the movie theater, in Cambridge. First place I went when new to Cambridge and to something hipper than south Jersey, where I was from. Great movies, first restaurant I found with vegetarian entrees (1974!) and an overall great feel.
Torched in the 1980s for a soulless business block, as were the buildings across the street.

Cottonwood Cafe, in the old Sears Building in Cambridge. Best lighting and atmosphere and great food.

La Patisserie, near Harvard Square. A genuinely French coffee place. Makes Au Bon Pain feel like you live under a bridge.

TT the Bear's, in Central Square Cambridge, before it moved and became a rock club and had a Moluccan waitress.

[CityGirl52]

The Town Lyne House in Lynnfield when it was really really good in its hay day and the Pillar House north of Boston, HOW could we forget that place.

Another gem was the Toll House Restaurant in Whitman, MA., during it's day!
Here's some info on it, in the late 1930s, Ruth Graves Wakefield invented chocolate chip cookies in Whitman at the Toll House Inn on Bedford Street. The Toll House burned down completely on New Year's Eve 1984; in a fire that originated in the kitchen. The inn was never rebuilt. The site is marked with a historical marker, and that land is now home to a Wendy's restaurant and Walgreens Pharmacy. The former Whitman Savings Bank was also the first in the country to offer Savings Bank Life Insurance (SBLI). Home of the famous Peaceful Meadows Ice Cream house. In 1964 The Venus Cafe was founded by former professional Wrestler Peter Drosos, who fought under the name Pete "The Golden Greek"; the Venus is widely regarded as the best pizza in the area! Also, Whitman is home to Saftler's Inc, one of the oldest and largest independently owned fabric stores in the United States.

The European Restaurant on Hanover Street in the NORTH END! It's gone but not forgotten, ever! It was SO SO good here; We really miss their pizza's, there sandwiches and salads. Everything was SO fresh and good. The maitre'd was always confusing my mother with my aunt, but he'd have the right family of us any way! It was such a great place. Long gone but not forgotten....

There used to be this restaurant called Heck Allen's in Lynn that we went to a lot. I don't know if it's still there or not, but when I was young that's where my parents took us on a friday night. It was SOOO good!

Remember Buttrick's Ice Cream stands all over the place? They're long gone now too....

SO much for nostalgia...they're all history now...

[Barkingowl]

Dill's Restaurant & The Bide A Wee in Marblehead, The Pickle Barrel in Peabody...

[crazyworld]

THere was a Lum's in Braintree MA.
In Marlboro MA there used to be a great restaurant The Oxford....when my hubbie and I dated, we always went there. I know it has changed hands multiple times and it is not the same.

The rotary at Otis AFB wa a diner called The Tin Man...it was the best and then it burned down.

Anyone remember Emerson's in Randolph and Framingham.

Loved York Steak house and The Rustler......

Bailey's Ice Cream parlors is Boston.....when I was pregnant with my daughter I had a caramel sundae with buttercrunch ice cream evey single day. Funny she has never taken to caramel and she is now 28..

I am really dating myself.

[CaseyB]

Oh, I remember Bailey's. How many were there? I know there was the one in Boston and there was a really nice one in Wellesley. A real old fashioned ice cream parlor! Remember the lime rickeys?

I think there used to be a York Steak House at the Natick Mall, that sounds familiar.

Anyone remember Steak and Brew in Framingham? You couldn't get away with a place like that now.