Memories That You Can Taste Forever
It is so interesting and fun to think about the differences in food cultures amongst us. For example, I grew up in the heart of the Midwest, in a little town in North Central Illinois, just about 90 miles southwest of Chicago. Everything revolved around food. Friday nights were planned on which neighborhood tavern you would go to for fried fish. Cod? Walleye? Well you could go to “Walt & Krash’s Tap” in LaSalle, “The Riverview” in Peru, and then there was “Lenuti’s, or Rip’s” in Ladd. (And when I say tavern, I mean tavern!) If the wait is too long and any one of them, you just go a mile down the road to the other. Of course you could always pick up this healthy fried fish “to-go” and we might even open a glass bottle of Dad’s Root Beer or Bubble Up to drink it down! Sundays or special occasions were treated by “smorgasbord” where you would find all-you can eat fried chicken, mostaccioli or ravioli, and of course a variety of jello salads! If you were Polish, or Slovenian breakfast included the homemade smoked kielbasa and potica. Is your mouth watering yet? But wait, there’s more.
The best food, in my opinion to come out of our Illinois Valley area has to be, hands down, the infamous fried pork tenderloin sandwich. I don’t know what it is about “The Igloo” which is truly famous for this incredible food. It could be all the memories that are packed into eating pork tenderloins (cheese pork with the works in case you didn’t know what to order) and all the fun, laughs and growing up that make the food as great as I know it to be, but as an adult, I still plan my trips to the Midwest to make sure I can have “a pork” while I am there. It’s a little crazy !
I’m not exaggerating, check out this article in the Chicago Tribune (which is huge news for us LaSalle Peru folks to get mentioned in a major publication like the “Trib”).
http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1993-12-12/features/9312120105_1_pork-tenderloin-igloo-sandwich
Yes, I am proud of my Midwest roots and all the delicacies that have been part of my life. We all have these wonderful food memories that have formed us both physically, and socially (in a good and bad way too) that make us who we are. Thanks for letting me share my history with you.
OMG MaryAnn! Your post brought back so many memories. We always got fish to go from Walt and Krash’s. Best walleye, ever. How about Ted’s Tap, the Rainbow, 101 Club and Crowbar’s? There are too many to name! I miss Igloo porks. AZ people have no idea what I am talking about. When I took my daughter and her friend to La Salle one year, we went to the Igloo and they ordered hamburgers! They had no idea what they were missing. When Joe from the Igloo asked for their order, they said they weren’t sure! Does anyone even look at that menu! We all know what we are ordering long before we walk in the door! He gave them heck about that. I’m so glad we grew up with all those fun food memories. Even the pizza back home tasted so much better than anything I’ve had here. My mom still makes a great potica at 82. Don’t forget another are favorite, Bagna Caulda. It’s amazing any blood can flow through our bodies with all the artery clogging things we ate! Well worth it, though. Thanks for the blast from the past!
Glad you enjoyed the trip down memory lane! Yes, it is amazing we still have our arteries! Too many taverns to mention, aren’t there? You gotta love the Illinois Valley!
Walt and Cash’s from Aunt Gerts front porch. Oh the stories we could tell, if only we could remember. Ice Cream from Frank’s too.
Oh, MaryKay, so true! Frank’s Cigar Store had the best ice cream in town. I wonder if they are still there! Those were the days!
I remember all the uncles going to Walt and Crash’s on Sunday mornings while the women cooked dinner. Ray’s was often the stop for ice cream on our wa home from the swimming pool.