| Author | Message | ||
     Natexlh1000 |
I just had a really nice ride yesterday during which, I visited one of my favorite BBQ places. It used to be just a convenience store that also sold pulled pork and BBQ chicken. Over the years, it gradually got bigger and more upscale until now where it is an all-out tourist trap! Just look at the results of this image search: http://www.google.com/search?q=big+moose+deli&hl=e n&client=ubuntu&hs=EcT&channel=fs&prmd=imvns&tbm=i sch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=xy-MT6OZFMry0gHF-vzP CQ&ved=0CF4QsAQ&biw=1475&bih=827 I ordered a cuban and it was just fine but it just wasn't the same somehow. | ||
| 86129squids |
Yeah- hate to see that, sometimes that's an unfortunate side-effect of success. Good on the owners to make out well in their biz though... In sociology, this is called a "third place"- not home, not work, but a place where one goes to commune with others, eat/drink, etc. It can be a barber shop, church, biker bar... Mmmm, Cuban sandwich though- we've got a good one here in Mur-vil, holla if you pass through one day. A proper "hole in the wall", all its charms intact... | ||
| Chauly |
Imagine my surprise to find out where that was: I went to Hoosac School just down the road... I can't remember if I went to that store before; I think it was called something else other than Big Moose. (Message edited by Chauly on April 16, 2012) | ||
| Hootowl |
You call someplace paradise, kiss it goodbye. ~ Don Henley | ||
| Natexlh1000 |
Indeed it was not called "big moose" when I first went there. They used to have a pig-shaped smoker out front with acrid smoke pouring out of the nostrils. I passed by it on the X1 wondering "what the hell is that?" Then the smell hit my sinuses like a hammer. U-turn! Someone on yelp said it was called "Helvi's" | ||
| Natexlh1000 |
Now I'm just bummed out. I did a search for Helvi's and they expanded into a proper restaurant nearby and it failed  http://eastwickpress.com/news/2009/02/helvi%E2%80% 99s-restaurant-closes/ | ||
| Moxnix |
Huh, by the title I thought ya'll were conversatin' about people like me here on Badweb. When I shun piked the back roads of the south in the natural resources trades, there were always obscure BBQ spots with great local styles. I don't use sauce, except on KY goat sandwiches. | ||
| Jb2 |
Deal's Gap. All through the 70's and 80's it was a great road to ride. They even used to have a sign up to warn truckers to take a different route. It was stolen back in '90 or '91. Pete and Doris renamed the little store at Deal's Gap the Crossroads of Time. Even in the beginning there wasn't much of a crowd except on sunny weekends. If you didn't have gas bought by 5:00pm you were screwed. There was no alcohol to be had in the area unless you ran down to Robinsville. The locals liked the visitors and vice-versa. At Tallassee Store you could talk to Harley Charlie and see what he the boys were currently building or riding in the back of the store. By the mid 90's the handwriting was on the wall. The Gap had become the secret place everyone knew about. Fast forward to new owners, police crackdowns. intense crowds and you understand why it's been 4 years since I touched a wheel to the Dragon. Same thing is happening to Route 141 in Colorado with the installment of a motorcycle dude ranch in Gateway. (Message edited by jb2 on April 16, 2012) | ||
| 86129squids |
JB- I remember the first time I rode 129- with a group, going across Foothills first, then heading back north again, away from the Dragon- stopped in at the Tallassee General Store, most everyone had a hand-cut bologna sandwich, on white bread, with some chips and a soda... took some time to look at the old Knuck, plus the old PowerWagon, sneak a peek at the old Easyriders he had laying around and other junk... Thought many a time about buying that place, as there are very few old stores like that anymore- a few years later, a relative of his built a new store next door, with gas pumps, a really nice deli, a deck outside, and even cold beer... I'd ride out there just to get fried chicken livers, for bonus points with the GF and dogs back home... Then, somehow he ran out of money, sold it to my old boss, who remade it as a SMHD "outpost" (Ack)- although Maddux made it a very nice "boutique" (acckk), he shut down the VERY capable deli/convenience store aspect- it was very sad to see how it changed to meet the Moco's approval. I still miss the grub they had there. On the plus side- he was smart enough to add race fuel (105 octane!) to the gas choices there, and IIRC the pumps work after hours, credit card only... Oh well. | ||
| Moxnix |
Rock Store East. St. Louis barbecue is okay if one gets over to the low rent district and away from family friendly chains and all the ones that get rave reviews in the local papers. Brisket & chicken parts, no sauce. | ||
| Fltwistygirl |
The "Y" store just south of Tower, MN. When I was growing up, it was a no-nonsense place to stop for bait and maybe an ice cream treat before heading to the lake. Everyone knew everyone, and it was fun to check out the odds and ends they carried. In the past few years, it has turned into a convenience store compound, not sure what services you CAN'T get there anymore. It's totally homogonized. The convenience store needed to change to meet the needs of the people who were visiting the nearby casino. The casino brought jobs to the area, but stole part of the area's uniqueness away. Now it just seems like anywhere else. | ||
| Cityxslicker |
Seattle circa 89-91 was great Then it got voted best place to live .... been a down hill slide ever since. | ||
| Daves |
Most Harley dealerships. Actually, most bike shops. | ||
| Bads1 |
Mcdonalds | ||
| 86129squids |
Bad- I remember the original Golden Arches, where you'd walk up to the outdoor window and order, then sit outside on a concrete bench/picnic table, and throw away the garbage in the big plastic cans... I feel a strong potential for thread drift in the Force... | ||
| Bads1 |
Hell I remember the food wasn't so MSG and pink slime and whatever else that they put in it. | ||
| Road_thing |
Kemah, Texas. Used to be a cute little fishing/boating community, then Tillman Fertita (Houston restaurateur) bought up all the little family-owned seafood restaurants on the funky old boardwalk and turned it into a ••••••• amusement park, complete with ferris wheel. Now you have to wait in line to eat seafood that's just a small step above mediocre chain-restaurant stuff. Needless to say, I don't go there any more. rt | ||
| Fahren |
Mystic Pizza, in Mystic, CT. Then came the movie. | ||
| Cityxslicker |
Hollywood has a way of doing that. 'Singles' was the death knell for all that was iconic and great about Seattle | ||
| Cato |
As Yogi Berra once said, "That used to be a good restaurant, now nobody goes there, it's too crowded." | ||
| Xl1200r |
I don't know if it's a regional thing or not, but around here we have a ton of little drive-in joints, only open during the warm weather. They all have their own thing, style, what have you. The cloest to my house now wasn opened in 1938 and there's about 4 things on the menu and is a TINY place. The one where I grew up has a huge menu a serious '60's vibe (it opened in the mid-60's). Anyways, there's one up in Saratoga, NY that, aside from being a bit overpriced, had pretty good BBQ and sandwiches in styles you don't find around here much. They've decided to close it all in, add a dining room and make it a year-round establishment. They also are trying to get others to franchise locations based on theirs. Pretty sure that place is lost forever at this point. Also, I'll put the Dinosaur BBQ on that list. Seems the more locations they add, the less impressive it gets. Used to hit up the one in Syracuse often, and to this day it's best one to go to for atmosphere and food. The one in NYC isn't bad, but not as good. The one in Troy (right up the road) just has this cheesy, theme resteraunt vibe about it, but the food is still pretty good. Seems the portions are smaller than they used to be in 'Cuse, though. | ||
| Gregtonn |
Rockin' R Bar Bozeman Montana. Great dive. Used to see Rockin' R Bar hats from Seattle to San Diego to New York. Great eats at Pork Chop John's next door, even better when they knocked a hole in the wall and connected the two. Remodeled in 1998 and turned into a "tie bar" serving calamari appetizers. Blew up in 2009 in a natural gas explosion. Reopened in 2011, they say it's even more upscale now.  G | ||
| Mr_grumpy |
"The Slap Up" at Waterbeach near Cambridge, used to be a pub that did food, Carvery mostly, but chips (fries to you lot) with everything. I used to be in there every monday night after the local car auction with various mates. Then some of the car dealers started bringing their snobby friends for the food, & before long the local yahoo set started slumming it there in their Range Rovers & G-Wagons, after a while it upscaled & we were priced out of it. It's a curry house these days. | ||
| Etennuly |
"Ever had a place ruined by success?" Yes. My business.....twice(so far). | ||
| Xb1125r |
guess the owner does not mind the all that green in his bank account |
