James “Big Jim” Bochicchio opened Big Jim’s in 1977 in the lower Greenfield neighborhood of Pittsburgh — the area locals call “The Run” — with his mother’s recipes for Italian wedding soup, meatballs, and spaghetti sauce, and a conviction that portions should never leave anyone wondering if they got enough. Big Jim passed away in […]
Big Jim’s – Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Read More »
Pennsylvania, Pittsburgh, Restaurants, Sandwiches, Season 5Joe Tess Place appeared in Season 5, Episode 5 of Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives, “Long Time Legends,” which aired January 5, 2009, as an Omaha fish house institution serving fresh carp and other freshwater fish in a tradition that stretched back decades on the south side of the city. The restaurant has since permanently closed.
Joe Tess Place – Omaha, Nebraska – Closed Read More »
Nebraska, Restaurants, Seafood, Season 5Tommy Harris was a popular young radio crooner on KFRC in San Francisco in the 1930s before moving to NBC. In 1947, he and partners Al Pollack and the Veprin family opened Tommy’s Joynt at the corner of Van Ness and Geary on Route 101, calling it “the most gorgeous joynt in S.F.” and welcoming
Tommy’s Joynt – San Francisco, California Read More »
American, Califonia, Restaurants, San Francisco, Sandwiches, Season 5In 1952, Charles Louis Passauer set up a bar and restaurant at the corner of Third and Constance Streets in New Orleans’ Irish Channel neighborhood. He named it Parasol’s because he thought Passauer would be too difficult to pronounce. In the seven decades since, the bar has survived Hurricane Katrina, multiple ownership changes, a nearly
Parasol’s – New Orleans, Louisiana Read More »
Louisiana, New Orleans, Restaurants, Season 5O’Rourke’s Diner on Main Street in Middletown, Connecticut was one of the most beloved diners in New England, operating since 1941 in an authentic 1946 Mountain View diner car that owner Brian O’Rourke ran for decades with a scratch-made menu well beyond standard diner expectations. It appeared in Season 5, Episode 4 of Diners, Drive-Ins
O’Rourke’s Diner – Middletown, Connecticut – Closed Read More »
American, Connecticut, Diner, Restaurants, Season 5In 1930, Ruth Evans opened Ruth’s Hamburgers in the old Meredith Building at 120 East Second South in downtown Salt Lake City. When the building was scheduled for demolition in 1946, she purchased an old Utah Light and Traction Company trolley car and moved her business rather than close it. In the spring of 1949
Ruth’s Diner – Salt Lake City, Utah Read More »
American, Breakfast, Diner, Restaurants, Salt Lake City, Season 5, UtahGlenn’s Diner on West Montrose Avenue in Chicago’s Ravenswood neighborhood built its reputation on an unusually bold promise for a neighborhood diner: serving the freshest possible seafood, flown in daily, alongside the American diner classics that keep a neighborhood restaurant full every morning. It appeared in Season 5, Episode 3 of Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives,
Glenn’s Diner – Chicago, Illinois – Closed Read More »
Chicago, Diner, Illinois, Restaurants, Seafood, Season 5Kent Pfeiffer wanted to name his restaurant Eddy’s Westside Cafe, but he and his wife Diana settled on a name after a diner they loved in Louisiana — something involving a nice flower, a magnolia maybe. Magnolia Cafe opened in 1979 on Lake Austin Boulevard and expanded to South Congress in 1988. The story of
Magnolia Cafe – Austin, Texas Read More »
American, Breakfast, Restaurants, Season 5, TexasSophia’s Place appeared in Season 5, Episode 3 of Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives, “Not What You’d Expect,” which aired November 24, 2008, as an Albuquerque breakfast and lunch operation built around New Mexican-style Mexican food with the kind of scratch-made chile and homemade tortilla cooking that defines the state’s food identity. Both the original Sophia’s
Sophia’s Place – Albuquerque, New Mexico – Closed Read More »
Mexican, New Mexico, Restaurants, Season 5Pizzeria Luigi on 25th Street in San Diego’s Golden Hill neighborhood has been making New York-style pizza by the slice since 1992, run by Luigi Agostini who left his native Italy and eventually landed in Southern California with a determination to make pizza the way he grew up eating it. It appeared in Season 5,
Pizzeria Luigi – San Diego, California Read More »
Califonia, Italian, Pizza, Restaurants, Season 5