| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| HassoBenSoba |
Posted - 12/03/2009 : 00:04:16
Here's one great region food item that I think deserves it's own topic---Fabulous Hot Dog of Hessville and its legendary tacos.
Fab Hot Dog was originally housed in what is now the Subway on the NW corner of 169th and Arizona (by the train tracks). It was a totally 50's place, painted with huge red and white vertical stripes on the outside and a big metal arm with flashing yellow light bulbs on it that extended at an angle out over 169th.
Sometime in the later 60's they moved into the old Sinclair gas station on the NE corner of Kennedy & 169th, and that's when I started my long love affair with those FABULOUS tacos! They were all pork, in a mild sauce with authentic Mexican cheese, and their special hot sauce was a killer, with lots of garlic. During most of the 70's (whenever I was in town) I'd get their tacos AT LEAST three, if not four times a week. After a while, when I'd walk in, the cashier girl would call out to the cook "Three Hard, Two Soft...make 'em BIG ones!"...since they decided that a fanatic customer like me deserved a bonus in the form of extra-gigantic tacos.
When I moved to Whiting in 1980, I rarely got back there to eat, and I believe they closed down sometime around 1982 (possibly due to my absence?) So it seemed that I had lost one of my primary reasons for living, until.......
September of 1997---Fifteen years later!---I'm having lunch with a friend who works in Hessville..and he tells me that the ORIGINAL FAB HOT DOG TACO recipe has been preserved and is being served by a place on North Kennedy Avenue; I almost fell out of my chair! A few days later I was there....this mysterious lounge which was called "DTK--169th Street Station" and which featured this tiny walk-in eatery on its North end. Sure enough, the Fabulous Tacos were there and AS TASTY AS EVER, hot sauce and all! I was in Heaven. The place was run by a Vietnamese family, who told me that "The Tacos pay the rent here!" since they sold so well. I would eat there during the next three years, and would occasionally ask the owner "what happens to the Taco recipe if you sell this place?" "Don't worry", he said. "The recipe goes with the business and cannot be changed in any way."
Well..... in September of 2001, shortly after 9-11, another disaster (though on a much smaller scale) took place: DTK was sold to a new owner---nice guy who had good intentions---I was there on his first day of business, and he assured me that the Tacos would remain AS IS. BUT.....within a few months, they started to change. First, the Mexican cheese was replaced by American, then the Hot Sauce recipe was changed (and ruined), etc ...and so I regretfully bid farewell to the best Tacos I had ever experienced. I wonder if the actual printed recipe still exists somewhere?
Incidentally, the new owner changed the name of the place to the Escalade Lounge, and within a year there was lots of controversy surrounding their weekend parties, etc...lawsuits resulted and the place is now shut down.
Another Region legend bites the dust.
Larry r
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| 50 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| TestPattern |
Posted - 01/31/2012 : 10:34:09
quote:
Originally posted by S C Jones
Shorty?  I'm guessing, Mark alias Test Pattern....
YEP! That's me.
Why would they put the short kid in the last row, behind the taller kids? The photo captures me stretching on tip-toes, trying to see and be seen. |
| S C Jones |
Posted - 01/30/2012 : 16:17:35
Shorty? I'm guessing, Mark alias Test Pattern....
|
| HassoBenSoba |
Posted - 01/29/2012 : 22:45:46
MARK (Test P.)....
I vaguely recall our two cool priests, Fathers Heeg and Blaney, playing basketball with the students. I never played (because I was terrible at it), which is why I don't remember it better.
I'll post a little gallery of the triumverate of OLPH priests from the late 50's on the OLPH SCHOOL thread.
Larry
PS - ANY GUESSES as to the identity of THIS Sheptalk-er, in a blurry 1959 photo?
 |
| TestPattern |
Posted - 01/26/2012 : 12:24:50
quote:
Originally posted by HassoBenSoba
Harold Feller: Sometime in '63, OLPH school decided it was time to get some sort of athletic program, so they hired Harry Feller to come to the school on our lunch hour and teach us.
I think we did basic calisthenics, ran around in the park, attempting to play touch football with 30 of us on the field at the same time, etc.
Our pals Test Pattern and Nitti (long gone from this forum) would probably have some memories about this whole depressing scene.
LR
OH, YES, I remember Harry and the introduction to phys. ed.
A vivid memory is at Hessville Park - I can recall the exact location where in the park. We attempted sit-ups, while someone held your ankles. I believe he required 50 or 100, an unbelievable amount for the scrawny bunch of us kids, in school attire, who never did a sit-up before. When we could not meet his goal he told us to go home and practice. Practice phys ed?
And the lesson of how to do jumping-jacks. All were out of sync; it must have looked like we were trying to flag a plane from a deserted island.
Only on inclement days were we in the assembly hall in the basement of the school. I believe his tenure was pretty short-lived.
It was much more fun playing basketball on the playground/parking lot of the school with Fr. Heeg and Fr. Blaney, with their cassocks bunched up in their pockets so they could run. But, that gets into OLPH stuff that probably should be in another forum.
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| S C Jones |
Posted - 01/20/2012 : 07:37:09
RE: The Polk listing of Kennedy Avenue
Right after 7140 is BLACK HAWK ROAD--they must have done their
research over the phone.
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| HassoBenSoba |
Posted - 01/20/2012 : 03:59:00
I want to mention a bit of old '60's Hessville lore; the evidence is contained in the '64 Directory page posted directly above.
At 6922 Kennedy you'll see a guy named Harold Feller; I believe the address was an apartment above Van Senus Auto. Sometime in '63, the folks at OLPH school decided it was time to get some sort of athletic program going, so they hired Harry Feller to come on over to the school on our lunch hour and teach us losers how to get physical.
It was pathetic; Harry---who was this slick, slim, tanned, beach-comber kinda' dude who wore sunglasses in the winter---would meet with us either in the old church annex on Arizona Ave or down in Hessville Park, weather permitting. I think we did basic calisthenics, ran around in the park, attempting to play touch football with 30 of us on the field at the same time, etc. Of course, the "cool" guys in class tended to suckup to Harry, and he
naturally featured them in most of the activities.
Our pals Test Pattern and Nitti (long gone from this forum) would probably have some memories about this whole depressing scene. I remember getting a solid whack or two on the butt from Harry with his paddle-board for some sort of disturbance or other that I caused. I bet ol' Harry really enjoyed that kind of thing.
My brother Mike's 8th-grade class also was under Harry's supervision; I remember Mike telling me that one of his classmates, who was one of teacher's pets, was cutting up with his pals and did a little humorous "riff" on Harry's last name, which Mr. Fellner actually overheard. The kid said "Harry FELT her" to which Harry, with a wry smile, replied "No, I didn't", and let it go.
That's a good catholic upbringing for ya'.
LR |
| HassoBenSoba |
Posted - 01/18/2012 : 00:01:44
GUYS---
Here's the Kennedy Ave listings from 169th south to 174th from the 1964 Directory.; I've posted ALL of Kennedy Ave (from 6300 south to 174th st) at the bottom of PAGE 1 of the "Hessville Map" thread.
As luck would have it, the very FIRST address south of 169th was printed on the PREVIOUS page
of the directory: 6907 Kennedy - CALUMET DRIVE-IN LIQUORS
LR |
| TestPattern |
Posted - 01/17/2012 : 16:24:20
quote:
Originally posted by wvcogs
This 169th Street excerpt from the Hammond City Directory that TestPattern posted above answers a question that we were discussing in the Hessville Map thread. Drift Inn Liquors/Drive In Tavern is not listed with a 169th Street address.
Ken
RIGHT YOU ARE, Ken. I was at the HPL last Saturday, and viewed some of the post 1954 city directories, since that was the time period in question. Drift-Inn never had their own listing. My guess is that it was there, just an off-shoot of Drive-In liquors, in the same building and with the same owner - one merely needed to drift in.
Had I known this sub-topic would have arisen, I would have made some photocopies of the 169th Street pages. |
| wvcogs |
Posted - 01/17/2012 : 15:41:54
quote:
Originally posted by TestPattern
This 169th Street excerpt from the Hammond City Directory that TestPattern posted above answers a question that we were discussing in the Hessville Map thread. Drift Inn Liquors/Drive In Tavern is not listed with a 169th Street address.
Ken |
| S C Jones |
Posted - 01/17/2012 : 15:16:21
TestPattern:
Yes, that is the corner I think I remember the Conoco station was on.
Thanks for the efforts, guys!
Odd how these details nag after so many years have passed. |
| TestPattern |
Posted - 01/17/2012 : 14:36:07
quote:
Originally posted by seejay2
It was right on the NW corner of Arizona & 169th, which is east of the Nickel Plate...Cj
YES, it was Shipman's on that corner.
I do recall another small gas station on the southwest of 169th & Arizona, as previously mentioned, although I do not recall the brand. I think, after the gas station closed, it might have been another sandwich shop before Fab Hot Dogs moved in.
The 1952 City Directory shows that site (2857) under construction, so the gas station was post 1952. That's the latest online directory I have access to.
169th Street from Alexander to Arkansas is shown above.
It also shows Alabama & 169th as a complete intersection, before the lumberyard got Alabama vacated to include as part of their property. But I was barely walking back then.
I believe Fab Hot Dogs moved to Kennedy & 169th Street about 1968-1969. We'll have to see if someone can locate other city directories to confirm dates and other occupants along 169th.
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| seejay2 |
Posted - 01/17/2012 : 12:02:04
It was right on the NW corner of Arizona & 169th, which is east of the Nickel Plate...Cj |
| S C Jones |
Posted - 01/17/2012 : 09:29:18
CJ:
By Jove! I think that is it! Shipmans! Now, was it on the East or West side of
the Nickel Plate? We would walk up to Alabama, go down to 171st and over
to Parrish, take a left and go back over the tracks and almost immediately go
into the Farmer's Field and over to connect with 171st again in our neighborhood.
thanks for the name of the place!
SC |
| tom w |
Posted - 01/17/2012 : 07:07:43
I'm still trying to figger out which was the greater thrill, Larry. Watching those monsters or feeling the earth move as they passed. Jeeze, I sure miss them even though I spent 20 years on heavy equipment and even got to run the old steam crane at Heston, IN
Tom W |
| seejay2 |
Posted - 01/16/2012 : 20:10:37
quote:
Originally posted by Roger D
I believe that the owners of the Conoco station also sold some groceries. We sometimes stopped there after church on Sunday to buy milk and/or bread. We now call that a convience store!
You'se guys are probably refering to Shipmans. They sold gas, fuel oil and candy; wax lips, dots, ungodly sweet stuff in little wax bottles and crap like that. For a thin dime you could make out like a fat rat in a cheese factory. We would stop there after school (OLPH at the time), spend our little change and wait for the steam engines to roll by...Cj |
| HassoBenSoba |
Posted - 01/16/2012 : 19:36:29
GUYS--
Amazing how little is remembered about this unique structure--that's
why I was excited to find actual photographic evidence of it.
Being of "dual-citizenship" (Woodmar AND Hessville) in the good old days, I have many memories of this area too.
In a post above, I fondly recalled walking west down 169th from Carolina Ave; it was a late Friday afternoon in spring of 1962 (we had just moved to Hessville from Woodmar), and I had stopped after school to visit my pal "NITTI"--(formerly of Sheptalk activity) and was walking home the long way for dinner. It was now a gorgeous spring evening and the sky over Kennedy Ave and 169th was a brilliant pink and orange. That metal arm extending upward from Fab Hot Dog was lit up, with the flashing yellow bulbs against the sunset; a totally great memory.
NITTI (Frank M.) could definitely fill us in with more memories of this place; maybe Test Pattern and Bill Bucko also. Fab Hot Dog had definitely re-located to the Sinclair station by early 1969, which is when I started going there (I never visited this original location). However, I DO remember in the summer of '69 that I stopped by the building above---it was now a real greasy-spoon (which didn't last long) and a friend of mine was working there. So SC, if you were at the building above in '69 or '70, it had already changed hands and was this NEW dive.
FOR MORE ON THIS GREAT BUILDING----I'll be posting ANOTHER view on the "Hessville Map" thread.
LR |
| Roger D |
Posted - 01/16/2012 : 19:20:20
I believe that the owners of the Conoco station also sold some groceries. We sometimes stopped there after church on Sunday to buy milk and/or bread. We now call that a convience store! |
| S C Jones |
Posted - 01/16/2012 : 18:03:18
Yes, Ken, the cars are a dead giveaway for the time.
I may have the side of the tracks wrong--the Conoco may have been
where the 4 Paws is now. But, I, like you have no memory of hot dog
place in the 50s.
|
| wvcogs |
Posted - 01/16/2012 : 16:57:42
quote:
Originally posted by S C Jones
I remember visiting the Fab Hotdog at that location somewhere around 1969 or 1970 --- Am I totally off the mark? Maybe so... Anyway to verify any of my memories, Ken?
The cars in the Fab Hot Dog lot sure make it look like the mid to late '50s. At this point, the only way to solve the puzzle is for someone to look at a couple city directories from around the late '50s. |
| S C Jones |
Posted - 01/16/2012 : 16:40:56
I may be completely wrong on this (senility or no) but if my memory does serve me correctly, until at least 1958, the spot now occupied by Subway was a quaint little
Conoco station--almost looked like a small cottage and it was practically sitting on the tracks.
I remember visiting the Fab Hotdog at that location somewhere around 1969 or 1970--- Am I totally off the mark? Maybe so... Anyway to verify any of my
memories, Ken?
|
| wvcogs |
Posted - 01/16/2012 : 10:38:04
Talk about getting senile: I must have passed Fabulous Hot Dog many, many, many times back in the '50s and early '60s, but have absolutely no memory of it.
Ken |
| seejay2 |
Posted - 01/16/2012 : 10:31:41
They are indeed! My old 'hood'...Cj |
| wvcogs |
Posted - 01/16/2012 : 10:13:55
quote:
A RARE PHOTO taken from in back of the joint, looking NORTH-- along the train tracks that crossed Arizona Ave by the old cemetery. I bet Mark "Test Pattern" would recognize this view, since I believe he lived close by.
LR
Those houses in the background are the ones just north of 169th Street on the east side of Arizona Avenue, and they are still there.
Ken |
| HassoBenSoba |
Posted - 01/15/2012 : 23:28:06
MORE THAN TWO YEARS AGO, I posted THIS description of the original
FABULOUS HOT DOG!!!
restaurant in Hessville:
------------------------------------------------------------
Fab Hot Dog was originally housed in what is now the Subway on the SW corner of 169th and Arizona (by the train tracks).
It was a totally 50's place, painted with huge red and white vertical stripes on the outside and a big metal arm with
flashing yellow light bulbs on it that extended at an angle out over 169th..
AND...BY GOLLY....HERE IT IS!!
A RARE PHOTO taken from in back of the joint, looking NORTH-- along the train tracks that crossed Arizona Ave by the old cemetery. I bet Mark "Test Pattern" would recognize this view, since I believe he lived close by.
AND HERE IS THE SINCLAIR STATION at 169th and Kennedy--just a half-block west---where Fab Hot Dogs would relocate sometime in the mid-
60's.
A CLASSIC REGION EATERY!!
LR |
| BobK |
Posted - 12/30/2009 : 16:01:51
which is now in Valparaiso at Kelsey's Steak House.
Bob
 |
| seejay2 |
Posted - 12/30/2009 : 15:56:29
Pretty close...
After it's initial hijacking, it wound up being squirreled away in an old unused apt unit on Marshall Ave, unknown to the owner of the building. This is where legend has it the alleged pix were taken of it.
As we all know, when more than one person share a secret, it is no longer a secret. The building owners got wind of the bottle's whereabouts and the phones were ringing to "get that thing out of there immediately", if not sooner.
This was some time in January of February so the plan was to take it to the Little Cal, under the Kennedy Ave bridge, sink it, and then retrieve it after the spring thaw. The plan went down without a hitch except for one thing...the "secret" concept again. There was some disention amongst the ranks and one of the "perps" again let the cat out of the bag. Someone else came along and retrieved the bottle before the planned spring date and it made it's way up the Morton flag pole.
The original perps never saw the bottle again. It didn't matter though, the award for 'Originality' had already been won. This was paramount to possession.
Note: be thankful the plans to kidnap the Howard & Sons cow in Munster fell apart. |
| nitti |
Posted - 12/30/2009 : 14:53:56
quote:
Originally posted by HassoBenSoba
Wait a minute, guys....am I reading this correctly? You mean to say that around 1967 and thereafter the Drift Inn Coke bottle display was MISSING one of its bottles, and that it may have ended up being...ummm....privately owned?
My goodness!
LR
You express surprise? I always wondered where it went.If I wasn't following the thread, I'd have bet money that it ended up in a garage on California Ave - if I didn't know someone's mother would have killed them both........ |
| Jim Plummer |
Posted - 12/30/2009 : 07:49:43
This just keeps getting better and better!!!quote:
Originally posted by seejay2
After the novelty of private ownership had worn off, it was donated to Morton's flagpole for a short time.
|
| seejay2 |
Posted - 12/30/2009 : 06:18:28
After the novelty of private ownership had worn off, it was donated to Morton's flagpole for a short time. |
| HassoBenSoba |
Posted - 12/30/2009 : 01:27:08
Wait a minute, guys....am I reading this correctly? You mean to say that around 1967 and thereafter the Drift Inn Coke bottle display was MISSING one of its bottles, and that it may have ended up being...ummm....privately owned?
My goodness!
LR |
| seejay2 |
Posted - 12/29/2009 : 16:11:35
1967--no pix. |
| Jim Plummer |
Posted - 12/29/2009 : 06:07:06
Hey seejay2 would you have a photo of that single coke bottle in the apt. in Hessville. What year would this have been? Thanksquote:
Originally posted by seejay2
Uh, yes.
I destinctly remember a time in '67 when the 6-pack was down to only 5 bottles and a little apartment in Hessville was up by one bottle.
BTW: The tops came off of those bottles as well, just like the real thing.....Cj
|
| Bill Bucko |
Posted - 12/29/2009 : 04:53:22
quote:
Originally posted by duane
It was either a cup of coffee or a bowl of soup...I can't recall. It was a new 3-D billboard that went up in Beaver's neighborhood and the cup of coffee stuck out from the billboard and actually emitted steam. Of course Whitey challenged the Beave to climb up and see if there was really hot coffee in there making it steam. So Beaver did, but fell in and got stuck. I don't recall how he got rescued, but of course he did.
I've seen the episode a couple of times, fairly recently. It was definitely a bowl of soup. As for the rescue, the Fire Department came, with a ladder. Also on the scene were a crowd, including Eddie Haskell, who shouted sarcasm (till he noticed Mr. Cleaver next to him, then he changed his tune to: "Oh, some poor unfortunate child is trapped in there.")
Bill
Warren G. Harding Class of '63 |
| S C Jones |
Posted - 12/28/2009 : 17:52:05
The specific culprit is not known--there are a few suspects within one family, not to be named. All suspects were born in Indiana and at St. Margarets' Hospital--could the birthplace having a religious foundation save the hide of the guilty? |
| duane |
Posted - 12/28/2009 : 16:53:38
In the spirit of Christmas, a time of giving (and apparently taking...from many years back)...repeat after me...."Bless me Father, for I have sinned". Now go say 3 "Our Fathers" and 3 "Hail Mary's" and all is forgiven. Of course, with forgiveness comes the making of amends...so next time a Tennessean is in the Region, perhaps a green street sign may re-appear. |
| seejay2 |
Posted - 12/28/2009 : 16:20:28
OMG!!! |
| S C Jones |
Posted - 12/28/2009 : 15:43:26
While my adding to this forum, may cause all to abandon it, I was reminded by your memories of confiscations and acquisitions that one Hessville green street sign reading "Martha St." is now residing in a home in Tennessee. |
| seejay2 |
Posted - 12/28/2009 : 14:59:58
In the case of 'Drift-In', nobody fell into the 6 pack. A bottle was removed instead.
By the way, remember the pink neon sign that hung in the window and simply said "Cocktails"? Well I have that too, but I bought it from the owner before he closed the place down....Cj |
| Tom J |
Posted - 12/28/2009 : 13:56:53
quote:
Originally posted by duane
It was either a cup of coffee or a bowl of soup...I can't recall. It was a new 3-D billboard that went up in Beaver's neighborhood and the cup of coffee stuck out from the billboard and actually emitted steam. Of course Whitey challenged the Beave to climb up and see if there was really hot coffee in there making it steam. So Beaver did, but fell in and got stuck. I don't recall how he got rescued, but of course he did.
I remember that episode, but I can't remember the details of The Beav's rescue.
Tom |
| duane |
Posted - 12/28/2009 : 13:33:17
It was either a cup of coffee or a bowl of soup...I can't recall. It was a new 3-D billboard that went up in Beaver's neighborhood and the cup of coffee stuck out from the billboard and actually emitted steam. Of course Whitey challenged the Beave to climb up and see if there was really hot coffee in there making it steam. So Beaver did, but fell in and got stuck. I don't recall how he got rescued, but of course he did. |
| seejay2 |
Posted - 12/28/2009 : 13:10:45
I don't remember that one. What happened?..Cj |
| duane |
Posted - 12/28/2009 : 12:58:21
quote:
Originally posted by seejay2
Uh, yes.
I destinctly remember a time in '67 when the 6-pack was down to only 5 bottles and a little apartment in Hessville was up by one bottle.
BTW: The tops came off of those bottles as well, just like the real thing.....Cj
Why does this remind me of the episode of "Leave it to Beaver" where he gets stuck in the steaming cup of coffee that was on the billboard? |
| seejay2 |
Posted - 12/28/2009 : 08:36:45
Oh yeah! |
| Tom J |
Posted - 12/28/2009 : 07:18:10
quote:
Originally posted by seejay2
Uh, yes.
I destinctly remember a time in '67 when the 6-pack was down to only 5 bottles and a little apartment in Hessville was up by one bottle.
BTW: The tops came off of those bottles as well, just like the real thing.....Cj
Pure coincidence, I'm sure.  |
| Jim Plummer |
Posted - 12/28/2009 : 06:49:17
The Hitching Post weren't they the ones with large hamburgers that sold for .30 cents when everyone else was charging a quarter? They were pretty good as I recall.quote:
Originally posted by wvcogs
quote:
Originally posted by Roger D
Come to think of it, didn't KFC move in where the Hitching Post was?
Roger D.
Hitching Post was at 7003 Kennedy Avenue on SE corner of 170th and Kennedy. I believe it closed in 1961 or 1962. In the 1964 Top Hat yearbook there is an ad for Dressler Photo Studio at the 7003 Kennedy address. KFC is listed there in the 1970 Hammond City Directory. The Post Office (6944 Kennedy) was on NW corner with an old house and Sharon Mae's (6940 Kennedy) just north of it.
|
| seejay2 |
Posted - 12/28/2009 : 04:41:50
Uh, yes.
I destinctly remember a time in '67 when the 6-pack was down to only 5 bottles and a little apartment in Hessville was up by one bottle.
BTW: The tops came off of those bottles as well, just like the real thing.....Cj
|
| wvcogs |
Posted - 12/27/2009 : 18:50:30
Cj...
A few days ago, Larry told us how the six pack of Coke sat atop the building and remained there long after he first saw it in the late 1950s. Ahem... Do you have something to add to his story???
Ken |
| seejay2 |
Posted - 12/27/2009 : 17:19:23
Hey Ken, is this supposed to be my que to tell the 'Drift-In' Coke bottle story now?.......Cj |
| wvcogs |
Posted - 12/27/2009 : 09:57:32
quote:
Originally posted by Roger D
Come to think of it, didn't KFC move in where the Hitching Post was?
Roger D.
Hitching Post was at 7003 Kennedy Avenue on SE corner of 170th and Kennedy. I believe it closed in 1961 or 1962. In the 1964 Top Hat yearbook there is an ad for Dressler Photo Studio at the 7003 Kennedy address. KFC is listed there in the 1970 Hammond City Directory. The Post Office (6944 Kennedy) was on NW corner with an old house and Sharon Mae's (6940 Kennedy) just north of it. |
| Roger D |
Posted - 12/27/2009 : 07:45:29
Come to think of it, didn't KFC move in where the Hitching Post was?
Roger D. |
