For Old Dukies Only

[Indoor66]

Anyone remember the Blue Light, East Campus, Toddle House, Maola's, or that place where you read comics with your pizza? Just curious?

Mayola was Mayola Smith. Her son ran The Top Hat on Broad St. near West Club Blvd. - across from the Ekerd's Drug store. The effervescent Gus was the regular bartender. A great place to get together for a beer and listen to a Duke BB game on the radio. Few were televised.

At Sam's (the former Blue Light), the old guy behind the counter was Pappy Pope. He used to run the drive in beer joint that was located on Trent Street (before the Freeway), just before the Ice House at Trent and Main.

[devildeac]

Pizza Palace of Durham was on Chapel Hill Street, just down (west) from Amos 'n Andy's. About a block and a half east was The Palms - where Parris intersected Chapel Hill St. A little further east was the movie theater that was torn down and became Home Savings & Loan.

How about the Criterion Theater? Remember that? Showed the skin flicks.

The PP must have moved in the 70's as the PP I remember was on Hillsborough(I think), about a block or two off East Campus, where Vin Rouge is now(I think) and across or just down the street from what is now Elmo's Diner.

Never heard of the Criterion(and even if I had and admitted it, I know too many folks on DBR who would report me )

[duke74]

Pizza Palace of Durham was on Chapel Hill Street, just down (west) from Amos 'n Andy's. About a block and a half east was The Palms - where Parris intersected Chapel Hill St. A little further east was the movie theater that was torn down and became Home Savings & Loan.

How about the Criterion Theater? Remember that? Showed the skin flicks.

Ahhh...the "Crit". Of course I only heard about it.

[dkbaseball]

Mayola's was on Gregson. Anotherthyme took over the old Mayola's location, not University Grill. The UG was on Main St. Spent many hours at the UG. Got to know George, the owner and his dad Mr. Jimmy, pretty well... George was a groomsman in my wedding. The UG is something else now, too. Sawyer and Moore was also on Main St. not far from the UG.. a great store which carried all sorts of things.

I meant UG replaced Mayola's as the frat hangout. It was owned by Harry and Myra in the early '70s. After the Who came out with Tommy, UG's pinball machine saw far, far too much action.

[Indoor66]

The PP must have moved in the 70's as the PP I remember was on Hillsborough(I think), about a block or two off East Campus, where Vin Rouge is now(I think) and across or just down the street from what is now Elmo's Diner.

Never heard of the Criterion(and even if I had and admitted it, I know too many folks on DBR who would report me )

That was a different Pizza Palace.

[dukepsy1963]

I don't recall "skin flicks," but I do remember that it had great foreign films...that, I guess, were a little less inhibited than the other fare available at the time. Maybe that was my excuse for going.

I do recall great foreign films (twice a week: Wednesdays and Saturdays, I think) shown by the Union in Page. The audiences were great...very savvy (faculty and student mix).
When the Rank film logo came up, for example, the audience would howl. Tame by today's standards.

The early Peter Sellers fillms were especially well-attended. Many good British films as I recall.

[devildeac]

That was a different Pizza Palace.

That helps explain the discrepancy/confusion.

[OZZIE4DUKE]

Never heard of the Criterion (and even if I had and admitted it, I know too many folks on DBR who would report me )

Duek74 says: Ahhh...the "Crit". Of course I only heard about it.

You're both liars!

Don't remember the Crit. We always went to the drive in theater (The Skyway?) to see skin flicks.

[Olympic Fan]

You guys are both right about the Crit ... when I first came to Duke, it was an art house that showed foreign films. I took my first date at Duke to see Alphaville at the Crit.

The changeover from art house to porn house was kind of gradual. The transition were a series of racy foreign films -- I Am Curious Yellow broke box office records there. It was soon after that that the theater switched to porn.

I do remember the x-rated drive-in -- out highway 751 -- where we were taken as freshmen to see porn (my first porn experience). I can still remember the double feature -- Love Camp No. 7 and Hot Spurs. A few years ago, I was looking through a catalogue of camp films and saw both titles. I ordered them on VCR ... it was hilarous seeing what passed for porn in the late 1960s -- except for the extended plots, either film could be shown on Cinemax after Dark today.

I too have fond memories of some of those eateries you guys have been talking about. I spent a lot of time in Mayolas -- the bookie Frankie (who claimed to be a Duke grad) was always in the first booth by the wall, nursing a Schlitz. Bats was awesome (definitely order the chicken parm) ... but give the Ivy Room more credit. I had a roommate from New York who said it was the best deli South of Philly (and, this was in the late '60s). Did New York delis serve fried chicken with honey on the side?

Also more props for Amos and Andy's -- absolutely the best hot dog place I've ever eaten. Man, I'd kill for two with chili and slaw ...

Also, the original Bullocks (about where Morgan's Dodge is now) ... and what was the name of the small place where the ballpark is now located -- a cafeteria style joint where you could get one meat and three sides for 85 cents and add a one-scoop cone for a nickel? The best Southern-style cooking in the world.

Also, does anybody else remember the weekly Saturday midnight showings of Bedazzled ... long before Rocky Horror caught on, it was a Duke tradition.

[dukepsy1963]

Some of you must remember the "chow men"... They would come around to the arches around 10:30 or so with sandwiches, apples, milk, cookies, and other tidbits for us "starving" young men. I can still hear them call out, "Chow Man!" Then you would hear thumping of guys heading down the stairs to avoid the rush.
A favorite question was, "did the chow man come already?" How sad if you missed him. A day without munching on something he brought was a bummer... ah me yet again...

BTW. I have not thought about this stuff in a long, long time. Fond memories...but as my younger wife says, "that was a long, long time ago, honey!" (She also says that when I swap Navy stories with some guy.) But I say, "Not to me, sweetie, not to me...."

[OZZIE4DUKE]

Also, does anybody else remember the weekly Saturday midnight showings of Bedazzled ... long before Rocky Horror caught on, it was a Duke tradition.

That was Nance's. I liked their hushpuppies.

In the mid 70's, our favorite hangout was the Hoffbrau Haus - in the shopping center on 9th St next to East Campus, underground. Where the Well Spring Grocery is now. Decent roast beef sandwiches and burgers, and very cold pitchers of beer. Lots of them. I still remember Mary Hook chugging pitchers, and beating footballer John Ricca in a one on one chugging contest of said pitcher.

[devildeac]

That was Nance's. I liked their hushpuppies.

In the mid 70's, our favorite hangout was the Hoffbrau Haus - in the shopping center on 9th St next to East Campus, underground. Where the Well Spring Grocery is now. Decent roast beef sandwiches and burgers, and very cold pitchers of beer. Lots of them. I still remember Mary Hook chugging pitchers, and beating footballer John Ricca in a one on one chugging contest of said pitcher.

Ditto on the HH.

Gee, OZZIE you are really getting 'large' now...787(I think there is an airliner with that designation, IIRC)

[OZZIE4DUKE]

Ditto on the HH.

Gee, OZZIE you are really getting 'large' now...787(I think there is an airliner with that designation, IIRC)

787. Yup, a new Boeing jetliner, http://www.boeing.com/commercial/787family/ set to debut next year. First flight late in the spring, commercial flights in the fall.
Just like our new football offense! First flying in spring practice, official debut in the fall!

I guess the mods can now move this thread to the on topic board Well, maybe not. And now I've run out of Boeing references, as this is post 788.

[Indoor66]

... and what was the name of the small place where the ballpark is now located -- a cafeteria style joint where you could get one meat and three sides for 85 cents and add a one-scoop cone for a nickel? The best Southern-style cooking in the world.

A. B. Morris' and became Nance's Cafeteria. Maitland Nance ran that location and the Top Hat on Broad Street. Maitland was Mayola Smith's son. I believe she had an interest in the Cafeteria and in the Top Hat as well as being a fixture at Mayola's on Gregson Street.

Frankie Webster was a bookie and was a Duke grad. He also used to hang out at Bat's in the late afternoon.

[Indoor66]

That was Nance's. I liked their hushpuppies.

In the mid 70's, our favorite hangout was the Hoffbrau Haus - in the shopping center on 9th St next to East Campus, underground. Where the Well Spring Grocery is now. Decent roast beef sandwiches and burgers, and very cold pitchers of beer. Lots of them. I still remember Mary Hook chugging pitchers, and beating footballer John Ricca in a one on one chugging contest of said pitcher.

Wasn't that downstairs - in the basement? And how about the Rathskeller in Chapel Hill for Italian food. Like going into a maze.

[devildeac]

Wasn't that downstairs - in the basement? And how about the Rathskeller in Chapel Hill for Italian food. Like going into a maze.

Oh no, don't get OZZIE started on the Rat'. He will be lusting after double gamblers for the remainder of hoops season now .

[Stray Gator]

1. The "Crit" -- A memorable Friday night destination for groups of freshman guys who would walk downtown after stopping for some food and a few cold PBRs at Bats. (Note: the male-to-female ratio at Duke then was 2-1, and freshmen couldn't have cars, so most freshman guys were dateless on Friday nights.) The Crit showed "skin flicks"--some good quality foreign films with "artistic" nudity, some domestic grad C stuff--but the real fun was when groups of students in the audience would start "vocalizing alternative dialogue"...the "Crit" was like the forerunner of MST3K. But I only have secondhand reports of such things.

2. Tops -- A drive-in burger joint across from East, where a few of the freshmen guys who had too many PBRs at Bats would opt to take their chances picking up local Durham high-school honeys who circled the parking lot in their cars on Friday nights. More secondhand info, of course.

3. A.B.'s -- A regular lunch stop...downtown across from the cigarette factory...one meat and three veggies, plus hushpuppies and iced tea sweet enough to dissolve your teeth, all for a dollar fifty...tables all had toothpick bottles, and vinegar for the collards...lunch crowd was a motley assortment of factory workers, college students, and locals from the stores and offices dontown.

4. Bullock's -- To reach it, you had to turn off the road and drive past the car dealership. Pretty much the same food as before they moved to the new location, but the decor and atmosphere was more "down home," which is probably why it seems the food tasted better.

5. The Hofbrau -- Senior year, we lived off-campus in a 5-bedroom house on Lancaster Street behind East Campus, so this was a regular hangout. We'd stake out one of those large round tables as a series of friends and pitchers of dark Schlitz would come and go throughout the evening. Most bizarre experience there: The night of the first Draft Lottery...lots of students overreacting to their draft number--in both directions--and abundant gallows humor.

The late 60s...good times.

[OZZIE4DUKE]

Oh no, don't get OZZIE started on the Rat'. He will be lusting after double gamblers for the remainder of hoops season now .

Since you mentioned it, that is the planned pre-game meal for Monday's Albany game.

And of course, Friday's meals - all of them, while driving home from NYC, will feature corned beef and pastrami picked up from the Carnegie Deli just before departing the Big Apple that morning. Devildeac, I'll pick you your takeout order $ when I'm in Raleigh on Monday.

[Indoor66]

Since you mentioned it, that is the planned pre-game meal for Monday's Albany game.

And of course, Friday's meals - all of them, while driving home from NYC, will feature corned beef and pastrami picked up from the Carnegie Deli just before departing the Big Apple that morning. Devildeac, I'll pick you your takeout order $ when I'm in Raleigh on Monday.

Is the Rat any good now? There was a period of time in the late 80's - 90's when I lived in Chapel Hill and it wasn't very enjoyable. Food and service was poor.

[devildeac]

Since you mentioned it, that is the planned pre-game meal for Monday's Albany game.

And of course, Friday's meals - all of them, while driving home from NYC, will feature corned beef and pastrami picked up from the Carnegie Deli just before departing the Big Apple that morning. Devildeac, I'll pick you your takeout order $ when I'm in Raleigh on Monday.

Oh thou great purveyor of pastrami and connoisseur of corned beef, how do we know that if we bequeath our hard earned Franklins to you on Monday that you will returneth with any of the goods on Friday, especially since you said ALL your meals on Friday will be from the Carnegie, and, bro' I have seen you eat .(just kidding-I will have my cash AND order for you on Monday-you know how to contact me).