Nostalgia & History > historic Phil Smidt's demolished

By the time you read this, Phil Smidt's, the venerable trackside restaurant in Hammond, IN, will be a pile of rubble. Not only did they serve great food (lake perch and frog legs were specialties), but you could get a booth overlooking the tracks just cross the street. I just drove by about an hour ago, and only one wall was still standing. The restaurant has been closed since late 2007, I believe.

Most of the traffic now is on the NS line, although CSX and CN (EJE) and the Chicago Short Line (OK, it's legally the South Chicago and Indiana Harbor) still have see some trains. The Hammond-Whiting Amtrak station is located just to the north.

For those familiar with the area, the former gun club building in Whiting Park is also being demolished today. A new building will be erected and it will house a restaurant.

And one must not forget the "Standard Oil Special". Basically a slice of pound cake, some ice cream and topped with three different color syrups to simulate an oil spill.

rantoul Wrote:
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> A historic ouch, remember Phil Smidt's fondly.
> Thanks for the notice.
>
> ps From a similar era, the shack at the E 95th
> Street drawbridge over Calumet River, Calumet
> Fisheries still going strong.

Ummmm...smoked whitefish, my favorite. Not trackside, but not all that far from the CSL headquarters and a few other rail lines as well.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/17/15 17:12 by colehour.

the boned and buttered lake perch, with all the sides. many times...

It's been a few years, but I always enjoyed Phil Smidt's. The lake perch for me and a window seat trackside. Life was good. I had not known that they closed, and it's worse to hear that the place has been torn down. One more bites the dust. It's all....

MC
Columbia, Missouri