1979: DEL RIO: GONE BUT NOT FORGOTTEN
This was one of my favorite restaurants in my teen years, and right up to my early years of marriage in the 1950's. Del Rio started out as a roadside hot dog stand back in the early 1940's. When I and my teen friends were active in the area, Carl DeAngelo was running a full fledged restaurant. The souithwest motif was a very attractive venue. My buddies were nearly nightly visitors there and Carl saw that we always migrated to that marble top round table for us, dubbing it " knights of the round table."
HI TOM....THE DEL RIO RESTAURANT WAS BUILT WITH THE BLOCKS THAT WERE REMOVED IN THE STREETS WHEN THE TROLLEYS WERE GONE. MY GOOD FRIEND CHARLIE DeANGELO GAVE ME THAT INFORMATION WAY BACK AND THE PLACE HAS BEEN A BIG SUCCESS SINCE. CHARLIE WAS PRETTY ACTIVE THEN AND AT ONE TIME PLAYED AN EXTRA IN ONE OF THE JERRY LEWIS, DEAN MARTIN MOVIES. THE DeANGELOS MAY HAVE BEEN DISTANT REALATIVES, HIS BROTHER LOU WAS AMONG THE GROUP FROM ST. JOACHIMS THAT ALONG WITH MY MOTHER VISITED CASANDRINO IN ITALY. BEST REGARDS.
ReplyDeleteI didn't get there often, but it was a great place. Had a HS girlfriend, who lived up the street on Hamilton Av., until college took us in different directions.
ReplyDeleteI must be too young I don't remember trolleys in Trenton. Maybe I was too preoccupied in Ralph's bowling alley to remember them. :)
ReplyDeleteBY THE WAY RON, MY NEPHEW LOU LUCARELLA REMEMBERS YOU WELL DURING THE YEARS OF THE HAMILTON BOWLING LANES ON ROUTE 33 AND SAID TO GIVE YOU HIS REGARDS.
ReplyDeleteMy sis lived on Connecticut Avenue and a real treat while watching me was a trip to the Del Rio followed by a stop at the Eet Gud Bakery.
ReplyDeleteEd Millerick
I have no recollection of the Del Rio or where it was even located.
ReplyDeleteBut I do have vast and glorious memories of the Dog House on River Road in West Trenton. I would love to open that discussion if someone is so inclined. That was the focal point of all of us that lived in the western environs of Trenton. The fries were incomparable and the burgers were delicious and inexpensive. It is now a rotting hulk sitting in back of rhte Revere Tavern and it should be a shrine.
Hi Tony S: I too grew up in West Trenton on Carteret Avenue and I can't remember the name of the place that was on River Road on the left hand side going north. I don't think it was The Dog House, but I could be mistaken. It was in the 50s. I was trying to remember the name a few days ago -- we also loved Dirty Bills in Yardley.
ReplyDeleteDirty Bills was another jewel located across the river in Pennsylvania.
ReplyDeleteIn fact the wooden building that housed the original Dog House is still standing in its original spot, on the right side of River Road going towards I-95, now a derelict building in back of the "new" Revere Bar on the River Road. I actually passed it several weeks ago when I was back to visit my mother who still lives there. Throughout HS (THS) we were there at least five nights a week eating those sumptuous fries and hamburgers. I always remember the cook who constantly whistled as he perspired profusely while cooking. A wonderful slice of memory.
P.S. I grew up on Sanhican Drive and Cadwalader Drive. They were the happiest days of my youth. It's a shame you never knew about the Dog House. You would have loved the fries like we did.
ReplyDeleteDirty Bills was also known as 'Filthy William's. Then there was the Del-Vue Room in the same vicinity of The Revere. If memory serves there was also a Gulf Gas in the area and an "exclusive" dress shop Elsie Gallavan's. Over on the Morrisville side I remember a place called Jerry's Charcoal Hearth. We did not have a good relationship. Hired as a waiter, I chopped salad till my fingers were raw.
ReplyDeleteEd Millerick
I too remember the "Dog House". before the bridge went down in the 55 flood. As a City of Trenton Health Inspector, I knew better than to eat there. Along that same Srip, was "Jules Condado" which later became Barrett's home of the famous (?) Smorgusbord! Jules Gaspari owned the place he had a daughter that married Floyd Buzzi, Armando Conti's nephew. Me and my high school sweetheart baby sat for them on Greenwood Ave. across from THS. There was a tavern on the river at the Yardley bridge across River Rd. from these of which we speak. That got swept away in the flood of 55 also.
ReplyDeleteElsie Gallavan's moved after the flood and relocated on No. Montgomery St. between Hanover, and Academy. The Revere was owned and run by the Pietrangeli family. Junior married Sam Naples ( not fat Sam) sister.
All nice people, and good business men/woman.
Mike Kuzma
Hi Guys: You are all bringing back a lot of tasty memories for me. We had such great places to eat. I grew up on Carteret Ave., across Parkside Ave. from Cadalader Park. I went to Jr 3 and graduated from THS in 1955. It was the greatest time of my life. I miss it still. Regards
ReplyDeleteHi Fellow Hamilton Avenuers: I grew up on Hamilton Avenue and Bentley Ave, and the Del Rio was a block up the street. I use to go in there at the age of five or six and watch the guys play pinball. Between the Del Rio and my house was an empty lot full of stacked pipe. The lot is now a school. This was in the 40's. The neighborhood has not really changed much since I was back about five years ago. I still remember the great crème-filled donuts at the Eat-Gud Bakery which I think is still there. Tom Fisher
ReplyDeleteMy first sausage and peppers sandwich. Unforgettable.
ReplyDeleteDel Rio had a cheese stake basket that was the best. Also the Italian ice was a hit on those long summer days back in the 60's
ReplyDeleteThe Texas Special was a great sandwich @ Del Rio. Played a lot of pinball there also.
DeleteMy uncle owned Del Rios. He is Bill Jaffe mentioned in the article. As a kid, my family lived at the eastern end of route 33, by Asbury Park. It was always a treat to visit him, Aunt Millie and cousin Pam ( they lived in Lawrenceville) because we were always treated to those special. Philly-style cheesesteaks with grilled onions.
DeleteLoved Del Rio...ate there many times. The bet also was how many Del Rio bulls could you drink (I have the ingredients) and it was 2
ReplyDeleteBeing a waitress at Del Rios was Justine Ratcliffe's (my mother) first job, circa 1956! Years later, she would bring us (her kids) back to 'the scene of the crime' after visiting family graves at Greenwood Cemetery and I can still remember the charcoal scent of the place, the wood timbers and, yes, the enormous round marble table! Cheese steaks and fries came in a red basket and I was fascinated by the wagon wheel lights and stories of my Mom's youthful escapades. Thanks for the memory jog!
ReplyDeletePS My Mom also took us to Dirty Bill's, too... Sometimes, I think I remember Trenton & Lawrenceville best by the food! Eagle Bakery & Joe's Green Grocer on Olden Ave, the fried shrimp basket at The Merry Go Round (by the Brunswick Circle.. my cousins worked there, so we lunched , chatted and ignored the bar part, lol), Stewart's for black cows and car-window service and treats at Halo Farms in the Farmers Market. We lived in Levittown but crossing the bridge was no big deal as Mom's family was all over Lawrenceville... and in the 80's I worked off Whitehead Road (eating at Sandyck's, Venetian Deli, the diner at Bus Route 1 and Whitehead or taking clients to Jerry's Restaurant or Bond Street!) Good Times!
ReplyDeleteBring back DelRios. What a great place to have the best cheese steak ever.
ReplyDelete