Friday or Saturday nights are typically date nights. Elmirans always found something fun to do.
Fifty years ago, Boss Tweed’s saloon, at 100 W. Gray St., offered a movie in its establishment, “the Bride of Frankenstein,” at 10:30 p.m. Dinner specialties were lobster tails, filet mignonand Irish coffee.
Bus Horigan’s restaurant had corned beef and cabbage on special from 5 to 10 p.m. at Davis andSecond Street. Always good if you liked cabbage or had a girl that liked cabbage.
The Red Jacket restaurant featured old-fashioned chicken and dumplings (no potato with this entree), or you could have their prime rib complete dinner for $2.95, including appetizer, salad bowl, baked Idaho potato, vegetable, coffeeand dessert. Not to mention the fish fry was always reasonable and only $1.50.
Big spenders could dine on a new thing called a surf and turf — steak and a lobster tail, together on one plate, for $4.95.
Lag’s Restaurant on West Water Street had its famous baby filet for $3.50 and homemade clam chowder, creamed cod, lobster tails, rainbow trout, stuffed flounderand crab cakes.
Friday night was fish fry night at Chuck’s Fine Foods at 601½ S. Main St. Their hours were midnight until 6 p.m. daily, and Chuck ground his special hamburger meat to perfection.
Masia’s in Pine City had a weekly smorgasbord on Sundays for $2.95, where you could “eat to your heart’s content.” My kind of date.
Lowery’s restaurant in Big Flats had its weekly fish fry on Fridays with 50-cent co*cktails.
O’Brien’s Inn on old Route 17 served four favorites, roast pork, roast chicken, roast beefand chicken fricassee. It was just a short drive from Elmira, yet still in Chemung County. Their motto was “Where the Lombardo Generation meets the Pepsi Generation.”
Elmira even had a shawarma restaurant in 1971 with shawarma, kebaband kibbi, and a “chef direct from Lebanon.” I would have loved to have gone there on a date.
For even more fun, the Steak Shop at 406½ Walnut St. had go-go girls. I couldn’t find anything about their menu or the girls, but they had an excellent softball team.
I remember the good eating at the Flaming Pit at the mall. The smell from the open hearth was heavenly. Charcoal broiled steaks!
After dinner, you could go to a movie. The Elmira Drive-In on Route352 showed “What’s the Matter with Helen?” with Debbie Reynolds and Shelley Winters.The movie “Evel Knievel,” starring George Hamilton, was playing at the Heights Theater. The Roxy Drive-In on Route14 showed “Dean’s Wife.” The Roxy was a special kind of place. The Colonial Theater on Main Street had a Three Stooges matinee at 1:40 p.m.
Not necessarily date-worthy, but there was a Miss Teenage America Pageant at Fraley’s Amusem*nt Park in nearby Waverly on Sunday. Two-for-one tickets at $2.50. But you needed a car to get there.
If you and your date were the athletic types who enjoyed “Fun, New Friends and Exercise,” you could go to Joycrest. Still at its same location.
If you liked speed, it was also Grand Prix weekend at Watkins Glen. You could show your girl a really good time there. Jackie Stewart earned the pole with 118.445 mph on Saturday for the Sunday race.
On Saturday was a 20-mile Walk-A-Thon event, “Dollars for Scholars,” in which 770 high school students hiked our streets with a 75% success rate. The walk started in downtown Elmira to Bulkhead, Hoffman Street, Elmira Heights, Horseheadsand Loblaw’s parking lot. Now I’m not counting this as date material, but there was free Kentucky Fried Chicken in Elmira Heights if you made it that far. Rest stops along the way provided co*ke and 7-Up. The kids even picked up litter along the way. Elmira police officers provided traffic control. The kids were way ahead of schedule, averaging 4.5 miles per hour. As a group, they earned somewhere between $18,000 and $20,000.
The Elbow Room at 1053¾ Walnut St. (that’s what their ad said) advertised steamed clams by the dozen for 98 cents.
Cheapskates took their dates to Grants in Southtown Plaza on Cedar Street. A chopped steak, onion rings, French fries, a drinkand apple pie set you back $1.66 each. And you could go shopping later.
So, there you have it. Fun dates, 1971 style. I was only 11.
Diane Janowski is the Elmira city historian. Her column appears monthly.
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