Farewell to Man-Jo-Vin's

The irony is that I spent Sunday off discovering an old burger and custard stand in a neighborhood far from home, and came home to find that somewhere in the last few weeks, a burger and custard stand just yards from my house, which I had eaten at dozens of times, had closed. And I never even got a picture of the food before it was gone.

Man-Jo-Vin's was a quintessential neighborhood burger stand, not a faux one with oldies playing (I don't believe I ever once heard music there), not a beautifully preserved vintage one (at some point it was redone in tacky 80s dusty rose and aqua), but a real one, a working class stand offering food real enough for guys in jumpsuits with their name on the front and their company's name on the back, but clean and well run enough that as Roscoe Village yuppified, moms with kids never felt the slightest hesitation about bringing their kids over from the park next door.

The signage proclaimed an elaborate list of menu items, including chicken (which I'm not sure they ever had in my memory), pizza (terrible and usually dried out in a display case; they ditched it a year or two ago), and Italian beef (which I should have tried and never did). But everyone knew what they were there for, dogs and burgers, and that's what they dished up all day.

The burgers were larger than my canonical "30s style," but otherwise true to form most of the time-- grilled onions, ketchup pickle and mustard. Alongside them came fresh-cut fries, far superior to the frozen ones you almost always find in similar places these days. Now, having said that, the truth is that over the years both the burger and the fries would sometimes fall below what they were supposed to be. The burger with "everything" would arrive with something that didn't belong, like lettuce or-- once, nightmarishly-- mayo. The fries would be ill-cooked by some young hiree who had no idea how to do fries right, and you'd get raw-centered potato grease sponges. But 90% of the time over the years, it was one of the better burger and fries meals to be had in Chicago. The film critic Andre Bazin described Budd Boetticher's Seven Men From Now as "the most intelligent and least intellectual of westerns." Man-Jo-Vin's burger was like that.

Testaments to the deceased:

http://www.lthforum.com/bb/viewtopic.php?p=1743#1743

http://www.lthforum.com/bb/viewtopic.php?p=4873#4873

http://www.chowhound.com/midwest/boards ... 15432.html

http://www.chowhound.com/midwest/boards ... 12205.html [note that the original exposition on the "30s-style burger" follows shortly after this one]

Man-Jo-Vin's
Damen, just north of Belmont
R.I.P.
Condos coming soon

Not long after moving to the city (and before finding CH & LTH), I commenced the search for a quality hot dog & burger place near my apartment. Man-Jo-Vin's was one of my first stops, and it remained a reliable choice for burgers, dogs, and fries. I certainly didn't find anything better nearby.

Incidentally, my girlfriend and I had a nice dinner of Man-Jo-Vin's followed by dessert at Scooter's this past summer after an evening of apartment hunting. I had the burger (covered with tons of onions)...she tried the italian beef. The IB was pretty mediocre, and you definitely didn't miss out on anything by not sampling it.

Anyway, this brings up the question of replacements...where to go for a good cheap burger or cheap dog on a weeknight (purposely excluding Hot Dougs) near Roscoe Village?

Muskie's works for the burgers...
Wiener's Circle for either is a bit of a hike...but usually worth it.
Wrigleyville Dogs on Clark at about Waveland was better than average the couple times I've tried it...
Byron's can be good...
The Maxwell Street Stand on Diversey/Damen/Clybourn is ok...
Mangi's on Lincoln/Grace was completely average
Not much good to say about Niko's on Diversey/Western/Elston or Big Boy's on Addison/Western...

That's pretty much a class of food that's been eliminated in this area in recent years, though I suppose someone could always actually have the cheeseburger at Demir Fast Food.

Big Boy Gyros is actually okay for Greek joint-style char-grilled burgers and some of the Greco-American things you find in such places like chicken souvlaki sandwiches. Not worth any kind of a drive, but all right. The only thing that bugged me was that the guy who runs it was really harsh toward the Lane Tech kids, I hated to be in there at their lunchtime because he'd bark at them to wait and make me and the kids come up front to order.

Most of the other burger/dog stands I tried once over the years and didn't make any effort to try again. I suppose it made me broaden my diet over the years....

I've always enjoyed the food at Four Moon Tavern http://metromix.chicagotribune.com/search/41622,0,294536.venue. It's certainly nothing special but it's reliable bar food.

I beg to differ on the Italian Beef. Man-jo-vins was our favorite stop for Italian Beefs for many years. Now I'm bummed.

Okay, I’ve wondered about this long enough, most recently last night on the way to Roller Derby when we walked past Man-Jo’s on Milwaukee. Is there any connection between Man-Jo’s and Man-Jo-Vin’s? I never ate at either and it looks like I missed my chance at Man-Jo-Vin’s at least. It’s not as if I’m losing any sleep over this question but I’m still curious.

Man-Jo-Vin’s Drive In (closed)
3224 N Damen Av
Chicago

Man-Jo’s Drive In
2050 N Milwaukee Av
Chicago

Rene G wrote:It’s not as if I’m losing any sleep over this question but I’m still curious.

Man-Jo-Vin’s Drive In (closed)
3224 N Damen Av
Chicago

Man-Jo’s Drive In
2050 N Milwaukee Av
Chicago

When it cam time to expand the empire, Vin had no vision.

I have wondered the same and do not know. In any case, the people who ran Man-Jo-Vin's were too young to have founded the place in 1953, so if there was a relationship, it was probably long ago.

I'm actually a fan (although it's not among my top 2 Italian beef sammies in Chicago) of Tore's Italian Beef on Diversey/Elston/Western. I believe they're open later than Hot Doug's, at least.

Ah, I did omit Tore's...but while their Italian Beefs are certainly good sandwiches, their hot dog is non-descript. I don't believe I've had a burger from them, so I can't vouch for that.

I'll probably venture to try a dog & burger from Demir sometime soon, though my expectations are not high.

Suzie's (Montrose & Elston -discussed a little here) makes a satisfying greasy burger. And I was fairly happy with the burger at Charcoal Delights (Foster & Kedzie) when i stumbled upon it. I suppose I can always head north to Wolfy's or Fluky's or the various Evanston dog stands for the hot dog fix.

Just wanted to be sure I wasn't missing anything right in my backyard...doesn't look like I am.

I've just checked with my resident (and when I mean resident, I just called to another room) expert on zoning in Roscoe Village and Man-jo-vins, will be reopening. They decided to profit on a valuable piece of real estate, upon which a (surprise, surprise) condo building will be built and Man-Jo-Vin's will be the first floor tenant. This obviously could change and it won't necessarily be the same, but that's the story as I know it.

Of course, the same was said about Johnny's Snack Shop, which closed with the promise of reopening (so far the only thing to appear on the site is an open field). Its absence leaves us with a shocking lack of places to show off one's jailhouse tats at 2 am.

I can guarantee that it won't be an open field - they've already sold and it will be a six unit condo building. Man-jo-vin's reappearance is one that I cannot similarly state with assurance.

I walk past this place on a weekly basis and am saddened that, even though there's a promise of reopening, I can't just stop in for a huge coke served over CRUSHED ice to accompany me on my walk home.
It seems that these kinds of stands are the only place to get a soda served over that special, almost chewy, crushed ice. *sigh*

Oh, I know exactly what you're talking about - the only time I ever stepped inside Man-jo-vin's was for precisely that.

God I love crushed ice.

gleam wrote:God I love crushed ice.

Ed,

Isla Pilipina serves drinks, coke/mango etc, in a shake glass half full, or is it half empty, of crushed ice.

Enjoy,
Gary

Isla Pilipina
2501 W Lawrence Ave
Chicago, IL.
773-271-2988

I dunno -- when I lived at Ravenswood & Henderson, I tended to like Dub-L-Dog's stuff a lot better. But they had maybe four stools and it was never a good idea to assume you'd get to use one, so if I wanted to hang out, Man-Jo-Vin was the way to go. Ray's Diner was a bigger loss than either of them, really. I loved that place.

Rene G wrote:Okay, I’ve wondered about this long enough, most recently last night on the way to Roller Derby when we walked past Man-Jo’s on Milwaukee. Is there any connection between Man-Jo’s and Man-Jo-Vin’s? I never ate at either and it looks like I missed my chance at Man-Jo-Vin’s at least. It’s not as if I’m losing any sleep over this question but I’m still curious.

Man-Jo-Vin’s Drive In (closed)
3224 N Damen Av
Chicago

Man-Jo’s Drive In
2050 N Milwaukee Av
Chicago

It looked as if Man-Jo's was defunct, as well, when I drove past there tonight. The large tall sign was still up, but across the front a banner advertised a Mexican restaurant. I had to concentrate on traffic, so I only caught a glimpse, but I think the name was Xochitl.

There was another Man-Jo-Vin's on Laramie. IIRC it was between Diversey and Belmont. I'm not sure when it closed.

Best,
Al

Yeah, I think that Man-Jo's has been gone a couple of years.

The Laramie one is news entirely to me.

It's really been 2.5 years?

Every time I drive north on Damen past Belmont, I glance at the building that's gone up looking for some sign of Man-Jo-Vin's reappearance. This evening, the sign was literally there. Man-Jo-Vin awnings in place proclaiming "Just Good Food"...

Obviously wasn't able to see if there was any further info about an opening date on the doors...but still, some mildly exciting news for Roscoe Village fast food fans.

But it's such a disconnect to be housed in the quintessential boring-ass condo building on Damen.

Boring-Ass-Condo-Man-Jo-Vin's appears to be about ready to open, they were having what looked like "owner invites friends over for a test run" last night.

Despite its locale in the boring-ass-condo, I'm extremely excited for this place to be opening. I've been routing my jogs through there for a few weeks now for any sign of progress. I wonder if they're going to try to be open by memorial day.

They're open.

Yes they are - i ate there about 10 minutes ago. I'm at home, without a bike at the moment, so i settle on walking down to Tony's for a couple few tacos (average at best, but i'm so hungry)

holy shit - Man-Jo-Vin's is open.

I walk in there and it's about as stale an atmosphere you could've possibly thought up. Partly because it's brand new without any character, partly because of it's decor - this place looks and feels dead. but whatever, food is what really matters.

...and it was pretty decent. The fries were perfect today, they get an 8/10. fresh cut, not soggy or greasy, perfectly salted. The italian beef was on good bread, with a moderate kick from the hot peppers and it was pretty soft and juicy, but it was wrapped in foil before i walked back up the street. Do i care? not really - but i know a lot of you guys do. $8 for the meal (Beef, fries, 16 oz fountain drink)

Service, slow. Didn't care - second day open and there were two people there and there were like 6 customers. I'm in no hurry and they'll get that kind of crap worked out in the next few weeks.

Overall, I wasn't terribly pissed when they left (although i wish they had stayed) and i'm not terribly excited that they're back - but i will eat there from time to time because they make pretty decent food and there really isn't another place in the immediate area that makes this class of food.

I'll be back over the next few weeks to check out everything they have to offer and to see how they've worked out the kinks.

Stopped in tonight. Have been waiting as the neighborhood needs a place to grab a greasy burger, dog, or beef. Girl working register is very friendly, I know how hard it is to find help at that price-point that isn't miserable. Ordered a beef w/ hot peppers and a dog with everything.

Order didn't take very long to come up. Some of the other people that were waiting seemed to be a little impatient, it seems they were wating for burgers though. They really don't have much of a "system" down in the kitchen. Out of the three people, the 19 yr. old girl working the register seemed to be the only one who had a clue. If the weather breaks this weekend, the stroller crowd of Roscoe Village will hit this place hard, they could be in for some trouble.

Got the food home, it all needs to be tweaked a little bit. The settings on their steam table must be a little off. The hotdog was mush, even the pickle was sort of mush, i almost question if they were for some reason keeping those in the steam table. The fries had the potential to be great, they weren't cooked all the way through though. Points for hand-cutting your fries in this day of age. The best part of the beef was the bread, a standard gonnella (which i'm not usually a fan of), the beef itself was dry and tasteless, the juice was flavorless. You can buy decent italian juice for something rediculous like $2/gallon, I'm not sure what they're using.

It's always good to have decent options in the neighborhood. I know they've only been open for a few days. I know how hard it is to open a restaurant. The concept is there, upscale-clean-bright dog/beef/burger stand. I will be back, just in a couple weeks to give them some time to iron things out.

Man Jo Vins was built by my father (Vince Nuccio) and his two brothers, Manny and Joe Nuccio. My father is deceased but my Uncles are still with us. I don't live in Chicago anymore but when I can get there, I made sure I stopped in at the old Man Jo Vins. I was saddened to hear it was torn down and a condo building built in it's place. Man Jo Vins expanded to Laramie, but was not very successful. The grand opening is archived on film in my collection and featured clowns and a big celebration i still remember. It was a really big deal. Man Jo Vins made us a very comfortable family and allowed us many great memories and opportunities. My father and uncles started man jo vins with everything borrowed not knowing if they would ever make it.The first burger cooked by my Uncle Joe was burnt to a crisp and the customer returned the next day for another one. MJV sold "broasted chicken" in the 60's....the beef went over bigger with the customers.And so it went...until it was sold to the Porter, Nunzio Micelli, who lived on Melrose Avenue and then the Porter's Sons who owned it until it was recently sold. Nunzio returned to Sicily a wealthy man. Thanks to you all for keeping MJV alive. My Dad gave me my first car there in 1965, a 1961 Chevy. I am now almost 60. When I got married, MJV was closed for the day and my name was on the original marquis announcing my wedding Thanks to our customers for keeping the memories alive. We still make beef sandwiches for reunions, eat tamales and hot dogs when we can. Recently, my Uncle Frank passed away. He will be sorely missed. He and my Uncle Ross worked at MJV to help the family. Just a short history to answer some of your questions. Thanks for the picture of the sign out front.

Thanks for the family history, Ginny. Interesting to know the background history.