Dr. Jazz in Chicago

One of my earliest memories is going to Dr. Jazz for ice cream. Dr. Jazz was no ordinary ice cream parlor. It was a classy joint. They served up your scoop in a fancy wine glass, and in the back of the room there was a gigantic player piano (or was it a jukebox?) which if memory serves also had a robot monkey which ate your quarter.

One day we piled in the car and drove out to Dr. Jazz, only we couldn't find it. Finally we found the right building, but the great black doors were locked. When we looked in through the keyhole, the place was dark and completely empty, paint peeling from the walls where the big player piano had stood. My parents said it must have burned down. I felt like I'd been punched in the gut.

Even now, over 20 years later, it's amazing to see how many people still remember Dr. Jazz's locations in Evanston and on Montrose. Apparently there was also another restaurant by the same owners called Sally's Stage which was even wilder. I'm not sure which one we went to, but RIP, Dr. Jazz, RIP.