R.I.P. Bennigans

Okay... So, I know it sucked, but Bennigans was the default lunch spot for Buddy George and I to meet downtown. 99% of the time we would order the Turkey O'Toole sandwich with no honey mustard, yellow mustard on the side, and French Onion Soup instead of fries. Okay. That's a little... gay, but couple that with a geek-pleasing quantity of soda in one cup and we couldn't pass it up. Truth is, you could probably put a shoe on a pretzel roll and I'd eat it.

Sadly, as of today, Bennigan's discontinued operations in the greater Chicago area. Now, Geo and I will be somewhat adrift for a bit settling on a new default lunch location when we meet downtown. I'd like to spend tonight just thinking back on all the memories of Bennigan's, but 99% of them are of us eating turkey and cheese on a pretzel roll with French Onion Soup and a big-ass soda. There were of course some other fine moments, like when we saw Sulu there, and... Did I mention we saw Sulu there?

The worst part is that we were just there last week and Geo decided to order something a little healthier than the O'Toole. So, I decided to try something else and ordered the Monte Christo. I don't know how many of you have had the Bennigan's Monte Christo, but they take the traditional French Toast and put ham, turkey, and cheese on it. Then, they take the whole shebang and dip it in fried chicken batter and deep fry the sucker. It's all very Moe's Family Feed Bag. The sensation of eating it was (I assume) akin to freebasing donuts. So, now Bennigan's is gone and my final memory is of that fucking tempura ham sandwich.

Sliante, Bennigan's... Sliante...

My only solace comes in the knowledge that chicken wings taste better when served to you by women in tight orange shorts.