Over the years, people have asked me about the curious design of Nagasaki, the Japanese restaurant at 3951 Summer. Others have noticed the rather unusual architecture of Patrick's, a restaurant and hanging-out-place at 4972 Park.
A few readers finally noticed that the buildings look the same, and they asked me what the structures were, originally.
As you can see from this somewhat grainy advertisement in a 1967 Kingsbury High School yearbook, both establishments began life as a restaurant chain called Blaz'r Steaks.
I really can't explain why that company chose such a bizarre modern style for its steakhouses, with their jutting beams and swooping roofline, or what they hoped to accomplish by leaving that all-important "e" out of the word "Blazer."
All I can do — well, let's say all that I feel like doing at the moment — is show you the old picture, and then go back to my nap.
