Editor’s Note: Christo’s, a Brockton institution since 1964, is closing its doors on Dec. 31. A proper send-off would need to be written for his landmark restaurant, so I asked one of my favorite Brocktonians, Dave Wedge, a fellow Herald alumni, to lunch with me and write a guest blog post. Sadly, we didn’t eat in the Gold Room. Perhaps we should have brought Roger…
By Dave Wedge
Going to Christo’s for my family, like many in Brockton, was a weekly rite of passage.
My father, Roger, owned the Brockton East Cinema which was located behind Christo’s. Chris Tsaganis, the distinguished late owner of the legendary family restaurant, was my dad’s landlord and as kids, we regularly went to the movies and then to dinner at Christo’s.
The Gold Room appears not to have changed since 1964. Where’s the Rat Pack???
“Wedge, party of five in the Gold Room please. Wedge,” is a phrase I heard every week of my youth.
It was the 70s and 80s and Christo’s was the place to see and be seen. Brockton’s own Marvelous Marvin Hagler was the middleweight champ of the world and the city was a proud, exciting place to be.
It was normal for there to be an hour-plus wait for a table on a Friday or Saturday night. While Christo always took care of our family, we sometimes would wait a bit in the lounge, which looks straight out of the movie “Casino.”
My dad would get a “mug of dark” – which was a vague description of whatever “dark” beer Christo had on tap. If you ordered that in today’s craft beer-obsessed world, the bartender would point you to the door. But to this day, my dad insists the “dark” beer on tap at Christo’s remains his favorite.
The “lounge” in the Red Room.
When I got a little older, dad would let me order his other favorite drink from the waitress.
“Beefeater martini straight up, extra dry, rocks on the side with a twist,” I’d say proudly.
Ah, to be a child in the 70s was great. You could ride on the middle hump in the front seat of the car with no seatbelt in sight, ride a bike without a helmet, and order cool-sounding booze drinks at family restaurants.
To quote Henry Hill from “Goodfellas”: “It was a glorious time.”
My mom, who died in 2002, always got the “southern fried chicken” with gravy and a double order of peas, instead of rice. My sisters still get that same order when they go. For some reason, I remember them also getting Greek salads with the cheese on the side. Never really understood that.
Christo’s Famous Greek Salad
Anyway, my dad’s theater had a great run through the 80s and early 90s but Blockbuster video stores, along with shady movie industry rules and megaplex monopolies, forced my dad – along with most other independent cinema owners – to shut down. He officially closed the doors in 1998.
After that, we would go to Christo’s sporadically for family dinners, birthdays and such. As I got older and moved back into Boston, I rarely went. In recent years, some old high school buddies and I began a bi-monthly “pies and pitchers” beer and pizza night at some of our favorite Brockton-area haunts, like the great Cape Cod Cafe, the underrated Union Villa in Easton and Stoughton’s Town Spa.
One time, about a year or so before Mr. Tsaganis passed away, we did Christo’s. We sat at a round table in the bar room and Mr. Tsaganis himself joined us for a while. He bought us a round of drinks and regaled us with tales of the glory days, including partying with his many celebrity visitors, as well as with my dad in Las Vegas. Ah yes, it sounds like it sure was a glorious time.
It’s a great memory of Mr. Tsaganis and Christo’s that me and my friends talk about often and will remember forever.
My last visit to Christo’s was about a month ago when I went with Laura for lunch. It was shortly after the announcement was made that the famous eatery was closing its doors for good. It was a busy lunch crowd and we actually had to wait about 20 minutes for a table.
I got a burger and of course a Greek salad. You can buy Christo’s dressings in the supermarket and you can buy the lettuce, the feta, the celery and the onion. But let me assure you this: you cannot make a Greek salad as good as they serve in the restaurant itself. (The Foodsmith got the Greek salad and grilled lamb kebobs. Yum.)
Grilled Lamb Kebobs
I’ll miss the place as it’s always been a warm reminder, not only of the best days of my youth, but also of a time when Brockton was at its best. The city has changed but remains a great place filled with some great people.
It’s too bad Christo’s will no longer be a part of it. Long live the Greek Salad King.
Tags: #brockton, #brocktonlandmark, #brocktonrestaurants, #christos, #ChristoTsaganis, #davewedge, #foodmemories, #goldroom, #greeksalad, #greeksaladking, #lambkebobs
So many old friends have “passed away”-The Hilltop, Upstairs at the Square, The Wursthaus…on and on. Wonderful piece, thank you for sharing.
ugh – why wasnt i invited???
Herald alumni only. 😉
Great post. My experiences at Christo’s with my father and family were very similar, except we favored the King Size Manhattans and the Greek lamb and beans. I met my father in the Gold Room for lunch two days before he died — that’s how close our relationship to the restaurant was. One correction: You cannot buy Christo’s dressing in the supermarket. The dressing, called Bessie’s after Chris’ wife, was sold at Athena Market on Pleasant Street until recently, when the restaurant stopped making it. There is some talk that Athena will try to duplicate it. There is a Greek dressing sold in Shaw’s called Yasou, which is pretty close. But closest of all — if I do say so myself — is my own recipe, which Laura may permit me to post here sometime. But, in the end, Dave is right. The taste of the Greek salad at Christo’s can’t be duplicated unless you are seated in the Gold Room hearing Chris call customers to their tables — something none of us will ever experience again, sadly.
Of course you can post the recipe, Kevin! Please do! I have a hankering for a Greek salad today. Sadly, I won’t be near Christo’s… Thank you for reading!