My good friend Kevin...

...drove all the way up from Flossmoor today to have his first-ever Hackneyburger. (Can you imagine waiting until you're in your fifties to have your first Hackneyburger?)

We debated whether to go to the one on Lake Avenue (which I can see from my bedroom window) or to the original one on Harms, across the street from the forest preserve. Kevin, being the purist that he is, opted for the latter, which dates back to 1939.

According to the restaurant's Web site, Jack Hackney and his wife Bebe began serving hamburgers and beer on the back porch of their house in Glenview during Prohibition. (I wonder if they knew my great-uncle, "Red" Tom Duffy, the bootlegger who was shot and killed by Al Capone's gang.)

In 1939, the recently married Kitz and Jim Masterson (above) bought the establishment for the princely sum of one dollar. During World War II, the soldiers from the P.O.W. camp across the street were frequent patrons. The German prisoners, however, were not allowed to join them. (Kind of like my new basset hound, Stewart, who has to content himself with smelling the onion rings from afar.)

After Kevin and I made light work of a small plate of those famous onion rings, which were named one of the Top Three in the USA (top three what?) by Restaurant Management magazine in 2006 (don't tell me you don't read RM!), we each tore into an "Original Half-Pound Hackneyburger" on dark rye (of course), medium rare, with raw onions (can't get too much onion at this place), french fries and cole slaw.

Since Kev is trying to stay in shape, he washed it all down with a Diet Pepsi while I kicked it "Old School" and had a regular Pepsi, or "Peps," as my great-aunts used to say. There was no time (or room!) for dessert, so we shook hands in the parking lot and promised to do it again real soon.

Maybe Kev and I could try either the Victoria or Shillelagh Room -- or even Circe's Circle -- at the one on Lake. Or, better yet, we could eat outside at Harms (above) when the weather gets nice. If nothing else, there's always the Hackney's down in Palos on the South Side. (We could go there before or after a Homewood-Flossmoor football game this fall!)

How about you? Is there a Hackney's in your future?