I had no idea that I loved Harry Carry’s presence at Cubs games. When he died on February 18, 1998, I was strangely upset about this. I have been somewhat of a baseball agnostic the last few years, going to a few games every year but you would have to pay me to watch a game on TV, and now that Harry is gone, they will be a pain to listen to as well as watch. Probably the best part of going to a Cubs game the last few years was hearing Harry sing "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" and then shout out in frustration with the rest of us, "Now let’s get some runs!" Well, now he is gone and I found myself sad.

Well, how could I best relieve my sadness and pay tribute to Harry at the same time? I figured I could do this best by making a pilgrimage to Harry Carry’s Restaurant at 33 West Kinzie in Downtown Chicago.

When I arrived at Harry’s, I saw that they had moved fast and had already painted good-bye messages onto the restaurant. The inside of the place had a few "So Long, Everybody!" signs (what Harry Said after every game) among the other baseball memorabilia. In addition to the signs reminding everyone that Harry just passed, all of the workers inside seemed a little depressed, showing that even his restaurant staff must have loved him.

Harry Carry’s is a good sized restaurant that serves lunch and dinner and also has a room to the far right that is more like a sports bar. The main restaurant features a large wine list, Italian food and a good variety of steaks. I went to the sports bar section of the place and sat down and for the first time in my life forsook all good beers and ordered a Budweiser in honor of the deceased Bud Man, Cubs Fan. All of the other patrons all were sharing Harry stories and everyone had a good time remembering the old man.

Our waitress came to take her order and I asked her what was Harry’s favorite, and she told me it would either be a hot dog or the prime rib sandwich. I didn’t come all the way down here for a hot dog, so I ordered the prime rib sandwich and it was excellent. All of the sandwiches in this room can have condiments added to them over at a nearby vendor stand just like at the old ballpark. Everyone in this room is also treated to complimentary Harry Carry’s homemade potato chips, which is one of the restaurant’s specialties. All of the sandwiches, appetizers, and salads were very reasonable priced and everything we had ordered was very good.

We left the restaurant, satisfied that we had paid our respects to Harry, and we had a good time while doing it. The food was excellent and there’s nothing like saluting Harry while drinking a few cold Budweisers. Now we were off to the Harry Carry memorial that was being built up at Wrigley Field. The fan-made memorial won’t be there for long - but if you want to go somewhere to hear a few Harry stories, drink a few beers, and have some good food - go to Harry Carry’s restaurant. Holy Cow, it was good.

Harry Caray’s Hours: