Archived Article By Tom Fitzmorris Originally published April 3, 2006 Click here for the current edition Crazy Johnnie's Reopens Johnnie Schram (who, in case you didn't know, is a gal) reopened her unusual steakhouse Friday, March 31. Starting today, April 3, they'll be open for lunch and dinner daily. The long closing of the restaurant motivated Johnnie to make a few overdue changes to the place, whose main problem was that it felt more like a bar than a restaurant. New windows were put in (where old windows were in the building's earlier days) and the lighting had brightened things up, too. They also expanded the restrooms (a critical need). Crazy Johnnie's was a major phenomenon in the 1980s, when it first opened. They sold a nine-ounce filet mignon for five bucks, complete with a baked potato. The only catch was that you had to buy at least one drink--alcoholic or otherwise--and pay for soft drink refills. At its peak, the place had waits for tables of two hours. This was powered largely by the price--it was such a great deal that more than a few people ordered two steaks, even though  the size of the filet was not skimpy. The quality of the beef was never the very best (although wishful thinkers claimed it was), but it was far better than what you'd expect, and not bad by any standard. The prices went up, and although the place remained a great value, the lines diminished. You could almost always get a table immediately there before the storm. (I'm sure that will not be the case for the next few months, such is the pent-up hunger for steaks hereabouts.) And they had other good food. The seafood gumbo was always good. According to my wife, a devotee of stuffed artichokes, Crazy Johnnie's version is the best this side of her mother's. And they grill fish reasonably well. One little-known story about Crazy Johnnie's is that its success moved Tommy Cvitanovich, at Drago's across the street, to try the same lowball-price trick with lobster. That was in the days before char-broiled oysters jammed Drago's, and lobsters for under ten dollars became a big draw. A legacy of Crazy Johnnie's past has also been renovated. They used to charge you for drink refills. No more. 3520 18th St., Fat City, 887-6641. © 2006 Tom Fitzmorris. All rights reserved. news@nomenu.com