It's time for Dining Month, presented by Deer District and its spooky Halloween-themed alter ego, Fear District. Throughout the month of October, we'll be serving up fun and fascinating content about all things food. The signature dish, however, is our 2019 Best of Dining poll, who's winners we will dish out all month long. Get hungry, Milwaukee!

Though some restaurants have long lives – in Milwaukee one thinks of Mader's or Jack Pandl's, for example, many more seem to come and go, victims of poor economies or bad management or changing culinary tastes, or a host of other reasons.

Here are a few from the past that I miss ...

Joe Wong was well-known in Milwaukee's Chinese community, but thanks to his popular restaurants, he was a familiar face to non-Chinese here, too. Wong immigrated to the U.S. in 1916, landing in Madison and studying engineering at Wisconsin. Fortunately for Milwaukee, Wong came here, where his dad had opened a restaurant Downtown. Later, the Wongs added a place on Third and North.

In 1945, Joe Wong opened La Joy at 4720 W. Lisbon Ave. and for decades it was perhaps the best Chinese restaurant in town. Each time I visited it felt like a great treat and a splurge. I remember the food being delicious and the atmosphere being mysteriously dark.

Though La Joy (and its building) are gone, its owner's name lives on, immortalized in the name of Wong's Wok, founded by his grandsons Paul Wong and Edward Chin.

For about five years, I worked second shift Downtown at Milwaukee's daily morning newspaper, the defunct Milwaukee Sentinel. Thankfully, for some of those years there was a pizza by the slice restaurant at 228 W. Wisconsin Ave., just across the alley from the old Grand Theater, called New York Pizza Express (where it replaced the Milwaukee Dog hot doggery).

I ate a lot of pizza in the place, which had a long counter along the right side and a seating area a few steps up in back, just like a real NYC pizzeria. It opened in 1986 but only lasted a few years.

Soon after, I lived just off Downer Avenue and I spent a lot of time at The Chancery, especially on all you can eat shrimp night and all you can eat fried chicken night, which were a boon to a young 20-something on a tight budding journalist's salary. Now, even The Chancerys on 27th Street and in Tosa Village are closed.

A few doors south was Brewster's and later Webster's on Downer, where there is now a Starbucks. I passed countless hours – and gained countless pounds – noshing on cinnamon rolls, drinking coffee and doing The New York Times crossword puzzle there over the years. It's probably a good thing it (first moved then) closed, or I'd be morbidly obese.

Which dearly departed Milwaukee restaurants do you miss most?