Where Friends Meet-n-Eat

As I had written before, the Interstate system that now networks the United States wasn’t always the way people moved about the country. People in the Great Lakes region for instance travelled the Dixie Highway between the north and Florida. The eastern Midwest equivalent of the Great River Road or US 101/El Camino Real.
The DH was not a linear thoroughfare per se, but a network of interconnected roads stretching from Canada to Florida. Two main arteries, DH East from Sault St. Marie, Michigan to Miami and DH West from Chicago to Miami had loops and connectors funneling cars to the main lines. The introduction of the interstate meant the dismantling and renaming of portions of the Highway. The Dix was, roughly speaking, replaced largely by I-75 and in part by I – 65 and I – 95. In a north/south direction anyway. You can still see signage for the DH in states like Kentucky and Ohio but more than often you wouldn’t even know you’re on the historical road.

Many of the businesses that thrived along this highway died when the interstate pushed through. Some did manage to survive and you can read about two of them here. One lives on, one does not.

In north Cincinnati the suburb of Sharonville, once on the DH, is a mecca for chain restaurants and hotels. However at least one hold out still exists. Hanging on to it’s pre interstate days. The Rootbeer Stand has been delighting south central Ohioans and visitors for over half a century.
Originally opened under the A & W banner by Mick and Nancy Rideour along with (Nancy’s parents) Jim and Catherine Clark. Mick found a seasonal (summer) business was the perfect counter to his seasonal (fall to spring) job as a teacher. Right on the outskirts it was the first place to grab a bite as you hit town. (Or last depending on which way you were going of course.) In 1982 they’d discontinued their affiliation with A & W and were independent.
By the late 80’s Mick and Nancy were winding down their careers and Nancy’s parents had both passed. It was time to move on. That's where Scott and Jackie Donley stepped in. A deal was struck and the Donley’s opened the 1990 season as the new owners. They immediately changed….nothing. Why would they?? They had a good thing going. The chili and most importantly the root beer recipes developed by Catherine back in the 50’s are still the same today.The root beer is even made with the same equipment they’ve been using since they opened in 1957.

On the outside very little has changed. There’s been some cosmetic alterations and of course all the A & W signage was replaced with The Rootbeer Stand but the place is still in the same spot it was when it opened. Car hops have been gone since the early 70’s as well.

Inside the kitchen and a few other areas have been moved around but the signature feature has remained. The hat hall of fame that adorns the ceiling. In by gone days, truckers were the predominate customer as they travelled up and down the Dixie Highway. They’d leave their ball caps as a form of advertising. The tradition has continued ever since. They get thinned out once in a while and when they took over, the Donley’s had a great number of them cleaned. Another tradition still observed is the hiring of young, high school aged kids for the season. Most often, this is the first job these young boys and girls ever have. A nice way to kick off their working life. Even better for a couple of young girls in the 60’s. Both working as car hops met their husbands at the stand. Today they can be found working in the kitchen.

Well all this tradition is wonderful the food is really what matters. So lets have a look.

The double cheeseburger was good but not great. Mrs. Sippi was far more enthusiastic about it than I. It was very reminiscent of the one at Texas Tavern in Roanoke. Both of those burgers to me just screamed nostalgia.

The foot long chili cheese dog was very good. An ordinary wiener and bun with chili, cheese, mustard and onion. The surprise, being that we’re in Cinci was that the chili was more of a traditional chili. It, on its own was also very good. It had a nice cumin hit and good chili flavour. No real heat which would’ve made it even nicer but you just don’t get that in hot dog chili.

The Big E sandwich is the normal Cheeseburger with warmed Deli Ham and Swiss Cheese. It came dressed with pickle, onion, mustard and mayo. In future I think I’d skip the pickle and add tomato. All in all this is a delicious sandwich. The ham and swiss take this to another level. As I said above, the Cheeseburger was good. This is very good.

The star of the show as you can imagine is the root beer. Made with water from their own well which they claim gives it it’s personality. It has a nice smooth flavour and little carbonation. It’s also not overly sweet. Just enough to take the edge off. They even serve it up in a mug which is a nice touch. Notice the pop corn. They don't serve fries so chips or pop corn are your options.

The root beer float was even better. The vanilla ice cream complimented the root beer perfectly. This is where the less sweetness of the root beer really mattered.
My Grandmother would often make us Ginger Ale and Butter Pecan floats when we were kids. (It's a great combo, give it a try). I never really thought much about them until the last few years when I rediscovered the float. Great memories.

So if you’re in the Cincinnati area and are feeling nostalgic, head on over to The Rootbeer Stand.

You can find The Rootbeer Stand at 11566 Reading Road in Cincinnati, Ohio.

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You can also find them on the web, facebook and Twitter.



Well that’s all for now folks, see ya next time in the food court.

Davwud

Stuck in the 50's Since 1987

In 1987 a group of investors purchased the old diner on S. Garner St. in State College, Pennsylvania and turned it into a 50's diner. Complete with saddle shod waitresses the new owners would pay homage to the diner's roots.

Trucked in from Patterson "Silk City" New Jersey the gleaming diner now serves up a menu straight out of Happy Days. Baby's 50's theme carries throughout the place. A Wurlitzer jukebox in the corner. Elvis Presley and Jerry Lee Lewis music filling the air. Even the wait staff is dressed the part. The whole idea was to get back to the basics. Home made food at reasonable prices in a family friendly atmosphere. On that, Baby's delivers.

So how's the food you may ask...... Well, it was good but didn't over achieve. Not the food anyway.

Our drink orders were taken first. A root beer float for Mrs. Sippi and a double chocolate shake with Oreo for myself. Our drinks were brought to the table along with the excess shake in the mixing cup. I grabbed my straw to tear it open and I heard "Oh god." I turned and looked and Mrs. Sippi had already taken a sip and was immediately rendered all but speechless. It was as good as a shake can be. Thick and rich, it was practically a meal in its self.
The float was good but unfortunately had to stand beside the milk shake.

Mrs Sippi had the Reuben. It was the standard corned beef on rye with Swiss, kraut and 1,000 Islands dressing. It was a fine sandwich but did not create a new paradigm.

I opted for a cheese burger. It was a solid diner style burger. Nicely crusted from the flat top (mmm flat top) and had a good beef flavour. It did not however make me forget all about Blimpy Burger.

The "5 Alarm"chili was somewhat disappointing. First and foremost, if it says "5 Alarm" it should be hot. Even with all the peppers piled on top it could only muster 2 bells. It's actually chili mac and had a fatal flaw in my mind. The chili was pretty tight. With the addition of macaroni I think it needs to be a little soupy. The pasta is then able to soak up some of that tasty gravy for an even better dish. As for the taste, it again falls into the "Fine" category. It wasn't hot at all and was very mildly seasoned. A little cumin is all I got from it as far as seasonings. I'm not saying that was a bad thing either. Just sayin'.

Would I eat there again?? Absolutely. Good solid fare is always welcome and the shake was worth the 7 hour drive.

You can find Baby's at 131 S. Garner St. State College, Pa.


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You can also visit them on the web.  


Well that's all from the food court for now.

Davwud

Say "Hi" to the Colonel for Me.

For many people, Interstate75 serves as the main conduit from the north to Florida. This wasn’t always the case though. In by gone days, state highways would ferry people from one part of the country to the next. The advent of the Interstate system meant a lot of small towns were bypassed and business dried up

This was true of the Sanders family business in Corbin, Kentucky. A restaurant and motor hotel were thriving businesses on the Dixie Highway. Sanders, ever the entrepreneur was already working to franchise his chicken to restaurants. In 1955 when I - 75 opened, he sold his business to pay off debts and was broke. (Honourary) Colonel Sanders would hit the road, taking his secret recipe of 11 herbs and spices to the people. Selling restaurateurs what he called, “Kentucky Fried Chicken” became a full time job for him.

The original Sanders family business is long gone, replaced by replicas and a museum. If you’re on 75 in the southern part of Kentucky, take exit 29 and visit. See a mock-up of the kitchen where the recipe was born. Have your picture taken with the statue of the Colonel. Read the historic plaque.

Then get back in your car and head to the south end of town and eat at The Root Beer Stand.

For decades The Root Beer Stand in Corbin has been serving up hot dogs, burgers, chuck wagons and the ubiquitous south eastern Kentucky chili bun. The later being a chili dog without the dog. They also make their own root beer. It wasn't as intense as what I'm used to. It did have a nice aftertaste that reminded me of molasses. You can purchase by the gallon to go.

The Root Beer Stand is a way of life in Corbin. So popular it doesn’t need a sign. People just know it’s the place. The non descript brown building that kinda looks like an Old A & W. It has plastic Pepsi menu boards all over the outside. It’s is a relic of a bygone era. Were it not for the gravel parking lot, waitresses on roller skates would not look out of place. Nor would Fonzie, Ritchie, Ralph and Potsy. A waitress comes to your car window and takes your order. She returns with a tray of food and hangs it on said window.

It’s also busy, really busy. Fortunately it’s a model of efficiency. We were there for a little over a half hour and there were probably 40 cars there.

Most importantly, it’s a seasonal operation. Don’t show up in the middle of winter or you’ll go wanting. They run from roughly the middle of March to the middle of October.

And now, the food.

I had the Dixie Burger, a chili bun and a root beer float. We split fries. Mrs. Sippi had a foot long Coney. Like she didn't get enough Coney action yesterday. She had a Pepsi float.

The Dixie burger was really good. A home made 1/4lb burger with home made sauce that was sorta like bbq, onions and pickles.

The chili bun was excellent and kinda neat. It's not quite a Sloppy Joe but it was similar and on a hot dog bun. It comes loaded with a finely ground beef chili that is rather thick. So much so that it maintained structural integrity during consumption. This too (Like American Coney Island) had no noticeable spice. It was pretty well balanced although it did have a slight garlic kick. I quite liked it.

Mrs. Sippi's Coney dog was similar to ACI but not as good. Close, but not quite. It too was a Vienna style weiner loaded with chili. The crinkle cut fries were good but mostly because of the nostalgia. I rarely see crinkle cut fries anymore.

The floats were great. I can't tell you the last time I had a root beer float so it was such a nice change. I can imagine it would be a real treat to hang out with a float on a nice warm summer night. Especially if you had a convertible.

You can find The Root Beer Stand at 129 18th Street in Corbin Kentucky.

 

Well that's all for now. Hope to see you again.

 

Davwud