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The Roadside Hamburger Hut In Northern California That Shouldn’t Be Passed Up image

The Roadside Hamburger Hut In Northern California That Shouldn’t Be Passed Up

S4 E15 · States of Discovery
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Welcome back, everyone, to Season 4, Episode 15 of Not Your Average Bucket List by OnlyInYourState. This week we are covering good old fashioned roadside attractions in the United States, with an emphasis on a popular hamburger hut in Northern California.

We take a look at our article titled “The Roadside Hamburger Hut In Northern California That Shouldn’t Be Passed Up” and fine that hidden gem roadside spots like this are still alive and thriving across the country. The beloved hamburger restaurant known as 88 Giant Burgers To Go is located in the charming small town of Pine Grove, a convenient pit stop for people traveling to and from Lake Tahoe. Wildly popular among travelers, these burgers are HUGE and inexpensive to boot.

In the podcast, we’ll discuss the history behind roadside attractions throughout the U.S. America's roadside attractions emerged from a mix of historical, cultural, and practical factors. The rise of automobiles and highways in the early 20th century made road trips popular, symbolizing freedom and adventure. Entrepreneurs and artists created unique attractions to draw travelers and boost local economies. These sites, ranging from quirky to monumental, reflect American creativity and regional pride. Strategically placed along major highways, they offered rest and entertainment, embodying America's innovative spirit and love for the open road.

Things we’ll cover in this episode:

  1. What makes 88 Giant Burgers To Go so special?
  2. What is the history behind America’s roadside attractions integrating into road trips?
  3. What are some of the best roadside attractions across the country?

Get In Touch!

If you have personal experiences with any of the attractions mentioned above, call or text 805-298-1420! We’d love to hear your thoughts on these places and maybe even share your clip on the show! You can also reach out to us via email at [email protected].

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Transcript

Introduction to Roadside Attractions

00:00:06
Speaker
This is not your average bucket list by Only In Your State, a podcast about exploring the hidden gems right in your own backyard.
00:00:17
Speaker
Hey, everyone. Welcome to season four, episode 15 of Not Your Average Bucket List by Only In Your State. I'm here with my co-host, Sarah. Hi, Sarah. Hey, Marissa. How are you? I'm doing well. How are you doing? Fantastic. Cannot wait to talk about roadside diners, roadside attractions. I'm all into this.
00:00:39
Speaker
Yes, this is definitely up your alley. I feel like we talk about this a lot, especially it's like kind of our bread and butter at only in your state is good old roadside Americana stuff. Yes. Uh huh.
00:00:53
Speaker
And so today we're going to be featuring one article in particular, but then kind of branching off to discuss roadside attractions as a whole across the United States. The article, let's just dive into it. It's titled, The Roadside Hamburger Hut in Northern California that shouldn't be passed up. Right there. What going on?

Exploring Northern California's Hidden Gems

00:01:17
Speaker
roadside, NorCal. Do people call it NorCal? Or is that just women in your state? I mean, I'm going to imagine that we're just really fine tuned into what they would say. So yeah, it's like the lingo in language that people don't actually say as a local, but everyone outside of them thinks they do.
00:01:38
Speaker
Like, so Cali. But no, I don't have you have you ever been to areas in Northern California? I really aside from like going to like national parks and things, I haven't. Have you? Yes, I have. It's it. My sister lives in Northern California.
00:01:55
Speaker
So I try to go as often as I can. And I love it. Because to me, obviously, I love Oregon so much. And then there's so much about Northern California that just kind of bleeds into Oregon and vice versa. I love Mendocino. That is one of my favorite coastal towns of all time. And Fort Bragg is there. I've been to
00:02:21
Speaker
I've been to a hot spring in, gosh, I don't even remember what it was called. It's in Northern California. It's in the forest. It's like a hot spring resort. Oh, oh my God. That sounds amazing. Or ORR, California, maybe.
00:02:37
Speaker
Okay. Um, but yeah, totally magical. And just, you know, me, I love trees and, uh, and all that fun stuff. Trees, waterfalls, hikes, nature. Oh, you know, me love trees. Yeah. That's oxygen.

Pine Grove's 88 Giant Burgers to Go

00:02:54
Speaker
Um but so okay this article is featuring the small town of Pine Grove which almost sounds like it should be straight from an episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer but Pine Grove is an actual place and people love it. It is uh you know this you go down highway 88 and then you're in Pine Grove specifically you will come across a place called 88 Giant Burgers to Go.
00:03:21
Speaker
not making that up. That is the name of this. That is quite literally. And have you ever been to 88 Giant Burgers to go? I haven't. All right. Well, next time you're in Northern California, I think you're going to have to. You need to get, you know, proof in the pudding. You have to get a, maybe not a giant burger, maybe a giant french fry, whatever you do. Cool. Love potatoes. I would definitely be in on that.
00:03:46
Speaker
The reason why we're featuring this article, beyond the fact that this article was extremely popular for only in your state, people love Pine Grove and they love 88 Giant Burgers to go. It's a hidden gem in the mountains.
00:04:03
Speaker
And so off the cuff, what are your thoughts about this roadside hamburger spot? When you first saw it, researched, what were your takeaways? The nostalgia that hit me just seeing the menu, I'm like, yes, because yes, this is very popular and people in the area love it. And if you're driving through Northern California, we had a lot of people comment like this is great stuff and they'd go back. But also this is very similar to spots you'll find across the United States. And I had one.
00:04:30
Speaker
called the Y point, I think it was like in the middle of nowhere, Ohio, like I can't even remember what the actual town was. And I lived there. But it had this exact same menu. And it was like shakes, burgers, french fries, all very simple, but some of the best greasy food you will ever have in your life.
00:04:48
Speaker
Yeah. So you had that growing up. You had like that iconic hamburger spot that was like your go-to that wasn't a chain for McDonald's. Absolutely. Yeah. And there's even one nearby called, we wrote about it on elanierstate.com called the Dalton Dariet and it's in Dalton, Ohio. And the same, it's a drive-in that's very reminiscent of, you know, this roadside America has a simple menu, but yeah, absolutely.
00:05:13
Speaker
Yeah, I kind of miss these, these spots. I know, you know, we write about them often on Only In Your State, but I feel like they're few and far between. Because everybody, I mean, yeah, growing up in New Jersey, we had, outside of the diner scene, there were places you can go, a little walk up counter where you can get hamburgers, like a little sack of hamburgers to go. And they were just like, that was it. Very, yeah.
00:05:39
Speaker
Yeah, it brings back a lot of great memories usually tied to also milkshakes or ice cream, you know, Sundays or something like that. But yeah, yeah, I think maybe that's why this article resonated with people so much is their own, you know, maybe they they've been to 88 giant burgers to go, but maybe they also have a place that they remember that they loved where they got their own burgers growing up.

Nostalgia of Roadside Diners

00:06:03
Speaker
Absolutely. And I think honestly, and maybe just because of where I am in the country, there's a lot of driving involved going anywhere. So I feel like I come across these places more and more often because really roadside diners and food carts evolved because of, you know, just to dive into like kind of the history of it. But Mr. Henry Ford, you know, the dude with the car in the 1920s, he basically brought
00:06:28
Speaker
the, you know, casual motor vehicle to the United States and the world, really. And that Model T changed everything that we did. And so Americans were this growing class of people who owned cars and were driving everywhere. And so they wanted to, you know, service these people, especially as they started to evolve the highway system and U.S. Route 40, the main street of America, kind of evolved itself. So all of these roadside diners, roadside attractions,
00:06:55
Speaker
where these is just part and parcel to the driving experience and the driving culture in America. So I think it's really funny that you're saying that even to this day, like maybe they're a few and far between, but I feel like in these driving states, AKA maybe what some people would call the flyover states where I live, but people need to drive to get where they want. And I feel like there are still a lot of these classic roadside stands selling very simple burgers, not a lot of,
00:07:24
Speaker
fancy stuff, but it's just still part of the culture of road trips and driving and taking these detours that are so iconic for the United States. I did think it was interesting that some of the first like big launches of these roadside stands, there's a couple that I think there's still an existence to this day, but it's like one of these things where I feel like you have to go if you are a big road tripper. So one is the
00:07:53
Speaker
Oh, let me see the thing. The Peggy Sue Diner. And have you been to that one? OK, so that one is it's a halfway point between Los Angeles and Las Vegas. So it was a very like people were making that trip and it's an iconic road trip, especially out west because it's like a three hour drive. It's not not something crazy. I mean, unless you're coming out of Vegas on a terrible day, which I've done and it's awful.
00:08:17
Speaker
But basically, you know, it's a historic gem where they, you know, dress in these like iconic like outfits, like the serving outfits, and it's all pink and bubblegum, and you're ordering milkshakes and malts. And it's just, you know, it evolved way back when, but it's still there to this day that you can go visit, which is so fascinating to me.
00:08:39
Speaker
Yeah, so during the 20s it's like really grew and then I think once the Great Depression hit and World War II, there's kind of like a shifting in the culture of where like maybe there weren't as much, there wasn't as much money, people weren't spending on this kind of stuff and also during the wars like the workforce was changing and then a lot of the
00:08:57
Speaker
women who stayed at home were working in factories but also diners and service industries to make money for the family. And then there was kind of a dip in roadside culture in the 50s after the war whenever, to your point in New Jersey, this diner culture really blew it out of the water with the plush vinyl seats and the neon lighting and all the trim, aluminum trim and stuff like that, which I love. Give me a good diner.
00:09:24
Speaker
whether it's like fancy and bright or just like dingy and like a waffle house fight club, you know, like, either way. I love it.
00:09:34
Speaker
Yeah, and then after that, I think after the 50s and 60s, now we're just building on this nostalgic Americana and road trip culture. So I think it's fun to look at the evolution and where it started and why it started and how there's still bits and pieces of that to this day. Long-winded way to say, I agree. It's probably because of nostalgia. People love this place so much.
00:09:57
Speaker
No, that was great. I think that to me, probably the history behind all this was most fascinating. Everything that you were just saying about, you know, the rise of the automobile and then, you know, car ownership was at an all time high. And then it's like all of a sudden you have access to the open road and the sense of adventure that you didn't have before. So
00:10:23
Speaker
Obviously, people saw it as this wonderful opportunity to attract travelers, boost the local economy. And they did that by not only creating great restaurants or hidden gem restaurants, but also these really unique eye-catching attractions.
00:10:42
Speaker
We know already that Americans have this penchant for very quirky things, snap a photo in front of the biggest ball of yarn or stuff like that.

Marketing with Quirky Attractions

00:10:51
Speaker
Yeah, but what's going to stop your road trip? What's going to convince your dad to pull over and actually feel up next to this giant pistachio? That's what I love about some of these roadside attractions is like, yeah, it's a marketing tool. They just want people to stop.
00:11:06
Speaker
And what are they gonna get people to stop? Is it that giant ball of wool? Is it this iconic diner? Or is it a giant pink elephant? I don't know. I would love to be in those meetings, though, with some of these businesses like, okay, guys, we need to get people to stop at our gas station. What's gonna convince them? Maybe a giant beagle? Yes. That is it. This is what we wanna do.
00:11:33
Speaker
Oh, that's a very good point because exactly what you're saying, I'm not sure I would be convinced to stop. I've passed certain roadside, weird roadside things before and I'm like, you know, like we've talked about south of the border. Yeah, right. And that is it's like, yes, there is a gas station technically, but there's this whole other world of what the hell is going on. Right. Yes.
00:12:00
Speaker
And I do feel like once you've been once, you've kind of been all the times. So especially there, south of the border, in my opinion. But it's kind of hard not to stop when you have 1,500 billboards coming up from Florida driving, seeing, and you're like, OK, man, it's almost like guilt inducing. You're like, oh, do I stop? Do I have to stop now? I would love to see data on that.
00:12:27
Speaker
Okay, we're going to give you not one, not two, but 50 billboards along this highway. What's the likelihood of people stopping? Kind of like the thing in Arizona. How many billboards have I seen about the thing, the thing at the gas station? Gotta see the thing. You have to discover what the thing is, and it's just like this piece of my brain that's rotting. Well, you have to at some point. You have to go see what the thing is.
00:12:51
Speaker
Yeah, the manipulation at its finest because, you know. Once you get over 25 billboards, your success rate skyrockets. Like, you're getting everyone to stop. The last one is like, you're a loser who's going to die alone if you don't see the thing in Arizona. Everyone's going to know you didn't do this. Your friends are going to hate you.
00:13:14
Speaker
So while we're on the topic of roadside attractions, do you have any that stand out to you as either ones you want to go see or you think are just fascinating, like anything pop up? Yes. So I came up with a couple, a couple that I've been to and some that I really want to go to. The mystery spot in Santa Cruz, California. Have you been? No, but I want to go. Santa Cruz, also one of my favorite places.
00:13:41
Speaker
But it opened in 1940 and it's one of those places where it's like a gravitational anomaly and an optical illusion at its finest because you're in this wooden cabin that's kind of like slanted and then objects are appearing to roll uphill and then people are kind of standing at these like impossible angles and you know balls can
00:14:08
Speaker
The tour guide will roll a ball on a plank. It'll go uphill. And it's just, it's like one of those weird surreal experiences that, uh, yeah, it was a lot of fun. I'm a sucker for optical illusions. I went to Camry Obscura and Edinburgh last fall, and it's just like an entire thing dedicated to illusions to where you can be in a room and like force perspective to where I look so much bigger than the person I'm standing with. And it's just, I love it. I'm a sucker for it. So yeah, any sort of like mystery spot gravity Hill.
00:14:39
Speaker
A plus, I would do that. Yeah, I agree. That was my first time doing anything like that. And it was a lot of fun. And then I didn't know this in Minnesota, there's a spam museum.
00:14:53
Speaker
Yeah, either. Yeah, try spam. Like, do they have it to try? So yes, there's a lot going on at the spam museum. Let me just like first and foremost, and it also was open in 2001. So this isn't like a very, you know, it's not like a night out of thing. But it really relocated to downtown Austin, Minnesota in 2016.
00:15:16
Speaker
And the coolest thing about this is that guests are greeted by their tour guides who are called Spambassadors.
00:15:25
Speaker
And they provide these guided tours and fun facts about spam. And you have, you explore the history of spam. You have, you know, the importance of its role during World War II. And it's just kind of like celebrating all things spam, which I just think like any, any museum that's dedicated to one. Yes. Like I really hope that there is somewhere in the museum, a running loop of Monty Python spam bit.
00:15:53
Speaker
Just in the background somewhere like, what is? Oh my God. I would, that's going on my bucket list. Not that I'm frequently in Minnesota, but I want to go to the spam museum. I'm going to try all of the spam because there's so many, I like, look, I've had like a spam, light spam, teriyaki spam. That's probably it. Like, yeah, I'm missing out. Yeah. I need a spam ambassador to tell me what's going to be interactive exhibits. So.
00:16:22
Speaker
Who knows what that means. We don't. But yeah, and and the final one actually is in Florida that I've never been to and I feel like I really should go but the Wiki Wachi Springs State Park with the Live Mermaid Show. Yeah. Yeah, so this was like a huge one in the 1940s and
00:16:46
Speaker
that it's like all centered around this, the Wiki Wachi spring, which is a first magnitude spring. And these mermaids perform underwater, which is really cool. And you kind of just, you get to watch the mermaid show and then, you know, you could swim kayak paddleboard in the spring. But yeah, it just seems like, you know, something that's been around since the 1940s. And I was looking at old photos of it and it just looks really neat.
00:17:13
Speaker
I follow a couple of mermaid show performers on social media for whatever reason. And I just find it fascinating because one, I'm not a good swimmer. I really can't swim. So that alone, but having your legs tied and like the big, um, like kind of like spandex thing. And then they're doing all of these tricks and looking beautiful and moving, but they're like holding their breath for an extended amount of time. So I feel like it's a, it's pretty impressive to me. Um, absolutely.
00:17:41
Speaker
It's like crazy training, too. Yes. Yeah. So it's not just like anybody can sign up and, you know. No. It reminds me of like how free divers are trained to hold their breath for a certain amount of time. So it's kind of like that, maybe not to that extent, but. Yeah. I could go for a solid 30 seconds. That's a bad. That even, I'm going to be generous.
00:18:04
Speaker
Did you have any favorites, ones you've been to, want to go to?

Personal Anecdotes and Phobias

00:18:08
Speaker
Yeah. So I did want to call out, I mean, I obviously talked about the thing already and you know, it's billboard clickbait and it got me and eventually in my life I will go there. Um, I did talk about Peggy Sue's diner, uh, in Ohio there's the field of corn and that's just like a concrete field of corn. There's nothing else really about it, but I still want to see it. Have not, but I have seen, do you, do you know the brand Longenberger?
00:18:34
Speaker
No. I don't know if this was a Midwest thing. It doesn't ring a bell. Really? Yeah. Okay. So similar to Tupperware, people would have a long a burger parties and it was like a basket company. They made baskets and then eventually branched out into home goods and cookware, stuff like that. But there was a giant basket, which were their home offices in Ohio, just along the highway. This is giant long a burger basket.
00:19:00
Speaker
they are now bankrupt and you know no longer exist but um the basket's still there i would i hope it becomes like an apartment building or they reuse it for something because i would love to live in the basket that would be great i gotta lift this up right now yeah um so it's just a giant basket building it's it is what it sounds like um holy smokes that is wow yeah interesting that is a legit basket
00:19:30
Speaker
Yeah, so imagine listeners, if you think about a woven basket with handles, like a picnic basket, that is it. It is giant and it's a building. Oh, cool. And weird. Very weird. I have, let's see, there's a couple of things that I wanted to ask you about if you've been to, actually. Have you been to Rock City on Lookout Mountain in Georgia? Yes.
00:19:59
Speaker
I thought that would be a great place. That looks so, that looks so cool. One. Yeah. Water, underground waterfall, right? It's like bordering Tennessee. It's like the Tennessee Georgia. They fight over it. Yeah. And you go up on the mountain. There's that like overlook and it's like, you can go under it. That's awesome. I want to go there. Yes. I was coming back from Bonnaroo and I stopped. Uh, and the underwater, the underground waterfall.
00:20:28
Speaker
was very cool because it's huge and you kind of hear it before you see it and you're like deep underground, but they light it up with all these beautiful lights. And you can see- Wait, is that Ruby Falls? Yeah. Oh, okay. I was thinking those were different. No, no, no. Yeah. Combined as like one thing. Because I know that Georgia and Tennessee fight over those like words. I mean, and understandably so, it looks very cool.
00:20:55
Speaker
Yeah, I know that we've written about Ruby falls on only in your state.com. And yeah, you see that lighting of like, I mean, I'm a sucker for like, ambient lighting and like purple and red lights. And that's what it looks like, like just a giant underground waterfall. So yes.
00:21:10
Speaker
It was very amazing. So I want to go there. I also was curious about some of these like classic diners across the United States. So maybe not so much the roadside attractions. I feel like there are so many roadside attractions, but
00:21:26
Speaker
I probably wouldn't plan a visit, I would just see it and be like, oh, here's the pink elephant antique mall in Nebraska that I want to stop at because it's so iconic and I need to. Or there's the House on the Rock in Wisconsin, which I think that's one of the ones that I would actually travel for. Except there is bits and pieces I think I would legitimately be afraid of.
00:21:47
Speaker
I would just need like a buddy to like help me help guide me through. I kid you not Marissa. I've been to zoos and stuff where we get to like an aquarium section and I'm clutching to my friend Autumn and I'm just like tell me when we're through it and I'm you know a 30 year old woman at the time. Just uh what what is it about? What what's going on? Let's unpack that here. Yeah okay let's let's put on our therapist cap for a second um no so basically
00:22:16
Speaker
I suspect it was from a very early visit to SeaWorld as a little child. In the picture from that day, I was like three. We went to, my family took me through an underwater, like the tunnel aquarium thing, and I freaked out the entire time. So ever since then, I cannot go into aquariums, I can't watch movies that are underwater.
00:22:36
Speaker
big dark open spaces also kind of freaked me out. So like going into a museum exhibit, I don't know if you've ever been to the Titanic exhibit in the Luxor in Las Vegas, had a heart attack, trying to go into that and had to cancel, I couldn't do it. Yeah, so it was just too much. And I think with the sensitization, I'm okay. But if you're just walking me through something, and I'm in House on the Rock,
00:22:59
Speaker
And I'm like, oh, this is a giant indoor carousel, which they do have and looks awesome. I think there's also a like sea monster section that might. Yeah. Yeah, you can output on the blinders and you can lead me through that one. You can have a fun time and then, you know, roll reverse and then you can hide for the other part. So.
00:23:23
Speaker
So I wonder, how would you do, because when I was just in Paris a couple weeks ago, I did the catacombs. How would you do there? One, that's awesome. I didn't realize, OK, we'll talk about this off the podcast, but that's amazing. I want to know more. I think I would be OK. It's not really like the confined spaces or caves that bother me. Yeah, no, it's an interesting thing. If it was a museum exhibit and it was big and dark and open, I might get a little bit
00:23:52
Speaker
I don't know, fidgety bug. Okay. Yeah. Okay. House on the Rock. Yeah. I've heard good things about that and I've never been, but. Yeah. I learned about it by reading, um, have you ever read American gods? Yes. Yeah. Whenever they talk about it there, I'm like, what is this place? What? And then I finally saw like our articles on it. I'm like, Oh, that is exactly how they described it. Okay. No, it's, it's definitely, uh, that that's, it seems like an experience for sure.
00:24:20
Speaker
Iconic American, I don't know. It's one of those things, too, with how we were mentioning this Americana stuff is just so ingrained in our history. But we also are a large country, and we're not crossing country borders whenever we're going on these road trips. So I feel like from around the world, when they look at the United States, it's like, yeah, these guys are going on road trips, and they're going to these mom and pop diners, and they're all on roller skates, eating hamburgers.

Cultural Significance of Iconic Diners

00:24:46
Speaker
You're not wrong. That is a big part of it. So back to the places I would want to visit. Curious, have you ever been to Big Pink in Miami, that diner? Yes. Is it tacos, hamburgers? This was just on a diner list. Big Pink. It's in Miami Beach.
00:25:14
Speaker
Yeah. Let me look, I mean, is it like tacos or is it just like typical diner fare? So yeah, it's typical diner. I don't know why I thought it was either tacos or burgers, like specifically. Um, but yeah, breakfast all day, Miami beach off Collins. It's probably why late night hours. That's probably why I'm struggling. My visit, but
00:25:38
Speaker
Yeah, so I want to go just like places like that. So that in Florida and then top Steiner in Harrison in New Jersey. Is that when you've been to tops? You heard of it. OK, I mean, there's so many diners in one New Jersey, but to like the United States. So I just made this little list. So also in Washington Tweets Cafe in North Bend, which I know we talked about this earlier, was the double our diner in Twin Peaks. So you can go get a slice of cherry pie and just kind of like relive your
00:26:08
Speaker
Twin Peaks fandom there. I've also seen people comment on the Blue Ben in Bennington, Vermont, classic diner. And I haven't really spent much time in Vermont, so I'd love to go back. And then the Purple Cow restaurant in Little Rock, Arkansas.
00:26:24
Speaker
It's just a purple restaurant. And it's adorable. So yeah, there's honestly, we could talk for two hours about iconic diners in just one state. So those are just a few that I want to stop at. Rock City and Ruby Falls, House on the Rock. Yeah, I think that's Yeah, I know we've definitely covered a lot of this on only in your state. Oh, my gosh. Yeah.
00:26:51
Speaker
Just because, especially when we're writing about road trips and stuff, it's important to find the things that you could potentially come across. Because nothing's worse, in my opinion, than coming back from a trip and finding a place in that area where you were. And you're like, oh my gosh, I missed this. How did I miss this spot? And sometimes you have to be open to the detour. You just have to live in the moment and be like, should I pull off at this weird place? Answer is yes. Why not? Yeah.
00:27:19
Speaker
Have you ever been to the Cabazon dinosaurs in California? Oh, in California? No, I haven't. That looks great. But you've watched it. You've seen the movie The Wizard with Fred Savage back in the 80s. Yep, yep, yep. So yeah, that was when I first was introduced to those dinosaurs. And I know they've been like, they're still around today. I think I just passed them coming back from Joshua Tree.
00:27:48
Speaker
No, I didn't. And see, that's my problem is because I need to start saying yes, instead of like telling, you know, convincing myself no.
00:28:01
Speaker
because I need to throw time and caution to the wind. Well, look, I also understand whenever you're trying to get somewhere, like I've driven across, I mean, not to the extent you have, but I've driven across the country. And sometimes when you're on hour six, you're like, I just need to stop. I don't care. I just want to sleep. I mean, that's a short day, you know? Yeah, that is true.
00:28:22
Speaker
Yeah. Did you mention the ones you were rattling off in terms of diners? Were those from our Facebook comments or those are just strictly ones you've compiled? Those are ones I compiled.

Audience Favorites and Recommendations

00:28:35
Speaker
I was using a couple of great reference websites, so I was fromersinexplore.com, but also Love Food had a great list, onlyinyourstate.com. I don't know if you've heard of it. We've also covered a lot of these, so I was just trolling through our
00:28:50
Speaker
own content to find some of these little spots. So that's cool. Um, yeah. So on our only in your state Facebook page, we, we, uh, put out a prompt on, uh, on our California to California pages. We have Southern California, Northern California, and then we have a USA page. So kind of just through this prompt out and we were asking people pulling our audience what their favorite roadside attractions were. Um, and I do have to say, you know, a lot of people were, were a talking about
00:29:20
Speaker
this burger spot. Yeah. 88 Giant Burger that people, one person Bill was like, this burger spot is the burger that I compare the rest to. Yeah. That's a big claim. Right.
00:29:33
Speaker
And then Sheila was throwing a curve ball saying go to Pine Grove Pizza instead. I saw that, yeah. Pizza and burgers in this small town. So that's a yes. Is Pine Grove like a hidden mecca for these roadside foods? You know what's funny is because I was looking and I was like, OK, what is it about this area that people are stopping? And it's for people traveling to and from Lake Tahoe.
00:30:02
Speaker
that this is a complete stop for them. Yeah. So it's kind of, you know, they they're leaving, they're going, they're like, oh, let me grab a burger or let me, you know, break up my drive. And how smart to have a really delicious burger place or pizza place. And also people are saying that, you know, 80 giant burgers, it's big portions, inexpensive food. Yeah. Which I, you know, that's like quintessential, you know, roadside stuff is you're not going to break the bank.
00:30:31
Speaker
I mean, look, if I'm going on a trip and we just need to swing by for some food and two or three people can share like a fry and then you're just on your way with some milkshakes, like perfect. Like that's, yeah.
00:30:43
Speaker
Yeah, it does sound. I will say there was also a couple other mentions. So I saw Bones Roadhouse, someone mentioned was also a great spot up the road. The Polkadot and Quincy, local heroes in Auburn. So just a lot of I mean, obviously, this is in the northern California area. So not across the US, but some great shout outs on on only in northern California are our posts there. So
00:31:09
Speaker
Yeah, there were a couple on the USA one Kathy said in Huntsville, Arkansas on Highway 23. It's a place called Granny's Restaurant. And she said that they had the best breakfast and chocolate gravy.
00:31:25
Speaker
Is that a Midwestern thing? Is that a Southern thing? I've never heard of that before. I've never heard of that in my life. I'm intrigued, scared. To just like hot fudge or just a different day. Or is there a savory aspect like mole sauce? You know, this has kind of like hints of chocolate, sort of. True. Interesting. I have to do a deep dive after this. I'm going to go do research today. So go out and get super research.
00:31:52
Speaker
Also, Lorinda said that Arbuckle mountain fried pies, life changing in Oklahoma. Okay. Yeah, fried pie. So yeah, that was pretty cool. But yeah, I do feel like you and I could probably talk about roadside stuff for, you know, 24 hour podcast marathon if we had to. Absolutely. But was there anything else you wanted to share or wrap this up with?
00:32:22
Speaker
No, I would say if you're listening to the podcast, say yes to the detour, go out and find a roadside stop, whether it is a strange thing you can take a picture of like along a burger basket or just one of those like little hamburger stops. Take a moment, appreciate it. It's pretty unique to our country and just got to appreciate that. Perfect. Couldn't have said it better myself.
00:32:52
Speaker
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