local cafes

Home town café

/ Roadtirementvintage / 10 Comments

You always hear that the local, non-chain eateries are the best. The Chaperral Cafe in Shelbyville, Indiana proves that theory is correct! Located a couple of blocks from the downtown square, this landmark is known for its all day breakfast and “the best breaded tenderloin” around.

Local history in photos

A sincere personal welcome

Bigger than your head!

You barely see the bun peeking out

Cut in half, still too big for the bun!

I had a wonderful lunch Friday. I met one of my sons there, and as a bonus he had my 2 year old grandson with him. A special treat for this PaPaw! I had wanted to visit the Chaperral for quite sometime as their breaded tenderloin has become legendary. (Breaded tenderloins are a Hoosier favorite!) Well, this sandwich absolutely exceeded my expectations. The tenderloin was just the right thickness, the breading was not overpowering and the “crunch” was perfect! I cut mine in half, ate part in the bun, the other with knife and fork. Gonna have to go back and try biscuits and gravy sometime soon!

Colonial is good Bread

/ Roadtirementvintage / 5 Comments

Old advertisements have always been popular, it seems. Keep your eyes open and you never know when you’ll spot a piece of pure Americana.

The back of the oval sign says “Thank You”

We found a nice example of a vintage (pre 1958) functional advertisement in the form of a working wooden/screen door on the Whistle Stop Cafe in Osgood, Indiana.  The well worn metal cross piece proudly announces that “Colonial is good Bread”. Colonial Bread began in 1928 in Oklahoma City. The name was changed to Rainbo Bread in 1958 when the recipe was changed.

Complete Colonial Bread screen doors are bringing quite a lot on the online sites like ebay, Pinterest and Etsy. Just the signs without doors also command high prices.

 

Orange Box Cafe in Frostproof, Florida has RV parking

/ Roadtirementvintage / 7 Comments
L to R: Nicole, cook Robert, and Libby in front of the salad bar with the Antique store in background

L to R: Nicole, cook Robert, and Libby in front of the salad bar with the Antique store in background

During our travels this winter in Florida we have been blessed to know a couple of couples who we met last year in Ohio during festivals. We have been in contact with them at some of the flea markets we have attended. They told us about a small local cafe near our next event.

The Orange Box Cafe is a favorite of the local residents, and our friends have been here before. The cafe is not only a restaurant, but also a produce store and antique store as well. There is live music on Tuesdays, Fridays and Saturday nights.

All six of us had supper there last night. The salad bar is small, but has fresh ingredients including marvelous home made cole slaw. The soup of the day was potato and it was delicious.

Sher and our friends ready to enjoy supper

Sher and our friends ready to enjoy supper

Sher enjoyed the soup and salad bar and I had the same plus the evening special: meatloaf and mashed potatoes. The serving of meatloaf was huge and very tasty. The slice was about 2 inches thick and covered half of the plate, smothered in gravy. One of our party made a special request on the preparation of a Reuben sandwich. No problem with that, the cook will prepare about anything you want.

The service was excellent and we had fun talking with the waitresses. We enjoyed the meal and the company. In addition, this place has a large parking lot for truckers, and they also had six sites suitable for RV’s. So we stayed there overnight and were able to plug into the electric service at the picnic shelter for no charge. This is one of those interesting places you find when you are on the road.

Nice parking spot at the Orange Box Cafe. No charge but be courteous and patronize the cafe.

Nice parking spot at the Orange Box Cafe. No charge but be courteous and patronize the cafe.