Little Town and Country

I haven't tried the grub at the Little Town and Country restaurant in Bedford, KY yet, but I sure love soft-serve cones and neon signs.


The words "drive-in" puzzle me, though. It doesn't seem to be a "drive-in restaurant" in the sense of, say, Sonic, Wig Wam, Parkette, Dairy Dart or The Twin. There's a side window that might once have been for walk-up orders, but it doesn't appear to be in use now.

White Castle Wedding in Louisville

Almost a year ago, we reported on a White Castle wedding in Laurel County. Now that Castillo Blanco magic has struck the wedding bells again.

WLKY is reporting that a young couple named Tiffany and John Galli have tied the knot in a Louisville White Castle. But unlike the Laurel Countians, who did it out of genuine sentimentality for the place, these two did it because they won it as part of a contest from The Ben and Kelly Show on radio station WDJX.


The "Ben and Kelly's White Wedding" package includes a fully-catered (well, as fully as a White Castle can cater, anyway) wedding, $5,000 worth of jewelry, deluxe hotel accommodations and a trip to Los Angeles to see Black Eye Peas perform live.

The ceremony was officiated by Judge Joan Byer and, humorously enough, the Rev. John Slider.

Dairy Freeze

The term "Dairy Freeze" has become a generic name-brand these days, with most shops independently owned and many of them never having been part of the original Ohio franchise to begin with. The variations seem endless - some are still the classic roadside cone stand, while others have morphed into actual sit-down restaurants and even barbecue joints.

Above: East Main Dairy Freeze, Lebanon, KY. Below: Dairy Freeze, Georgetown, KY.



Below: Middleburg Dairy Freeze, Middleburg, KY. According to Lady of the Woods, the elephant statue in their yard was a frequent victim of "elephant tipping" from local teens, and so is now mounted to a concrete base.





Previously here, we've also reported on two now-defunct Kentucky Dairy Freezes: Red River Dairy Freeze in Clay City, and the Cree-Mee Drive-in Dairy Freeze in Stanford.

Dovie's Restaurant

In February 2003, I received an email from one Rebecca Troyer, urging me to do a post about Dovie's Restaurant in Tompkinsville. As I am livin' on Creeps time, it's taken me until now to get around to it. But here 'tis!

I haven't actually been down to Tompkinsville in a few years, but I hear-tell lots of good things about Dovie's, and next time I find myself in Monroe County, I plan on making a point of getting a Dovieburger, squozed.

Squozed? Squozed. At Dovie's, they offer their burgers squozed or unsquozed, meaning they will or will not squeeze all the hot grease out with the spatula before serving. The Dovie burger, you see, is deep fried. Immersed completely in hot oil. They also offer deep-fried hot dogs, ham and cheese, ham and egg, or bologna and egg sandwiches. It ain't fer vegans. Still, they're using soybean oil, which is better for you, I suppose, than recycled bacon skillet scrapings. I suppose.


KET's Kentucky Life did a segment about them, which you can watch online here.

(Bonus Tompkinsville trivia: 70s/80s NFL football star Elois Grooms was born and raised here. Whatever happened to ol' Elois?)

Ice Cream Corner

In keeping with our fetish for our fair state's rapidly vanishing mom-n-pop ice cream stores, here's one from our Whitewashed Windows and Vacant Stores blog.

The Ice Cream Corner sits dead at 2100 W. Broadway in Russell, KY (on the outskirts of Louisville).

It's been dead as far back as whenever the Google Maps Street View images were taken.

White Castle Wedding in Laurel County

As Billy Idol sorta-almost said, "It's a nice day for a White Castle Wedding".

On Saturday, March 21, a couple who met and fell in love at the White Castle in London, KY, tied the knot in that same restaurant.

According to the Corbin Times-Tribune, "The White Castle closed its dining room Saturday morning and employees transformed the fast-food booths into a candle-lit reception area. Sun streamed in through the restaurant’s windows as the drive-thru window was briefly shutdown so that the smiling bride could make her way down the aisle and exchange vows with the man she loves".

Their cake was shaped like a giant White Castle burger, realistic down to details like onions made of frosting. White Castle burgers, fries and chicken rings were also served at the wedding reception.

Bride and groom were seen bolting hurriedly for the restrooms about 30 minutes later. (Okay, I made that part up.)

Kaelin's Restaurant

Kaelin's Restaurant, located at the corner of Newburg Road and Speed Avenue in the Highlands of Louisville, has claimed for decades to be "the birthplace of the cheeseburger".

Whether that's actually true or not remains unconfirmed. The title has been claimed by The Rite Spot in Pasadena, CA (1926) and The Humpty Dumpty Barrel Drive-In in Denver, CO (1935). Kaelin's claims to have invented the cheeseburger in 1934. Since the other two locations no longer exist, Kaelin's has at least a claim of being the last surviving of the cheeseburger originators.

That is, until yesterday. The Courier-Journal reported that Kaelin's has closed its doors. Permanently? Well, no, one of the owners, Tim Clark, claims it's just for remodeling, but at the same time they're talking an awful lot about how sales were down and how the economy is bad and how the restaurant faced "real estate and operational hurdles", whatever that means.

A note on the door when I went there today emphatically stated the closure was only temporary for remodeling.


Most tellingly, their phone has been disconnected. I don't think they'd do that if this was just a temporary remodeling. Another part owner, Kevin Wagner, said he was unclear what will happen to the property, or whether the birthplace of the cheeseburger will reopen.

Spinelli's Pizza

Are there any restaurants in Louisville even more visually interesting than the delightfully garish Lynn's Paradise Cafe? Yes, there is: the terminally hip Spinelli's Pizza, located at 614 Baxter Avenue.




One wall is completely wallpapered in comic book covers. The bathroom is a masterpiece of graffiti. The floor is an exquisite mosaic of various tiles and ceramic fragments. There's a mechanical fortune teller, and a cadillac with a dining booth inside it. All this in a building that looks like something out of the Simpsons come to life. And then there's that stylin' Iron Maiden delivery van.




Oh yeah, and if it matters, the pizza is the best in town. Seriously. If you like New York style/Philly style, there's no reason to eat anyone else's filthy pizza. (Well, except Arni's, but that's over the falls in Indiana.)

Joe's One-Antlered Moose

I have yet to actually eat at Joe's "Older Than Dirt" Diner in Lyndon, KY, but I often drive by it and marvel at its decorative moose in the yard with only half a rack.


Bonus: in addition to Thidwick the lopsided moose, Joe's diner also comes with two pigs in the yard. The astute UnK reader will note that they are identical to the pig that stands sentry out in front of Ole Hickory Pit Barbecue House.

Somewhere there must be some kinda "Roadhouse Restaurant Supply" store where people are getting these pigs. Or, perhaps more likely, as BBQ joints come and go, the same concrete critters get traded around, auctioned off, lent out, etc.... just like the Pigs of Vernon Lanes.

Nicosia's Roadside Weirdness

Those of you who've followed Nicosia's posts here may or may not be aware that she has a terrific blog of her own called Roadside Weirdness. Although primarily Kentucky-related material, she also ventures to other states and takes photos wherever her camera leads her - including such interesting places as the Mothman Museum in West Virginia. She's also an aficionado of cool and crazy eateries, such as the defunct Kuntry Kitchen in Jeffersontown, KY and the still-thriving Hillbilly Hot Dogs in Lesage, WV.

Dairy Dart

Continuing our ongoing obsession with the state of Kentucky's rapidly vanishing old retro diners, hamburger stands, and ice cream stands, the Dairy Dart in London has always been a favorite. While all their wares are worthy, it's their banana malt shake that gets me to make a special trip all the way out there.

Not sure what the Dairy Dart's history is. Any local old-timers out there have memories of it from way back in the day?


The Dairy Dart is located at 1255 S Main St, London, KY.

Lynn's Paradise Cafe

Sort of like a Cracker Barrel for Louisville hipsters, Lynn's Paradise Cafe combines a freaky gift shop with a wackily festooned restaurant that looks like it was decorated by the same folks who did Pee-wee's Playhouse.

The gloriously tacky Lynn's style may be off-putting for some who cannot abide kitsch, but me, I love the place. Check 'em out next time you're in the 'ville - they're at 984 Barret Avenue in the Highlands.


For more pics and info about Lynn's, consult your copy of Weird Kentucky.

Stop And Go Diner

Originally we reported on the old Cain's Diner, which stood on Water Street in Richmond for decades before morphing into The Silver Diner.

Now, the place has changed hands again, and is called Stop And Go Diner. From a recent article in the Lexington Herald-Leader:

Stop and Go owners Russell Cantrell, 50, and Robert Miller, 56, have been cooking longer than the two have been friends.

Cantrell and Miller were a few years apart when they both attended Madison High School, but became friends when they were in the band SPAN (Soul Pleasing All Night), from 1976-1978. Miller played the drums and Cantrell was the sound technician for the group that was formerly known as the Techniques.

It was during Miller's sophomore year in high school that he had one of his first experiences with the restaurant he would later co-own. Miller descended the hill from his school down to the restaurant on Water Street, then known as Cain's Diner.

According to Miller, the owner, James Cain, still kept a sign on the wall that seemed to yell at blacks: "We have the right to refuse patrons." Miller walked in and sat down at the counter. He says Cain called Miller and his friends the N-word and promptly told him to leave.

Miller's mother, Mary B. Turner, 83, remembers how disappointed her son was that day. "I guess he was kind of shocked and surprised that he couldn't come and eat here," she said.

Stories like Miller's left a sour impression for many blacks in Richmond for many years.

I haven't sampled the food at Stop And Go yet, but from all reports, it's fantastic. Not just good, but great, and blows all previous incarnations of the diner out of the water. I'll be dropping in to Stop And Go soon and will give a full report.

Rose's Restaurant

One of the best places to eat in Slade, KY is Rose's Restaurant, which is located at 1289 Natural Bridge Road. As a wilderness roadhouse, the grub is great, but what we find unusual here is that the ceiling is covered in dollar bills, each of them autographed and inscribed from various customers. Why? We didn't ask.

Haunted (Waffle) House

I'm tellin' ya, Kentucky is one spooky place, all across the board, and I maintain that we are all, at any given moment, swimming in a sea of unseen ghosts and otherworldly critters and we just don't know it.

Case in point: just an hour ago, I was having lunch at the Waffle House in Jeffersontown, KY (1620 Kentucky Mills Drive) and the jukebox was silent for most of the meal. Then, one song came on by itself without anyone having put any quarters in it. Then it went back to silence. I thought it rather odd, since every other jukebox I've seen that has an automatic-play feature runs continuously, not just playing one random song and then stopping.

I mentioned it to the waitress, who informed me in no uncertain terms that the Waffle House is haunted and that strange things like that happen so regularly that they're all used to it. Another waitress standing nearby nodded in affirmation, and mentioned that towels have flown by themselves, and so have these plastic containers they use in the kitchen.

The first waitress speculated that the spirits may have followed her to work from her own home, because she once lived in a very haunted house in Louisville with the exact same kind of poltergeist activity. She told of large art-glass bottles falling by themselves from atop a fishtank, not breaking when hitting the floor, and spinning to point all in one direction. She also told of rumors that a child was killed in her home, and that she discovered a creepy room in her basement, where someone had once lived, but was boarded up and hidden behind paneling. She's since moved from this house, but reports the ghostly phenomena still follows her, both to her new home and to her job at Waffle House.

She seemed extremely sincere and somewhat frazzled about having to endure the haunted weirdness. There was no sense of spinning a grand yarn to shock or impress; she was very blase and matter-of-fact about the ghosts in her life, which seem to have taken root in her workplace as well.

Needless to say, I will be making repeat visits to this Waffle House and having further chats with said waitress.

Sanders Cafe

Corbin, KY is home to Sanders Cafe, which was the first Kentucky Fried Chicken establishment, opened by Colonel Harlan Sanders in 1940. It originally functioned as the built-in restaurant for Sanders' motel, which sadly no longer exists, but don't panic: the museum has a meticulously detailed scale model diarama of the entire block as it appeared back in the day.

The museum (which is registered as an official historic site) is filled with all manner of figurines and busts of Sanders and all variety of bric-a-brac with the Colonel's likeness, no matter how trivial and peripheral (even the original paraphenalia issued to advertise the museum's opening in 1990 is enshrined as if antique).


The look and feel of Sanders' original restaurant is maintained for the most part, but the effect is somewhat killed by having a completely modern and glitzy KFC serving counter in the midst of it all.