A happy Monday morning to you. As weekends go there could have been no better weekend for college football. They call it Rivalry weekend, where state rivals play each other. In Alabama, it is called the Iron Bowl and I am happy to say that bragging rights until the 2016 rematch belong to the University of Alabama – Roll Tide!!!!
I finally find myself back in Alabama after a 3-week road trip that ended with my final 2016 workshop in the great state of Ohio. It appears that while I was complaining and weathering the cold temperatures in the northeast, Alabama actually had a colder evening with temperatures dipping into the 20’s. I must say I did not enjoy the cold temperature while in Ohio and I am not really looking forward to the coming winter.
While in Ohio I came across an iconic figure I have not seen in quite sometime, the red and white checkered Big Boy. While growing up in Florida, the “Shoney’s” Big Boy was very prevalent and there was many a Sunday that my parents and I had lunch there after church. During my high schools years the Shoney’s Big Boy became the local hangout for the surfer community while Steak and Shake was a the local hangout for our arch rivals, the jocks. All we had to do was drive thru Steak and Shake with our cars and our surf racks to start a confrontation. Luckily for all involved it usually was mostly shouting and finger pointing. Shoney’s, along with the Big Boy, slowly disappeared from Florida landscape and it has been years since seeing one in person. My only connection of late was a friend of mine, Phil Sowder, who is an avid collector of the Big Boy character. You can imagine my surprise and exhilaration when I starting noticing Big Boy signs along the interstate in Kentucky. I finally had to pull off the interstate to see if it were true. Much to my pleasure it was the real deal. The Big Boy carrying the double decker proudly!
The original Bob’s Big Boy was started in 1936 in Glendale, Ca by Bob Wain. The restaurants were identified by the signature chubby boy in red and white checkered overalls holding up the signature double decker cheeseburger accentuated with their trademarked tartar sauce. The chain has changed hands over the years and is now manage by two chains. Big Boy International maintains over 99 restaurants in the US and over 279 in japan while the Frisch’s chain operates over 121 Big Boy’s.
The Double Decker was my go to hamburger as a child and I could not wait to find my way to enjoying one for lunch during my stay. Luckily for me I had a Frisch’s Big Boy right next to my hotel. It was exactly as I remembered it and I found myself going back their all-star buffet breakfast on the morning of my departure. I just could not get enough of trying to relive my childhood and hanging with the Big Boy – Selfies are us!!! From what I have gathered, I think a lot of us have a big boy story to tell. ENJOY!!!!
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Best Regards …..
~ dennis keim ~
