… to put my belly in after eating at the new 5 & Diner restaurant associated with Route 66 Harley Davidson near the Broken Arrow Expressway and Memorial in Tulsa.
My wife and I both had the meatloaf sandwich, which is the house specialty and has to be seen to be believed. It’s a large meatloaf slice, probably a quarter-pound, placed on a piece of toast, topped with crumbled bacon, mushrooms and garlic, then coated with mashed potatoes and gravy, then topped with thin, battered coated onion straws and a sweetish brown drizzle. The darned thing is about six or seven inches high.
It came with a side of steamed broccoli, cauliflower and carrots. It’s a healthy counterpart to all the delightfully bad-for-you stuff on the rest of the plate.
The hamburgers on the menu looked enormous. For ice-cream buffs, I saw a Butterfinger shake, and the apple pie, cheesecakes and chocolate cake looked terrific. If I had any room in my stomach, I would have tried one of those desserts.
The diner, as expected, has a 1950s theme, with lots of shiny chrome and neon lighting. There is a jukebox in each booth, loaded up with rockabilly and old-school R&B. It’s one song for a quarter. The only regret is that the 5 & Diner isn’t on 66, but about a mile from the nearest alignment (I-44).
Some Route 66 fans are loathe to go to chain restaurants like the 5 & Diner. But McDonald’s started as a mom-and-pop restaurant on Route 66 in Los Angeles County, and the beloved Waylan’s Ku-Ku in Miami, Okla., is the only survivor of a chain that once boasted 200 restaurants in the Midwest.
I like chain restaurants that do food right, like Steak n’ Shake or Culver’s (famous for butterburgers). The 5 & Diner does it right.
Nice blog ! I enjoyed reading your blog.