What's Your Favorite Roadfood Sign? (all across the USA)

Looking over a bunch of 35mm slides from Roadfood's early days, I realized just how compelling (and how much fun) restaurant signs are. Here is one of my favorites, from Lighting's Bar-B-Q, which I believe was in Arkansas. The pitmaster made some wickedly good sauce which we took away in a Jack Daniel's bottle (the only container he had on hand; and, I believe, one of the sauce's secret ingredients). The sauce, alas, was lost when our car was tail-ended by a gravel truck, splattering a whole trip's worth of great sauces across the highway.
 
If you have a favorite Roadfood sign, please post it here. We would love to see it.
 
BTW, I recently digitized several hundred vintage Roadfood slides and will be posting them in the forums (or with restaurant reviews, if the slides are still apropos). Next up: I will supplement the Arthur Bryant's review with a shot of legendary barbecue master Arthur Bryant at work in the kitchen of what he used to call his "Grease House."
 

 

Michael, I think you told the story about the guy filling up a not so clean Jack Daniel's bottle in Two For The Road.  I know it is one of my favorite moments in the book.  It is great to see the photo of where that took place and what a great sign they have.  The guy tackling that pig (it is a pig, isn't it?) is absolutely priceless!  Can we assume Lighting's BBQ is long gone?
 
So glad that you digitalized your photos and I can't wait to see them.  I have a couple of favorite sign candidates and will look for the photos.

porkbeaks-
Leonard's was one of the first ones I thought of.  And as good as it looks during the day, it looks even better at night!

A few personal favorites:

That last one is interesting. Must be a pretty classy place to have a couple condom dispensers next to the menu-board.

I bet that Coney Island sign looks great at night.

Psssst.


That's Tony's Living Room.

Cliff, I am assuming Lighting's indeed is long gone. That was about 30 years ago. Here's another sign from that era from a BBQ we found in Front Royal, Virginia. Earl's was in the original edition of Roadfood.
 

One of the all-time greats, for sure!

porkbeaks

This has to be one of my favorites

My visit to Bruce's Bar in Severance Colorado this past summer.

bill voss


Psssst.


That's Tony's Living Room.

No, we have a cigarette machine and charge for the knuckle sandwich

My favorite was a sign on an East Columbus place that is now a used tire shop. It read:
                GRACES TAVRN
             HOME COOK FOOD
 
And no, I did not leave out any punctuation marks or letters.

I'm very fond of this one, particularly because it was a childhood favorite of Lori's on her trips to Cook Forest. Unfortunately, the food isn't quite as splendid as the sign.

Maybe it's just me, but I have always been partial to this sign:

Two classics from out West.

The bucking bronco at The Mint Bar

and the spinning, futuristic design at Maddox Ranch House.

I suppose 3-D statues should be a whole other category, but my two favorite top-of-the-roof characters, Maurie and Flaurie, are Roadfood signs par excellence:
 

I love those dogs!

Here is another classy sign...and no Bill...this one isn't in my living room either...

WOW!
 
What a super thread this could be (or ALREADY is) for us old-timer road warriors.  I, for one, will copy and paste EVERY photo into a 'special album' on my computer (whether, or not, that is legal --- LOL).
 
During our travels, my wife and I have collected hundreds of photos of vintage eateries from coast to coast (and in Europe --- where there are some REAL doozies, especially of some of the pubs in Ireland and Scotland). 
 
I look forward to viewing and collecting copies of YOUR photos.
 
Thanks for the effort.
 

Seen on a diner menu in Arkansas years ago: Special today - Salad Bowel

In a Nashville BBQ Brew Pub in 2006 Poverty Pete pointed out this poster for a 'Charity Walk' to raise funds for training 'Sight dogs'. While a bit on the risque theme, It certainly attracted our attention while we ate !

buffetbuster


Two classics from out West.

The bucking bronco at The Mint Bar
 

This one reminds me of this place in Wyoming...
 

You know you are not in Kansas any more when you see this sign on a buckwheat farm at the northernmost end of Route 1 in Fort Kent, Maine:
 

The Mint Bar at night:
 

Here's a Milwaukee classic...

... and a classic in Toledo.

I LIKE THE WOODEN PAINTED PRETZELS ON THE ENDS OF SMITTIES PRETZEL LIGHTHOUSE AND THEY HAVE A BLUE NEON PRETZEL IN THE TOP OF THE LIGHTHOUSE ROADSIDE STAND- YOU CAN SEE IT GOOD AT NITE CAUSE ITS LITE ALL NITE. JUDYJACOBS

Attached Image(s)

How long have you been flacking for Smitties?

Everything is bigger in Texas!

 

All these signs are an absolute, hoot! Please, keep 'em coming!