Take a Bite Out of Some Vintage Eats for the Summer


Whether you’re craving a double bacon cheeseburger served carside, a classic Hoosier State tenderloin or a towering ice cream cone nearly a foot tall, this pocket of southern Indiana delivers the tastes (and the atmosphere) that’ll take you back. Vintage eats never go out of style.

If you’re planning a visit to French Lick Resort this summer, build in some time to stop at some of these vintage eateries that are well worth the short drive from the resort. These are the sort of places you can still put a coin in the jukebox. Or walk up to the window and order an ice cream cone. We’ve got more vintage experiences to tell you about in a blog later this week — but we’re hungry, so we’ll start our vintage series with some throwback eats.

Bo-Mac’s Drive In

Where to find it: Shoals, Indiana (a 25-minute drive from French Lick Resort), which is the sort of tiny town where it feels like time stood still. It’s the county seat, but you won’t find a McDonald’s or Subway or any fast food here. Frankly they’re not really needed, since Bo-Mac’s is the major institution here.

Established by an attorney and doctor by the name of Bob and Mac, Bo-Mac’s still maintains the type of old-school, drive-in vibe as it did when it opened in 1957. Current owner Cecil Ragsdale grew up in the place when his parents and grandparents owned it, and he remembers the days when customers would be there until 3:00 or 4:00 in the morning.

These days, they’re open until 9:00 on weekdays and 10:00 on weekends, and they’re closed on Mondays and Tuesdays to prepare for the rush that arrives later in the week. In a busy 5-day week during the summer, it’s not uncommon for Bo-Mac’s to move 450 gallons of ice cream. It’s all delivered right to your seat outside or your car window.

“The cars are 3-4 deep, basically where you can’t get anybody else on the lot. It’s that busy. It’s unbelievable,” Cecil says. “People, they come from everywhere. Bedford, Springs Valley, Washington, Jasper, Bloomington.”

On the menu: With so many choices — you’ll be left wondering how a such an enormous menu comes from a place this size — making recommendations is tough. Footlong coney dogs, monster tenderloins, broasted chicken, pizza, mini tacos, and salads with made-from-scratch dressings are just the start. You can get a bubble gum slushie, brownie bite Flurry (their take on Blizzards) and every type of shake, malt or sundae under the sun.

But if you only go to Bo-Mac’s once, the Rox Burger and onion rings are your go-to. They do onion rings right — hand cut and battered, pillowy and crispy without feeling overly heavy or fried. The Rox Burger takes its name from the Jug Rox, the local high school mascot that’s a nod to the Jug Rock which is a unique natural formation just outside of town (though all you really need to know is it’s a double bacon cheeseburger topped with bacon and onion rings).

Stop on the way: Swing by Bo-Mac’s if you’re making a visit to Gasthof Amish Village, West Boggs Park, or stop by for the town’s Catfish Festival over Fourth of July weekend if you want to see Bo-Mac’s really hopping.



Birdseye Dairy Barn

Where to find it: It’s a little off the beaten path, but the population of Birdseye, Indiana (24 minutes from French Lick Resort) seems to double on warm summer nights outside the Dairy Barn.

You’ve heard of footlong subs and footlong coney dogs, and (almost) foot-high ice cream is a novelty that draws folks to the Dairy Barn from as far away as Evansville and Louisville. If you order a large cone, just be aware of what you’re in for.


“It’s 12 swirls above the cone,” says Betty Giddens, the Dairy Barn owner going on 16 years. In other words, it’s 10-11 inches tall. Ask for a cup to catch it on those really sultry summer evenings. “Everything you get here is big.”

The medium (8 swirls) is still enormous, the small (5 swirls) can still be ambitious, and even the baby size (2 swirls) will satisfy your ice cream fix. Named “Best of Indiana” ice cream twice in nine years, the Dairy Barn serves Prairie Farms’ custom recipe, as “they fix our mix special for the Dairy Barn, and it’s always been like that,” Betty says.

Betty is known around here simply as Grandma — “some of my employees probably don’t even know my real name,” she jokes — and that’s just part of how the the small-town, old-school vibe permeates here. Another reason: they don’t take credits cards (only cash or check). Running credit cards would back things up, Betty explained, and the lines already extend back into the gravel parking lot most nights.

“We try to keep it as old-fashioned as possible.”


On the menu: Aside from their famous vanilla, chocolate and swirl soft serve, there’s flavor burst ice cream (everything from cotton candy to green apple) plus shakes, malts, sundaes, dipped cones, floats and slushies. Or go big with a “Garbage Can,” which is like a banana split in a cup.

They’ve got a savory side to go with their sweet tooth, with loaded pizza, burgers, hot dogs and Stromboli. As you’d expect from any good Indiana breaded tenderloin — especially one from the Dairy Barn — the tenderloin practically fits the size of the plate.

Stop on the way: After exploring Holiday World & Splashin’ Safari, the Dairy Barn is the ideal way to end a long day. It’s also in the neighborhood of Lincoln State Park and Dubois County Bombers baseball games at Huntingburg’s League Stadium.


Shakeburger

Where to find it: Right off State Road 56 on the edge of Paoli (a 10-mile drive from French Lick Resort), the ’50s-ish signs at Shakeburger are lighting up again. And that brings a smile to the faces of locals who nearly lost this little gem.


Shakeburger had been closed for five years, but the walk-up window finally reopened last winter. Opened in 1957 on an old car lot, Shakeburger was in Rachel Minton’s family for more than 40 years. She and her husband tried to sell it, but every potential buyer was just going to tear it down.

“My husband and I met here,” Rachel explains. “I worked here and we met here. We just couldn’t hardly bear to see it torn down, so we fixed it back up.”

From when Rachel started working here in the early 1980s, “the atmosphere was probably about the same as it is today – just laid-back, everybody knows everybody that comes in. We made shakes and ice cream and breaded tenderloins and chicken, and it was a boomin’ place.”

To give you an idea of how boomin’: The first day they reopened was November 29 — not really peak drive-in season — and they still served 800 people that day.


On the menu: Go for the hand-pressed breaded tenderloin, homemade onion rings and top it off with a peanut butter shake. Can’t go wrong with a broasted chicken dinner, too.

Hand-dipped ice cream is new to the menu, and if you’re feeling like something a little different, they serve a grilled peanut butter sandwich now. And if you’re in the mood for something really different, try a favorite of the locals — broasted potatoes with Shakeburger’s homemade tartar sauce. (Sounds odd, tastes surprisingly good.)

Homemade broasted chicken and hand-cut broasted potatoes are two Shakeburger specialties.

The pineapple Dole Whips are a perfect way to cool off in the summer without feeling like you’ve busted your diet. Whatever you order, just sit back and soak in the vibe.

“There’s just very few little vintage 1950s restaurants still around,” Rachel says. “We like to pump our ’50s music outside for everybody to enjoy – sit outside in the sunshine and eat your ice cream. Customers just kind of like walking in and walking up to the window and ordering. It’s a little different than running through the drive-thru, and I think more personal.”


Stop on the way: Pay a visit to Shakeburger on the way to Spring Mill State Park. Or, reward yourself after a hike at Pioneer Mothers Memorial Forest or completing the Rugged Maniac obstacle race on August 31 at Paoli Peaks.