[Southsider2k12]

I drove past there this weekend, and to my utter shock, the place was open already! I am big fan of lunch, and this place is no exception.... Now granted, I prefer to go there when it is say 80 degrees instead of 20, but to each his own. The service is always good, and the food is always a bargain. Carlson's is a great summertime place.

[Ang]

Do they still bring the food to your car on a tray that hooks on your window? The hot dog places in Wyoming bring your food "to go" even if you're eating there. I miss the window trays and big glass mugs full of rootbeer.

[Southsider2k12]

They sure do. Its all a part of the ambiance I think

[Roger Kaputnik]

Something I especially like is that they serve sugar-free root beer, and it is tasty stuff!

[Tim]

Do they still bring the food to your car on a tray that hooks on your window? The hot dog places in Wyoming bring your food "to go" even if you're eating there. I miss the window trays and big glass mugs full of rootbeer.

I miss people not remembering they can't roll that window down - and the pointing and laughing that ensues when they do!

[Tim]

I am big fan of lunch, and this place is no exception....

I can't figure out what this means!

But, yes - Carlson's is the quintessential summer place. Do they still serve Baby Beers for kids? I remember my dad taking us there after trips to the beach - and him always pulling wet dollar bills out of his swim trunks. A great place!

[Roger Kaputnik]

Good catch, Tim--well pput, too.

Carlsons sounds good, maybe see you there!

[Tim]

Good catch, Tim--well pput, too.

Carlsons sounds good, maybe see you there!

Thanks, Roger! But - what does "pput" mean?

[Roger Kaputnik]

I love plosives so much I write them twice, sometimes.

[Tim]

I love plosives so much I write them twice, sometimes.

Ppoint taken, sir.

[Max Main]

I gave up beef for Lent, and I have waiting to have my favorite: chili dog, no onions. I must say that the cheese sauce if horrible. Diet root beer is very good; I am waiting for the diet cream soda.

the cheese cubes are good.

[Southsider2k12]

So hanging out last night at Carlson's on a beautiful evening for the drive in, I sat and talked to John Hermann, the owner, for quite a bit last night. He actually has a really nice website built for the place, and a couple of webcams, plus a really cool history of the place.

http://www.carlsonsdrive-in.com/

[Roger Kaputnik]

I went immediately to the site to find the webcam, but I could not see any link to a webcam, just photos.

[Southsider2k12]

Hmm, they must not be live. He pointed them out when I was there yesterday. It must just be for still pics. One is in the the tall tree on the corner, the other is underneath the westside awning.

[Roger Kaputnik]

A live webcam would be fun.

[Ang]

Especially for me who lives to far away. I would totally dig watching it

[Southsider2k12]

FYI, Carlson's closes for the season Saturday October 13th at 2pm!

[Roger Kaputnik]

I am gonna go for my usual two chili dogs and quart of sugarfree RB.

[Southsider2k12]

Of places to find a rave about a local Michigan City spot, how about the Chicago Sun Times?

http://www.suntimes.com/news/steinberg/563...stein19.article

Let's be neighborly

September 19, 2007
BY NEIL STEINBERG Sun-Times Columnist
Opening shot
A reader sent in a joke, as readers often do. This reader, I noticed, was from Whiting, Ind. I saw an opportunity.
"I'm writing an Indiana travelogue," I wrote to her. "What are the garden spots of Whiting?"

I soon had her answer.

"I went home and did some research and came up with nothing," she replied. "There aren't any garden spots in Whiting, Indiana."


We'd rather fly to Disney World
Indiana is much maligned, by residents and neighbors, in this space and everywhere else. But news earlier this week that Chicagoans on vacation shun the state, preferring to journey to distant deserts such as Arizona and Nevada rather than extend a tentative toe a few inches to the east, somehow compelled me to rise from my chair, firmly grasp my lapels, and speak a few words in defense of the Hoosier state.
Why travel? Why go places? To see wonders, of course. That's why the Victorians trekked to Egypt, to fortify their romantic souls with the sight of the pyramids at midnight.

Indiana has wonders, too. The foremost of course is Notre Dame football. A friend invited me to a game last year, and though college football is far down my list of leisure activities -- well below weeding -- I am not only glad that I went, but sincerely believe that everyone should, at least once in his or her life, go to the expense and bother of attending a Notre Dame football game.

To be part of that crowd, to observe the elaborate rituals, the ingathering of impassioned fans, the communal tailgate feast, the arrival of the band, the general pre-game hoo-ha and of course, last and least, the contest itself. I felt like I was participating in some vast, rare, highly evolved cultural moment -- an Aztec peasant jostling in a throng on the plaza at Tenochtitlan, chanting ancient words as a priest atop a terraced pyramid rips out a virgin's heart to the greater glory of Quetzalcoatl and holds it high for all to see.

Though I imagine the priests at Notre Dame might not appreciate the comparison.


Eastland was on her way there
Perhaps I felt duty bound to defend Indiana because I spent Saturday night in Michigan City, after appearing at its fine public library.
Not technically a vacation. But I brought the family along, and my wife, as is her habit, had a list of fun things to do when daddy wasn't inflicting his prose upon the locals.

We hit the outlet mall, and the zoo, with its lions, tigers and bears, not hidden in vast natural expanses, like our zoos, but up close and personal in small cages.

The highlight was lunch at Carlson's Drive-In on Coolspring Avenue, opened in 1955, complete with pretty carhops who latch trays to your car windows. Carlson's may not be a wonder on par with Notre Dame football, but it is a wonder nonetheless.

The place is famous for its root beer, made from scratch. Root beer can be sweet -- too sweet, for my tastes, and I ordered it reluctantly, the way a person finding himself in a town crowning its turnip king will surrender and order the famous turnip mash.

The root beer came in a frosty glass mug and was -- mirabile dictu -- not too sweet, but smooth and subtle and flavorful and a good compliment to the kraut dog and onion rings I ordered.

Two exceptional things happened at Carlson's. First, after lunch, I tried to order an additional mug of cream soda, to see if it stood up to the root beer. The carhop said that they offer free tastes, and hurried back with this dear little wee pony mug of cream soda -- it was so cute, and I don't normally like cute. But I liked this, holding it up for the family to admire. We all said, "Awwww . . . "

At that point the owner, John Hermann, drifted by, sweeping up crumbs in the parking lot. He asked how our lunch was, and I said it was fine, and we were very happy to have encountered the place.

"We're one of the best-kept secrets in Northwest Indiana," he said. There isn't much in Northwest Indiana that isn't a secret to Chicagoans, except for the decay of Gary, but of course I didn't say that. What I said was, "I bet you lose a lot of those glass mugs."

"We go through $7,000 worth of mugs a season," he said, blaming breakage and theft.

Then came the second exceptional thing. I liked the root beer so much I bought a half gallon to take home. When the jug was brought to the car, I was surprised to see it was cold -- drawn from the tap.

"Do I have to keep this chilled?" I asked, and he said I did.

"How far are you going?" he asked. I told him Chicago, but we were stopping by the auto museum in town.

He went inside, filled a 5-gallon bucket with ice, then nestled the jug within the ice.

One can serve root beer in a wax paper cup, and most are satisfied with that. The added sensual bonus of a cold glass mug is a subtle thing, but one that John Hermann feels is worth taking $7,000 off his bottom line every year. I drove away filled with admiration for that fealty to an ideal, to that refusal to lunge at the cheaper way that is only a little less good. I felt as if I had left a monastery or some such similar holy place.

There are other Indiana attractions -- Pokegon State Park, the Auburn-Cord-Duesenberg Museum. The Round-the-Clock restaurant in LaPorte.

OK, it isn't Las Vegas or DisneyWorld. But it's right there.

[Roger Kaputnik]

Wow!

"Mirabile dictu" is pretty good, but then he spoils it by writing "compliment" instead of "complement."


THIS is a review, and the writer at the HA should take a look at this.