Townsman, 1991-07, Page 8Memories
of the `50s
If you grew up in the fifties, Sky Ranch Drive-in
can take you back to your childhood.
Remember when "drive-in" everything was the
exciting trend of the future -from drive-in movies to
those quickly -built, summer -only, box -like drive-in
restaurants that often sold the other hit of the decade:
soft ice cream.
Situated just off Highway 21 north of Goderich
next to the Goderich Municipal Airport (it used to be
Sky Harbour in the days it was built), Sky Ranch
offers a varied menu. George Parsons of Goderich
nominated the Sky Ranch beef burger saying "The
main attribute is freshness: they use fresh ground
meat, the rolls are always fresh and (there's) no
sloppy sauce included."
The amazing thing about Sky Ranch on our visits
was the service. Twice we ordered hamburgers and
had them served in less than five minutes, a time
rivaling the fast-food chains. Once, we had to park
out of sight of the window and, since it was raining,
decided to sit in the car until the burger could
reasonably expect to be ready. We underestimated
the efficiency of the kitchen and the staff, who
couldn't signal us from the window, delivered to the
car with an apology.
The burger itself lived up to Mr. Parsons'
promise. It was appetizing to look at and had a
generous patty served on a large sesame seed bun,
quite fresh. The patty was quite large around and
normal thickness but quite juicy, cooked just the
right amount so there was just a hint of pink. Adding
to the flavour was a fresh slice of tomato, thinly -
sliced pickle, mustard, ketchup and relish (we asked
them to hold the onion). A regular hamburger (the
Beefburger) costs $1.75.
Sky Ranch proves that some of those things from
the '50's are worth keeping around. -KR
6 TOWNSMAN/JULY-AUGUST 1991
Hooter's
burgers keep 'em
coming back
The burgers at Hooter's in Hanover have kept
"burger gourmands" coming back for years.
"This is the way they tasted in the'60's", said
Jack Frechette of Hanover. "These people know
what people like. Hooterburgers are burgers they
way burgers were meant to be."
While this cozy eatery offers regular burgers,
the specialty of the house is the Hooterburger, a
juicy, burger made of two quarter -pound square
patties, cooked to your liking then topped with
Canadian back bacon and cheese. You can get all
the extras, including hot peppers for the daring, for
a visually tempting, mouthwatering burger.
Ready in about five minutes the Hooterburger
was very tasty, but would have been better served
on a larger bun. With the size of the patties and all
the accoutrements, a plain hamburger bun, quite
simply won't hold it. Mr. Frechette said, "It's worth
the short wait, before you race back to the privacy
of your own car to devour it." True, perhaps, but
you beuer come prepared with lots of serviettes to
clean up the mess.
Hooterburgers are fairly pricy, but not bad for
a burger with flair—$3.95. Other choices are a
single—$2.50, double—$3.35 or a triple—$4.
Having tried many of the 31 restaurants,
diners and fast food spots in Hanover, Wayne
Young says there is "only one that keeps me
coming back— Hooters." -BG
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