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Bob Evans ~ regional chain :


Hadn't thought about this chain in a long time. I've only been once - long ago with my Dad on our last road trip together. Hammond, Indiana. May 1989. It was outside the Super 8 where we stayed. It was the perfect Dad kind of experience - cheap motel with a diner next door. We did - in fact - have dinner there. Rude Dante obviously didn't witness us... In any case, the next 3 days we were in Chicago. I selected every place we ate. Otherwise we probably would have eaten at Denny's... in Chicago. That is what is known in Biblical terms as a... sin.

According to Wikipedia, there are 442 locations in 18 states.

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An homage to Bob Evans. This regional chain competes (effectively) with Cracker Barrel and Waffle House (Denny's and iHOP do not stand a chance here) across the Midwest. Based in central Ohio east of Columbus, the original farm was in hard SE Ohio - Rio Grande (DAMN CLOSE to West Virginia - in all ways), Bob produced better sausage than Jimmy Dean but did not extend his distribution as effectively in the retail space. It's damn hard to find Bob Evans sausage or restaurants west of the Mississippi.

Truly a breakfast joint, I'm not sure I have seen anyone eat dinner at a Bob Evans (although I once witnessed an individual who shall not be named as Troy Johns successfully negotiate refills on coleslaw at lunch). If you order bacon there, shame on you! The only real question is links or patties.

Upon finding heavy traffic earlier this week driving from Akron to Erlanger KY, the ONLY viable option was to stop at Bob's for breakfast (ed: in psychology, they refer to this situation as Rationalization). It's not cheap, not that special nor is it fancy, but it is always consistent and always good (so long as you stick to sausage, that is).

- Rude Dante review
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