Astronaut cooks have made numerous attempts to wrangle hamburgers into space-ready meals, from dehydrated-pickle discs to vacuum-sealed burger bottles. Enjoy what our starry-eyed brethren never can with today’s Groupon: for $5, you get $10 worth of burgers, shakes, fries, and wholesome goodness at Arnold's Drive-In, a roadside diner featured in Biker Billy's Roadhouse Cookbook.
Start your meal engine by filling your flavor tanks with chili-cheddar fries, a basket of waffle fries drowned in the seas of chili goodness ($5.29). The menu is stocked with diner classics such as a 7-ounce, center-cut breaded pork tenderloin ($5.79) and the double-decker Big Arnold burger, a 12-ounce steakburger with two patties, a beefy attitude, and homemade chips ($5.79). A trip down memory lane wouldn't be complete without a huge, frosty malt ($3.79–$4.29), but take a look at Arnold's choices before making hasty decisions. There are 40 flavors (including hot fudge, cappuccino, chocolate truffle, birthday cake, and black cherry) from which to choose.
Arnold's keeps its nostalgia realistic, with black-and-white checkered floors, carhops in cute clothes, tons of memorabilia, and a simmering, baleful resentment of all things commie. Arnold's also holds car shows and hosts Cruise Night every first Wednesday of the summer months, filling the lots with old cars and fresh memories. Grab today's Groupon and flood your mind with French fries and your mouth with nostalgia.
Aunt Bee's Drive-In
Formerly known as Arnold's Drive-In, Aunt Bee's maintains nearly all of the same retro vibe and attitude of the former business that came before it. During spring and summer, servers on roller-skates slip past cars parked outside, creating a vibe that's steeped in nostalgia. And year round, chefs prepare each order individually, decking plates with classic steak burgers, breaded pork tenderloin, chili cheddar fries, and a battered and deep-fried version of Elvis’s favorite peanut butter and banana sandwich. The sizzling oil also seals creaminess into deep-fried cherry cheesecake, served a la mode. Blenders purr through 40 flavors of shakes, and couples hunch over turtle sundaes with caramel, fudge, and pecans, basking in the glow of neon lights. The colorful glow dances across a hot rod painted with flames and walls covered in souvenirs and black and white photos.