Why does Chicago have so many "tough guys"...? (Lexington: store, to move)

[hank0604]

Originally Posted by CarolinaBredChicagoan

Assuming we're talking about the same one, that's down near Royal Blue, TN. Just south of Jellico.

jellico,tn - Google Maps

Also at that exit: A huge fireworks joint, a store that sells stuff only seen on TV, a giant rocket, and a rusty ferris wheel up on a mountainside.

No Waffle House, though.

Well now that's just a crying shame! Seriously, does anyone know of a Waffle House near Chicago? That's the one thing I miss about Texas and Louisiana, you couldn't exit and not be at an Awful Waffle.

[Avengerfire]

Originally Posted by hank0604

Well now that's just a crying shame! Seriously, does anyone know of a Waffle House near Chicago?...

Probably in NW Indiana.

[Irishtom29]

Originally Posted by hank0604

Well now that's just a crying shame! Seriously, does anyone know of a Waffle House near Chicago? That's the one thing I miss about Texas and Louisiana, you couldn't exit and not be at an Awful Waffle.

Closest Waffle House I know is on the south side of Indianapolis off I-65, south of the 465 circle. I hear tell there's one in Belleville, that's down by East St. Louis.

Waffle House was the best and most honest food in Lexington Ky.

[Lookout Kid]

Originally Posted by jdiddy

Yep, this is it. Which begs the question, with all of these powerhouses of southern culture surrounding this exit, why isn't there a Waffle House?

Is there at least a Shoney's or Cracker Barrel?

[Lookout Kid]

Originally Posted by Irishtom29

Closest Waffle House I know is on the south side of Indianapolis off I-65, south of the 465 circle.

I'm pretty sure this is the closest one. And they also speak with southern drawls there, which I never realized existed in Indiana until I went to this particular Waffle House. That drawl penetrates deep into Indiana, apparently.

[Shizzles]

I can't speak for Chi, but Philly people really do mean it when they look at you sideways.

Working customer service for a nationwide company, I can say upper midwesterners do have an attitude thou.

[CarolinaBredChicagoan]

Originally Posted by jdiddy

Yep, this is it. Which begs the question, with all of these powerhouses of southern culture surrounding this exit, why isn't there a Waffle House?

Because it's in the middle of BFE, that's why.

There isn't a restaurant at all, really. I had the pleasure of being stuck here for hours after a friend's car broke down on the side of the interstate. There isn't even a regular mechanic's shop. We had to convince the guy at the 24 hr diesel repair shop to help us out with some makeshift repairs to get us on our way.

[j33]

Originally Posted by Avengerfire

Probably in NW Indiana.

Being rather familiar with NW Indiana (which I jokingly call the 'new jersey of the midwest'), no, they don't have one either.

[j33]

Originally Posted by Lookout Kid

I'm pretty sure this is the closest one. And they also speak with southern drawls there, which I never realized existed in Indiana until I went to this particular Waffle House. That drawl penetrates deep into Indiana, apparently.

Once you get south of Indy, the drawl comes out hard.

[Irishtom29]

Originally Posted by j33

Once you get south of Indy, the drawl comes out hard.

Early settlement of Indiana and Illinois was mostly by Kentuckians and Tennesseans moving north across the Ohio. Thus the strong southern flavor of the southern parts of both states.

Southern settlement of Illinois generally stopped at the Shelbyville Moraine and the northern prarie part of the state was settled by New Englanders and New Yorkers after the Erie Canal opened. For various reasons southern settlers penetrated farther north into Indiana than they did in Illinois.