I teach appraising in Pryor, Ok. Actually the proper name is Pryor Creek. It was named after a Mr Pryor who was on the Lewis and Clark Expedition. He is buried in the area, although not where the monument is.
Pryor Creek is 80 miles from the house. My truck gets 16 mpg. A 160 mile Round trip, in addition to the time, is 10 gallons, which is almost $40.
So, generally I chose to sleep over in a motel when I have a two, three, or four day class. This week I had a four day class.
This week we had Rocklahoma. Wednesday thru Sunday, 120+ rock bands, in Pryor. Motels that I usually paid $30 a night for were now $125 a night. So I stayed in Vinita. 3 nights, $75. Not too bad.
Turns out there is a cafe that has been there for decades.
Clanton's Cafe home of famous Chicken Fried Steak in Vinita, Oklahoma
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Clanton's has been featured in Gourmet Magazine for its outstanding Chicken Fried Steak. Columnist Michael Stern was traveling through Vinita in search of the best Chicken Fried Steak on Route 66. He had tried many steaks of various qualities and was impressed with the delicious Chicken Fry served at Clanton's.
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Chicken & Dressing..........................................$5.00
Chicken Fried Steak.........................................$6.00
Coconut Pie.................................................. ...$2.00
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"Clanton's has been the town cafe for nearly 80 years. Vinita was named for Vinnie Ream, who in 1866 became the first woman and youngest artist ever to receive a commission from the U.S. Government for a statue. She was 18 years old when Congress selected her to create the lifesize marble statue of Abraham Lincoln that stands in the U.S. Capitol rotunda."
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Clanton's doesn't look like a Route 66 landmark because it was gutted by fire in 1999 and totally rebuilt, but it was one of the first restaurants to open along the Oklahoma stretch of "America's Main Street."
When Sweet Tater Clanton opened his restaurant in 1927, most of the new road was not yet paved, and it said that to attract customers Mr. Clanton used to walk out the front door and bang a pot and pan together when he spied someone about to drive past. Today Sweet Tater's great granddaughter Melissa and her husband Dennis Patrick run the place as a town cafe where locals gather and sightseers along the old Mother Road are welcome.
Lunch specials include ham & beans on Wednesday and catfish every Friday, and the every day menu lists pot roast, calf fries and grilled pork chops as "customer favorites." We were wowed by the chicken fried steak.
Clanton's chicken fried steak starts with what the Patricks call an "extra tenderized" cube steak they get from Tulsa. The beef patty is dipped in a mixture of egg and buttermilk, then dredged once in seasoned flour. "If you double-dip," Patrick says, referring to a common practice of repeating this process a second time, "you will get a steak that looks bigger. But it takes you farther away from the flavor of the beef." The steak is cooked on a flat griddle in vegetable oil until the blood starts rising up through the flour, then flipped and finished. The edge of a fork effortlessly will sever it into a bite-size triangle with beefy, crisp-crusted luxury that is ineffably amplified when it's pushed through mashed potatoes and peppery cream gravy.
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I should also mention their french fries are from fresh potaoes.....complete with skins.
Also, their calf fries are fantastic. Either as a appetizer or as a meal in themselves, they will make you a calf fry affectionado.
I think, from now on. Instead of paying $120 for three nights sleep, I will spend less, eat better, and drive an extra 20 minutes..........
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We had a great time while our guests were here. They were very entertaining and really enjoyed the food here at Clanton's. Guy was very nice and made people feel right at home. He interviewed our locals and got their take on the fine foods Clanton's has been serving up to the public for years.
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07-12-2008, 10:16 PM
The last few days......
That was OK when I was 20, but not now. 
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