Dr. Paul Reagan attempted to meet the Big Daddy challenge at Al’s Route 66 Cafe in Sapulpa, Okla, according to the Sapulpa Daily Herald.

The Big Daddy is a 66-ounce hamburger, three pounds of fries and a 32-ounce milkshake. To get the $35 meal for free, you have to consume it all in 66 minutes. Al’s Route 66 Cafe took a page from the Big Texan Steak Ranch’s 72-ounce steak challenge in Amarillo.

Reagan was the first person to attempt the Big Daddy since the restaurant opened in April.

Reagan failed in his quest. If you click on this picture of Reagan digging into his Big Daddy meal here, you’ll get an idea why. It takes up half the table.

Livejournal is sort of like MySpace: There are lots of people and lots of traffic, but you have to sift through bushels and bushels of chaff to find a few nuggets of wheat.

I found a tasty morsel today in shadowplay2’s impressions of Route 66 in Illinois. He stopped at the Ariston Cafe in Litchfield for a meal. Urged by the Ariston’s owners, he then drove to downtown Chenoa, stopped at a coffee shop there and chatted with the proprieter:

When I mentioned to the proprietor that I think Chenoa is a cute town (if not a very busy one), she was gracious but seemed a little surprised, as if she doesn’t hear that very often. Various questions followed, I ended up explaining the whole concept of New Urbanism (some fairly sophisticated places are spending a great deal of money to recreate walkable main street core districts) and eventually I had received the pocket history of the town, or at least the past 15 years worth. Apparently a lot of the main street businesses closed after a Wal-Mart opened nearby… a fairly typical small town story. A few hung on until just recently. The coffee house is relatively new, and so far caters mostly to locals. It’s a shame more people don’t know about this place, it’s actually a fascinating few blocks, well worth a half-hour detour off the interstate maybe a mile away. The few natives I met were quite friendly, and I’m assured that the food is good too. Can’t help but wonder what a handful of bright, creative, and dedicated artists could do in a town like this… assuming anyone knew they were there?

Buddy Boren, a cancer survivor who was pedaling a bicycle down Route 66 to raise money for the Lance Armstrong Foundation, halted his trek in late July because of a sore knee.

But Boren got a couple weeks’ rest, consulted with his doctor and decided to resume his Tour de Route 66 where he left off — in the Texas Panhandle.

Today, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports that Boren not only has reached eastern Arizona, but he helped an Italian tourist couple change a flat tire by the side of the road.

Charles Storch of the Chicago Tribune caves in to his cravings for a corn dog and ends up writing an exemplary article about the Cozy Dog Drive-In on Route 66 in Springfield, Ill.

Not only does he touch on the Birthplace of the Corn Dog’s past, present and likely future, but he also talks to Route 66 artist Bob Waldmire, one of the sons of the restaurant’s founder.

The Steak ‘n Shake at St. Louis Street and National Avenue in Springfield, Mo., may soon be listed on the National Register of Historic Places, reports the Springfield News-Leader.

This particular franchise was built in 1962, and its owner, Gary Leonard, has made it a point to keep the retro-looking restaurant looking spiffy. The article says it’s one of two surviving restaurants with the standard design from the 1950s and ’60s. The rest of them have either been altered or razed.

Original features in the downtown structure include:

- The main building, with a poured concrete floor, porcelain exterior wall panels and plate glass windows on glazed tile footings.

- The rooftop and street-side neon signs, and the painted wooden sign overlooking the parking lot’s southern end.

- The curb service window and counter.

- The kitchen cook line, stainless steel kitchen counters and tile kitchen floor.

- The original wood door on the rear entrance.

The story includes comments from Tommy Pike, president of the Route 66 Association of Missouri, and several excellent photos.

Alas, the original Steak ‘n Shake in Normal, Ill., was razed about 10 years ago and replaced with a pizza parlor. I always thought it was a shame that the chain didn’t see fit to keep that one.

I grew up near Decatur, Ill., and there were several Steak ‘n Shakes there. I thought at the time it was cool that a restaurant that started in 1934 was still going. Still do. At one point in the late 1970s, the whole chain was in jeopardy. But it turned around in the 1990s, and now it’s seeing growth. In fact, Steak ‘n Shake opened its first Tulsa location about a year ago.

And, yep, the shakes and steakburgers are still as good as I remember them 30 years ago.

UPDATE: Ace Jackalope, celebrating the news about the Steak ‘n Shake’s National Register nomination, has posted his collection of photographs of the restaurant.

Ace Jackalope pays a visit to and shoots a lot of excellent photos Tulsa’s Metro Diner, which may or may not be in its final days. Either way, the current location will eventually make way for a new entrance to the University of Tulsa.

This isn’t a hopeful sign for the Metro’s future in a new location, though:

An employee told me the business was not likely to relocate and that it’s artifacts will soon be auctioned. The general consensus of employees I chatted with was that the closing date could be anytime from September 1st to the end of the year, but September 1st seemed to be the most-assumed date; some have already found other work.

This may be true, or may be just grist from the employees’ rumor mill. I reported about a month ago on the Metro Diner here, and it sounded like the current owner was cautiously optimistic about relocating.

We’ll try to keep abreast of the situation.

The city of Berwyn, Ill., is celebrating the 80th anniversary of Route 66 with its 16th annual Historic Route 66 Car Show on Sept. 9.

Entrants can win a $2,000 gas card. With some of those old beasts they’ll be driving, that might get them all the way to Carbondale.

The Auto Channel has other details about the event.