Though drive-in movie theaters might be a dying art, drive-in restaurants are becoming more popular than ever. They can be found all around the country and offer some of the best fast food in the industry.
One example is Dallas’s Keller’s Drive-In. After 50 years of service, it is s staple in the neighborhood. Known for its cheeseburgers complete with rolls covered in poppy seeds, the restaurant is just as popular as it ever was. In fact, Dallas made history for being the first U.S. city to have a restaurant with a drive-thru, dating back to the 1920s.
Doumar’s, located in Norfolk, Virginia, was opened by an immigrant that came from Syria to live the American dream. His most significant claim-to-fame is the invention of the iconic waffle cone. It is one of the highlights of Doumar’s menu, along with baked ham served on toasted bread, hamburgers ground in-house, and sandwiches of chopped pork.
For sheer size, nothing beats Atlanta’s The Varsity. It is the biggest location of the entire chain. Its popularity among locals is supported by its large size. While most drive-thru restaurants are limited on how many customers they can serve at once, The Variety has space for several hundred cars.
Not to be outdone, Swensons Drive-In, located in Akron, has multiple stores due to its overwhelming popularity and legendary reputation. Conceived as a retro-style drive-in, the menu features classics like phosphate type drinks. Some of its more unusual food choices include potato teezers with cheesed spiced using jalapenos. However, one of the most ordered items on the menu is The Galley Boy, described as a double cheeseburger covered in the restaurant’s two special sauces, and served with Spanish olives.
A similar drive-in located in Akron is Skyway. In direct competition with Swenson’s, Skyway’s burgers are served covered in their homemade Mile Hi sauce, which they make in-house. Also made in-house are their signature onion rings and chili.
Tennessee’s The Snow White Drive-In, located in Lebanon, is among the last remaining restaurants that brings the food right to customers’ cars. In a nod to poutine, the restaurant is best known for its disco fries, which it serves in abnormally large portions to hungry customers that come from near and far.