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Service Station Dining Don and I arrived in Butte just in time for lunch.  How could we resist a dining place with Mobil Oil's pegasus images and green service station doors. Side Entrance We walked towards the side door from the parking lot. I liked the old brick building itself. The green and red neon sign and old Texaco lamps were an added treat.
We were very hungry and excited to have found a place that looked inviting. A Truck Inside On the way to being seated, I couldn't help but notice the green truck and a number of old gas pumps.  Brought me back to playing "Gas Station" with my brother. "Filler up with regular!" I loved to announce from my pretend driver's seat. The Truck Bed Table I didn't notice until later that there was a table in the back of the 1949 Chevy pickup. If I'd known, I would have requested that table.
Dining in the bed of a truck is something I've never done. By the Window We ended up with a cozy wooden booth and a view of a dining deck, which overlooked lower Butte and distant mountains.  But I didn't look out the window much. There was too much inside. Lots of Metal Old metal decor with signs, bicycles and and pedal cars is really nothing new. They've been cluttering up restaurants with old memorabilia for decades now.  But there was something extra fun about the fact it was in a warehouse like building that really housed a service station at one time. Old, But Clean I liked the way they refurbished oil and paint cans into lighting fixtures. It's always good to see old junk put to good use. And there was a lot of old stuff in this place.
Oddly enough, everything looked surprisingly clean. When I mentioned this to the hostess, who had worked at Sparky's for a number of years, she laughed. She said her boss often reminded, "Some lean and some clean." They were not allowed to sit around and lean. When there was a lull, they were told to dust and clean. Time to Eat Our eating utensils were cleverly wrapped in a red shop cloth. It looked like what a filling station attendant might have used to wipe his hands after checking your oil.  The food was reasonably priced and hit the spot. Don got the lunch special of half price buffalo wings. I had a piping hot onion soup and a crispy salad. The crumbly corn bread and sloppy cheese, made me need about 10 of those red rags! No Time for Casinos There was no time to hang out in the large bar or the casino towards the front of the building. I did peek into the dimly lit casino and stopped myself from taking a photo.  There was just one customer and she must have been 90 years old. She hunched over a slot machine with her braided white hair pinned up on her head. Her walker was neatly folded beside her. If only I'd spotted her earlier, I might have asked her to join us for lunch. That would have made for a very interesting dining adventure, I'm sure.
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The Dining Blog
This is a blog about Dining Adventures. Sometimes, I talk about food. Below, you can read how this started. On July 4th 2011, I set a goal to try 50 culturally diverse restaurants in one year! (I knew that was possible, living in the Houston area) I spent the year pulling in friends and family to join me, on some unusual dining adventures. I met some curious people, tried some scary foods and explored places and cultures I never would have otherwise. Even though I met my goal, I learned too much to end my adventures in dining. I have continued blogging about memorable dining adventures of all kinds, near and far... and all the discoveries and funny things I've learned along the way! Locations and types of dining adventures, are listed further down. Archives
January 2025
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