Toot-Toot Family Restaurant in Iowa

Bethany, Iowa

There's not much to say about Toot-Toot, except I really liked that name!  Of course I liked the name of the town pretty well... for almost obvious reasons.

Hungry on Our Midwest Road Trip
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We had seen signs for Toot-Toot, so the anticipation was growing. At last, we saw the rambling barn style building with the large roof sign.  I had hoped for something older and more authentic looking.  At least it was family owned, by the Jennings family.

Our Friend Above
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The place was hopping at lunchtime, but we got a nice booth just beneath a fancy little raccoon, paddling his birch wood canoe.  A giant eagle kept an eye on Don.

Tables and Salad Bar
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The "Old Hickory" style table and chair sets added a retro ranch feel to the place. The stained glass sign above the salad bar was a different kind of retro.  Hmmm? I'm thinking of TGIF's (Friday's) Restaurant in 1983?  At least the price was sort of retro at $6.99.  Don's chicken salad sandwich was so so.

Signs at Check Out 
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This blurry pic of Don with the cashier has another touch of TGIF, with it's Tiffany style lamp.  But mostly I was intrigued with all the signs. There seemed to be signs everywhere.

Signs and Stuff
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I love stuff.  I'm easily amused at restaurants cluttered with curious goodies.  But I don't even want to know what those collector's jars were all about.  Why would they display those heads. If I had been African American, that would have made me very uncomfortable.
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My Cow
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I felt a little better when I had some cow time with the Toot-Toot Cow on the hill. This was not my favorite diner stop of the road trip, but I did like the cow.  Maybe I should have given them more of a chance to win me over at Toot-Toots.  I should have chatted and asked more questions.  Next time.