The Burgers of Indiana
Welcome back to the 'Midwest Burger Bowl' Today were headed down into Indiana. "Cant stop, wont stop eating these hamburgers" is what I heard a student (presumably) from Purdue University say as he sat hungover eating hamburgers on the Sunday morning I stopped into Triple XXX Family Restaurant in West Lafayette, Indiana. It's the states first and thus oldest Drive In and they've been slanging their famous root beer and hamburgers aka chopped steaks since 1929. Open 24 Hours a day (Sun. til 10p) XXX has long been a favorite of many who went to Perdue or has driven thru West Lafayette and knew where to stop in at. This is the place to eat when you do as I did en route to Indianapolis this past winter.
a longtime Indiana favorite
The name and origin of XXX actually goes back to a brand of beer that Anheiser Busch started brewing in Galveston, TX back in the late 1800's/early 1900's. Each barrel was labeled 'XXX' and the beer died with prohibition which is when 'XXX' Soft Drinks were born. Their root beer and ginger ale were favorites and Triple XXX still uses the original recipe for their root beer that the Drive In was named after. I thought this was an excellent brew and I'm a big fan of homemade/micro brewed root beers. On my visit it wasn't just the college kids dining in but families and senior citizen couples as well as tourists so to say such as myself.
a peak inside the place
The menu includes breakfast options which come in handy during the wee hours but its all about the burgers or the 'prime cuts' as their called on the menu. They use fresh never frozen sirloin which is ground on site along with real cheese. Same way since day one and that's why people love it. They offer a few house favorites as far as burgers including the 'Duane Pervis All American'. They take a quarter pound of their house ground sirloin and top it with creamy peanut butter as well as the usual suspects. Not this time. I went classic on my first visit and got a double cheeseburger with pickles, mustard and onions. It was easy to taste why people have a connection to this place. This is what all burgers once were before the fast food and retail folks made them into pre-formed hockey pucks that turn into tasteless waste. XXX Family Restaurant continues to serve a real American burger. Since 1929 for a reason.
Double Cheeseburger w/ fries from Triple XXX Family Drive In
Triple XXX Family Restaurant
2 North Salisbury Street
West Lafayette, IN 47906
(765) 743-5373
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