Stop the Car!

The best roadside diners and dairy bars serve soul-soothing comfort food with a big dollop of nostalgia. Here, our favourite pit stops 'round these parts

- CAROLINE AKSICH

SUMMERTIME IN STEELTOWN isn't the same without a trip to Hutch's, a frozen-in-time dairy bar that has been a fixture for the past 77 years. Although the waterfront looks nothing like it did back in the day-in '46, this stretch of beach was populated by a bowling alley, an amusement park and dance halls - the scene at Hutch's remains much the same: a lineup snakes around the building multiple times, children chase Lake Ontario waves in the distance and the loudspeaker crackles order numbers into the air.

Customers waiting patiently for their chili dogs look with seagull-like lust at those returning to the picnic area with fresh-from-the-fryer piles of fries, crispy haddock and chicken fingers. (Just want a cone? The ice cream window's out back.) Inside is charmingly chaotic, with nary a square inch of bare wall: vintage jerseys, sun-bleached peewee team photos from decades past and autographed Ticats paraphernalia hang throughout the two-room restaurant. "When customers see old photos of themselves on our walls, it's like Hamilton's 15 minutes of fame," says general manager Rick Creechan.

"I've taken to rotating items so everyone gets their turn." Creechan's family has owned Hutch's for three generations. "Other than a veggie burger and a poutine on the menu now, not much has changed here," he says. "And that's probably why people like it."