Cronk's Cafe

"DENISON, Iowa -- Lots of Hollywood and Washington, D.C., heavyweights have dined -- and spoken -- here. Donna Reed, Charlie Daniels, George Bush, Barbara Bush, George McGovern, Jesse Jackson, Alan Keyes, Bob Dole, John Kerry and John Edwards. None of them, though, have had a sandwich named in their honor. At Cronk's Cafe along Highway 30 here, that's reserved for the restaurant's banker. "Yup, for about 10 to 12 years we had a Jim Hickey Sandwich, named for our banker," says Eric Skoog, owner/operator of this Siouxland tradition for the past 20 years. "We got a lot of looks and a lot of laughs in having a sandwich named for our banker," he adds. For 75 years, Cronk's Cafe has been getting more than its share of looks, laughs and customers who come things like homemade pie and The Baron of Beef. Baron of Beef? "Every Saturday night we cook a 60-pound piece of roast beef like it's prime rib," says Skoog. "It takes 24 hours to slow roast. And people just love it." What's not to like about Cronk's? Even if the food were subpar (which it isn't!), one could easily fill up on nostalgia and local history. Photos of Academy Award winner/Denison native Donna Reed adorn walls, as do glossies of celebrities like Shelley Fabares and Debbie Reynolds, stars who have returned to Denison for the annual Donna Reed Film Festival." -http://siouxcityjournal.com/lifestyles/cronk-s-cafe-a-denison-tradition-since/article_2242f383-ccec-...