Road Trip: tacky U.S. Route 1, Saugus MA

[@garyhogan9597]

Lived in Lynn and traveled Route 1 and all these sites until I moved away in 1976. When I get back always taken aback by all that is now gone from my youth memories on Rt 1

[@TrippyFood]

Same here. Glad they saved the dinosaur and the cactus, but really miss the ship.

[@phildavies9082]

My first view of America, from England, in 1963. Drove from Logan to our new home in Wakefield. Spent lots of time on Rt... The bars, clubs, restaurants, stores........ Most are gone now.

[@TrippyFood]

Philip Davies holds a lot of nostalgia for me, too

[@SnackHeadCowboy]

I'm loving these wacky roadside attractions. Coming from the UK these places have always fascinated me.

[@TrippyFood]

I'm due for another trip to see Superlambanana...

[@IverJ]

They did preserve the Hilltop sign, fortunately....but it's got a more modern now, at least still there. My father-in-law ran the butcher shop at Hilltop for decades until it closed. For a time the Hilltop was the largest grossing restaurant in America.

[@TrippyFood]

Part of the preservation was converting the sign from neon to LED. The only visible difference is the names of the local shops where the Hilltop name once sat. The orange dinosaur has also been preserved, having been moved up on top of the man-made hill behind where it once stood (now a Kane's Donuts). The Ship, sadly is gone; Kowloon's tiki hut may be next.

[@biffyqueen]

I grew up here, I ate at the pirate ship once with my mom and grandmother. Things that were gone before you got there, Weylu's, a Chinese Palace built on the hill overlooking the town. Full of Bull, not so much from the highway, but inside was full of memorabilia from cars, Disney, what not. Surprised you didn't mention The giant Tiki of the Kowloon, a restaurant that has not changed since the 70s.

[@TrippyFood]

My daughter had her rehearsal dinner at Kowloon. I can remember back when Augustine's was around - there was a little old lady who played the organ on a rotating stage in the middle of the restaurant.

[@howardkoor2796]

Several times a year my whole family,​ grandparents ​and all, climbed into two cars and made the drive up Route 1 to the​ ​​​​Hilltop ​Steakhouse.​ The world whizzed by us​ ​​​from the back seat of my grandfather’s big, black Chrysler Imperial​. ​Large garish road signs of all colors and shapes sprung up from the ground reaching toward the sky. Someday, anthropologist​s​ will ​have a field day discussing this​ terrain, but for a 12​-​year​-​old ​in the late '60s,​ it all blended into one colorful mosaic of place. I don’t remember ​my family ​eating anyplace ​else but​ Hilltop​, ​except ​perhaps ​​​Valle’s Steak House if Hilltop ​looked too crowded. Hilltop was famous for what was planted on its lengthy strip of green grass; dozens of life-sized plastic cows and a 68 foot neon cactus sign that was straight out of Las Vegas…. No matter how fast one’s car barreled down the highway, you couldn’t miss that sign, and I bet that many a child had pet names for the plastic cows. Arriving at the event called Hilltop, we all piled out of our cars, received our hand written number from the hostess, and waited with hundreds of other suburbanite families in a long covered porch a stone’s throw from the highway. To relieve our boredom, my brother and I chased each other amongst the crowd and the adults talked adult stuff. It seemed like forever before our number came up, but it eventually did. We then were lead to and seated in a cavernous western​-​motif​-​of​-​a​-​room named “Kansas City.” As we ​settled into our high back​, vinyl-upholstered​ booth, a ​spunky middle-aged waitress would quickly approach our table ​to take our orders. Dad, the alpha​-​male​,​ made small​-​talk with the waitress​-​of​-​the​-​day​.​ I always felt so proud that he (and vicariously, ​we) made that connection, however momentary it was. ​ ​ All around us, loud chatter echoed through the ​​vast wood​-​paneled room. We witnessed​ dozens of waitresses scurry​ing​ about, gracefully balancing large silver trays covered with a dozen steak​-​plated meals. ​Hilltop was suburban theater at its best.​ ​We weren't ​just chewing on a good steak.​ We were feeding​​ together in this cavern-of-a-room with 500 other ​grazers.

[@TrippyFood]

Howard Koor beautifully written, thank you!

[@howardkoor2796]

Trippy Food much thanks👍👍👍👍👍

[@MAINEiac06]

I agree, Hilltop was more than the sum of its parts. And alas, the once vibrant character of Rt 1 is not what it used to be.

[@TrippyFood]

MAINEiac06 I’m at least glad that they saved the dinosaur and the cactus...

[@howardkoor2796]

@@MAINEiac06 Thank you

[@howardkoor2796]

You had mentioned Prince Pizza. We went there a lot in the 70's. I enjoyed the pizza, and fun atmosphere. Good times! Thank you.

[@TrippyFood]

Howard Koor that stretch of Route 1 has changed so much since the 70s - I remember when the little old lady used to play the organ live on the rotating stage in the middle of Augustine’s

[@howardkoor2796]

@@TrippyFood Hi, yes, lots of changes.

[@arthurhu2290]

Drove by recently in 2023, the dinosaur got moved to the corner of the new apartment complex, the hilltop sign was kept for a new development, they tore down the Ship, thanks this is the one good video for route 1 sights.

[@TrippyFood]

Yeah, last time I was there, the dinosaur was moved to the top of the hill. I think Kowloon's Tiki hut may be endangered as well.

[@nhbob]

The pizza at Prince is wonderful, I started going there with my girlfriend way back in 1969. The pizza has a great light crust and has not changed at all over the years, they don't have to, one of my all-time favorite pizza stops.

[@TrippyFood]

Haven't been in ages. They have a lot of pizza competition in the Boston area, but there's the comedy club as an extra bonus.

[@robbierupac9442]

My hometown!! Saugus the best place evah

[@TrippyFood]

Sadly, most of this is gone.

[@rogerfischer2533]

Never been to Massachusetts looks like fun...Miss your tasting video's...Thanks for the video...☺....

[@TrippyFood]

We go back to tastings next week, with three consecutive exotic meats and some more installments of Cooking With Val

[@traci208]

ORANGE dinosaur, not red! Went there for years!

[@TrippyFood]

Me, too. The subtle difference between red and orange isn't really that important...

[@WrecklessEating]

Awesome episode :)

[@TrippyFood]

Thanks, lads!

[@rogerfischer2533]

I was able to get a couple of Mako Shark fillets..I used blackened seasoning and grilled them...was amazing....thought I would share..🐟🐟

[@TrippyFood]

Roger Fischer sounds delicious - shark is amazing on the grill.

[@davidg9167]

New comedy club? I remember going to Giggles at Prince Pizza in the mid 90s. Maybe they did a new remodel.

[@TrippyFood]

I think they still have one. They're one of the last hold outs on Route 1, but thankfully they saved the orange dinosaur and the Hilltop cactus. Weylu's and The Ship, however, are lost to history.

[@shanechandler7908]

Wrong. Route 1 in Saugus is the classiest and most prestigious highway strip in the world. Kowloon? Huh? Forget about that, the single highest grossing restaurant in the country? Nothing can touch Route 1 in Saugus. Tacky my ass

[@TrippyFood]

I mean tacky in the hippest, most loving way possible (have grown up in the area - the orange dinosaur was one of the first things I saw when I moved to Malden as a kid)

[@paulfredrickson2181]

Rt 1 was the best.

[@paulfredrickson2181]

The Ship was great. Loved it. The leaning tower of pizza thin pizza but still good. Hilltop best steak and lobster. I can still hear the women calling out 232 for Sioux City..134 for Kansas City. Of course Kowloons and Waylu's Chinese Food AMAZING GIANT TEMPLE of CHINESE FOOD atop a hill! I played minaiture golf next to the GIANT ORANGE DINO!

[@TrippyFood]

Yeah, lots of memories - I'm glad they saved the Hilltop cactus and the dinosaur. I hear things about Kowloon closing, but we'll see.

[@jamelynch4474]

This guy doesn't show this stretch much respect .

[@TrippyFood]

James Lynch you have to respect its silliness. The use of the word “tacky” is endearing, otherwise we wouldn’t be encouraging g people to see it or trying to save it for historical value. Showing respect would have been not tearing down The Ship or Weylu’s, just as preserving the Hilltop sign does show respect. The orange dinosaur was one of the first things I saw when I moved to Massachusetts as a kid - it means a lot to me

[@malakafacka]

Update: the Cactus is still there and it’s actually now condos , a restaurant, Starbucks, gym, dental place, and a bank etc and where the Dinosaur wuz is the same

[@TrippyFood]

They actually moved the dinosaur to the top of the hill and also developed the property where the mini-golf was - we did an episode on Kane's where we visited the old site. I think Kowloon's may be the next to go.

[@howardkoor2796]

Do you cover Los Angeles? I used to live there.. thank you

[@TrippyFood]

Howard Koor I cover everywhere, but I live in the LA area - I grew up in the Boston area, and the orange dinosaur was one of the first things I remember as a kid

[@howardkoor2796]

@@TrippyFood HI, thanks. I used to go the The Pantry, downtown. Tommy's. Fatburger. Dennys!

[@howardkoor2796]

Did you ever cover The Pantry?

[@howardkoor2796]

@@TrippyFood I was in LA from the late 70's to the early 90's.

[@TrippyFood]

Howard Koor no - I’ve eaten at the Pantry, though. I think the reason people love it so much is because they’ve eaten there drunk. It would be interesting from a historical standpoint, but the food isn’t that good

[@TheKevin391]

The cows were concrete

[@TrippyFood]

Kev dog looks like someone forgot to tell the cows: www.bizjournals.com/boston/real_estate/2014/04/hilltop-steakhouse-cows-now-grazing-in-lynnfield.html

[@paulfredrickson2181]

Fiberglass@@TrippyFood

[@TrippyFood]

Sad news - the ship has sunk: www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2017/01/12/the-ship-may-down-route/pXRbhRx2yvV1eZ2SaDHiBI/story.html?event=event25

[@howardkoor2796]

Hi again. Here is link with great pictures--this is Not mine! Enjoy facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.830866580283445.1073742242.270939872942788&type=1

[@TrippyFood]

Thanks!

[@pleasegetmychannelto500sub8]

Omg y am I watching this is 2017 like if you are R.I.P golf course

[@TrippyFood]

WhatsHis Name The golf course is closed, but Kane's Donuts is opening a drive through and is saving the dinosaur