Canteen Lunch In the Alley - Famous Iowa Restaurant - And Iconic American Establishment

Visiting the town of Ottumwa, Iowa to try one of the most unique sandwich spots in America. This is Canteen Lunch in the Alley, a restaurant that has been serving loose meat sandwiches (similar to sloppy joes without the sauce) since 1936 during the Great Depression. This restaurant is also the inspiration for the Lanford Lunch Box on the hit show Rosanne, the restaurant that Rosanne Barr's character worked at. During the production of the show, Rosanne Barr was married to actor Tom Arnold, who just so happens to be from Ottumwa, Iowa. So the couple would dine in at the Canteen Lunch in the Alley, which led to the themed Lunch Box Restaurant on the show. Canteen Lunch in the Alley is a special place, feeding many in poverty during the hardships of the Great Depression, bringing small town families and travelers together throughout the mid 20th century, and marking its place in pop culture on a mainstream sitcom. This historic restaurant continues to serve its phenomenal yet simple loose meat sandwiches to hungry patrons into the 21st century, the surrounding alley may have changed but the restaurant has not. This is one of my all-time favorite restaurants in the USA. Oh! and their variety of freshly baked pies is some of the best on the planet as well. Outro Song: Explorer's Theme written and performed by me on piano.