Milk route: The milk bottle/can/bucket buildings of Southeastern Massachusetts

There's a 15-or-so-mile stretch in southeastern Massachusetts that could be called the epicenter of dairy-related mimetic architecture.  Salvador's, in South Dartmouth, is an ice cream parlor that's in the shape of a 30-foot milk can that dates back to 1936. It's been spectacularly renovated in recent years, complete with life-sized cow sculpture atop its roof. A mere two miles away in Dartmouth is the 20-foot Gulf Hill Dairy Ice Cream bucket. It's from 1929 and was lovingly restored and reopened in 2008 as Oxford Creamery At The Bucket after being shuttered for more than 20 years. It was moved from its original location to a lovely waterfront spot in Apponagansett Park, where they serve food, beverages and ice cream seasonally. Thirteen miles north in New Bedford sits G & S Pizza. They took over a beloved local landmark in 2006 that was originally Frate's Dairy, an ice cream parlor from the 1930s with a 52-foot milk bottle, and have been serving ice cream, pizza and other fine edibles ever since. The bottle is in superior condition, and was white and gleaming against the blue sky when we were there recently. We've also had the pleasure of visiting The Milk Bottle Restaurant, 24 miles away in Raynham, Mass., which was the sister milk building that Frate's built back in the '30s. And we hear there's another big milk bottle in Boston, but we'll have to save that for another trip.

So be on the lookout for these special places and join in the commerad-dairy. You wouldn't want them to slip pastyoureyes. I won't udder another word.

The cream of the crop: Raynham, Massachusetts' Milk Bottle Restaurant

This is the interior looking at the round bottle part. There's a drop ceiling and the upper part of the bottle is used for storage.

I love restaurants that have paper placemats that advertise the local businesses...

Gun-running, open-heart surgery...what ever it takes.

I like how Mike modestly slips in a "probably": "If I can't fix it, it probably can't be fixed"

"Hello? Anytime Plumbing? I've got a leaking faucet during the Renaissance."*
*loosely based on a Steven Wright joke.

Go out on a limb? That's gold, Jerry, solid gold!

We're big fans of novelty or programmatic architecture... you know, those kooky buildings made in the shapes of giant animals, food items or other things, and there's a dandy in the nice, southern Massachusetts town of Raynham: the Milk Bottle Restaurant, an eatery housed inside a 60-foot tall, 21-foot wide wooden milk bottle. Built in 1926, the Milk Bottle is a local favorite that has been run by the father-daughter team of Joe and Jamie Losciuto since 2001. Joe operated an electronics business in Boston for 30 years, sold it, and bought the Bottle as a Christmas gift for his family. Jamie had worked at the Bottle for years before the purchase and other family members have been involved over the years. They serve hard ice cream and diner fare. We had a delightful lunch there and it couldn't have been better...good portions, good prices, great service. This is the kind of place there just aren't enough of: a living, breathing, authentic roadside icon that makes you smile and want to come back again and again. It's the dairy thing we need these days and when it comes to milk bottle restaurants, everybody loves Raynham.