Tony Packo's, the pride of Toledo
Toledo native Jamie Farr, Klinger from "M*A*S*H", immortalized Packo's by mentioning it in an episode.
I had a brand new camera when we visited and hadn't quite figured out the flash yet so these shots are embarrassingly amateurish, but there you will find autographed hot dog buns from the likes of Alice Cooper, Neil Sedaka and the Moody Blues, as well as among others...
...Jerry Seinfeld...
...Danny Glover...
...the cast of "M*A*S*H"...
...Barbara Bush...
...Ray Charles, and...
...Art Garfunkle.
On a cross-country trip back in 2006, we took a great detour off I-80 west toward Toledo and stopped at
Tony Packo’s, an
historic restaurant known for their Hungarian hot dogs and other
delicacies since 1932. Already legendary with locals, Packo’s was given a
huge boost by actor Jamie Farr. A native Toledoan himself, Farr played
Corporal Max Klinger, a cross-dressing, Section 8-seeking medical
corpsman who was also from Toledo on the TV series "M*A*S*H". In one
episode, a man playing a television newsman talked to Klinger about his
hometown. Farr ad-libbed, “If you're ever in Toledo, Ohio, on the
Hungarian side of town, Tony Packo's got the greatest Hungarian hot
dogs. Thirty-five cents...” "M*A*S*H" scriptwriters wrote Packo's into
five subsequent episodes, including the two-and-a-half-hour final
episode in 1983. In addition to its grub, Packo’s is also known for its
collection of autographed hot dog buns. In 1972, Burt Reynolds visited
the restaurant and commemorated the event by signing a bun. This
started a tradition and was followed by scores of celebrities'
autographed hot dog buns (actually, longer-lasting hot dog bun
facsimiles) now enshrined on Packo's' walls. They even have one
signed by the Iron Lady herself, former British prime minister Margaret Thatcher. They have a fun
souvenir shop to commemorate your visit and make your friends envious, too, so if you're ever in Toledo, do as Klinger says, and give Packo's a try. It's the best deal in town, frankly speaking.
