Battle Creek, MI to Yosemite

I'm planning a rather long roadtrip, from Battle Creek to Yosemite in California. I will be driving I80 through Illinois, and US20 through Iowa and Nebraska. I'll head up to I90 for Mt Rushmore, Yellowstone and the Tetons. From there I'll head through Idaho Falls and Twin Falls, to Elko, Reno and Lake Tahoe. I'm originally from LA, so don't need any recommendations for California.

I'll do I40 through Arizona to ABQ, then up to Taos and Colorado Springs. I70 through Topeka, Kansas City and St Louis, up to Hannibal, then I72/74 through Illinois.

There is the general outline -- I need recommendations for favorite places to eat. I love regional foods and hamburgers/hot dogs. The best meal of the day is breakfast, so those recommendations are also requested. Warm bread winds my watch too, so if you know of any great bakeries en route, please advise.

Fellow road foodies, please help!

Try the Winchester Steak House in Buffalo, Wyoming.

I only have one roadfood recommendation, for Lake Tahoe. South shore, about five minutes from casino row, sits the Snowflake Drive-In. It's not a drive-in any more, but they've got excellent burgers and milkshakes/malts.

Thanks for the tips. Any other foodies out there who can help?

jm3amdg,

Sorry, no tips on your trip, but I wonder if Speed's coffee shops are still around in Battle Creek?

I worked in BC for a number of years in the 70's & early 80's and probably had a burger for lunch at Speed's 3 or 4 times a week. Wish I could get a burger like that where I live now.


Dino

quote:

Originally posted by jm3amdg

I'm planning a rather long roadtrip, from Battle Creek to Yosemite in California. I will be driving I80 through Illinois, and US20 through Iowa and Nebraska. I'll head up to I90 for Mt Rushmore, Yellowstone and the Tetons. From there I'll head through Idaho Falls and Twin Falls, to Elko, Reno and Lake Tahoe. I'm originally from LA, so don't need any recommendations for California.

I'll do I40 through Arizona to ABQ, then up to Taos and Colorado Springs. I70 through Topeka, Kansas City and St Louis, up to Hannibal, then I72/74 through Illinois.

There is the general outline -- I need recommendations for favorite places to eat. I love regional foods and hamburgers/hot dogs. The best meal of the day is breakfast, so those recommendations are also requested. Warm bread winds my watch too, so if you know of any great bakeries en route, please advise.

Fellow road foodies, please help!

good luck on your trip . a great place for breakfast is in cody wyoming, NOON BREAK CAFE ,try the chile verde . as a side to eggs ,or in the breakfast burrito . was so good i spent a second night in cody just so i could eat breakfast there again . have a safe trip , keep to the blue highways and support the independents . they don't have the advertising budgets of the mega-chains .

Oh, on second thought, maybe I do have a suggestion. I haven't been to any of these places, but they're on my list of places I'm going to hit when I'm in the area.

1.) One of those Maid-Rite 'loose meat' places in Iowa.

2.) Ted Drews frozen custard stand in St. Louis. Also, when in St. Louis, I intend to get one of those St. Paul sandwiches someplace.


Dino

A few places come to mind.
In REXBURG,Idaho..After you cross the Teton Pass heading for Idaho Falls..Pioneer Pies. Good Burgers, Very Good pies. My last meal there was Liver and Onions and it was an 8 on the 10 scale.
In RENO I like Louis Basque Corner Restaurant. Heavy chow and forget Atkins, but good food and wine.
Coming East on I-70 just east of Russell (Bob Dole's Home) is WILSON, KS. A small Czech farming community. The local market in town (there is only one) has a variety of locally made sausages. Not a sit down place- but get some and they will keep you happy for a hundred miles or so.
In HANNIBAL, MO near the Casino Boat, in an old Warehouse is BUBBA'S. He brags on his Pork Steaks, and the ribs are pretty good too.
That's a start. When are you leaving and how long are you taking for this roundtrip?

If you use the search feature by typing in stuff,(Nevada for instance) you will find discussions about various parts of your route.
When are you leaving?
Bill

Thanks for all the suggestions. I believe there are still two Speed's coffee shops in BC -- they advertise "hamburgs" -- could they have run out of money to finish out the neon signs? I've never been to either of them but the one on Capital seems always to be busy when I drive by. Though I'll admit I get to Cereal City rarely -- I live in the rural area of Calhoun County.

I will be leaving in early May for about three weeks, perhaps four. But since I am trying to build this trip around the blue highways and roadfood joints, I thought I had better get an early start

quote:

Originally posted by jm3amdg

I believe there are still two Speed's coffee shops in BC -- they advertise "hamburgs" -- could they have run out of money to finish out the neon signs? I've never been to either of them but the one on Capital seems always to be busy when I drive by.

You might want to try Speed's sometime. They used to make a very good 'hamburg'. (cheese, green olives, mayo was usually on mine) I've been to the one on Capital but mostly frequented one that was in the Fort Custer re-development area.

I also remember a very good gyros place in downtown Battle Creek.


Dino

I will try Speed's sometime. Thanks for the tip.

JM3-
Hamburg is the word used often in New England to describe the same sandwich the rest of the country calls a Hamburger. In the days before the national chains dominated the market, it was common in places in Mass. to ask for a Hamburg or a Cheeseburg, or even a Frankfort. Much the same as a Shake is/was referrd to as a Frappe. At least in the case of the sandwiches one can recognize the word-relations.
McD and BK changed most of that when they brought the "ER" into the area!

I remember El Cid Mexican Restaurant 41939 Highway 41
Oakhurst, CA 93644 ... on the way to the main enterance to Yosemite.

It's been a long time, but I think I too have eaten at El Cid.

Thanks, Mr Mayor, for the info........

Keep those recommendations coming in, please.

Some more general recommendations.
Do a search of the Kansas City BBQ Houses. There are a large number of very good places within the Metro Area. You Pick!!!
I-40/US 66 in Western Arizona.- Seligman,AZ- Two old cafes in the relic of Rt 66 days gone by. Check out either one for a Burger from the 1950's .
In the Quad Cities area Jim's Ribs. Several locations in the cluster of cities. Some near either I-80 or I-74. Worth a stop or a take out order. phone book the addresses or phone numbers.

Thanks again for all the recommendations. I also did try the search function of the website by state, but was disappointed that many of the tips are not on my route. Still looking for help.............

On the subject of Speed's Coffee Shops in Battle Creek Michigan, there is now only one remaining, at the Urbandale location at 1425 West Michigan Avenue. Speed Eddinger has not been the owner of any of these restaurants for several years, but at one time he owned at least 6 of them scattered around town.

Until about August of this year there was a second Speed's at the Lakeview location at 643 Capital Avenue SW. The county health department closed it down for major deficiencies, and the present owner has said that he can not afford to fix the problems.

Speed at one time also owned an upscale restaurant called Someplace Else, but that too has been closed for several years.