Difficulty in Finding Road Food!!!

My business requires that I fly and drive a lot. Often I decide to drive on the spot. On the way, I generally do not have time to get off the interstate and look for places and my decision to drive on the spot does not leave me a lot of time to research. I left Knoxville Monday for Springfield, OH. I got off 1-75 at Cincy looking for a neat breakfast place. I took hwy 42 toward Xenia, OH. Never did find a place and subsequently skipped breakfast.

I find it difficult to gamble on a place. I hate to go in and waste the calories and time just to find out the bisquits are cold and the food average.

Goes with the territory I guess.

Paul E. Smith
Knoxville, TN

My suggestion for your travel needs would be this: Before you get on the plane or whatever mode of transportation,do your home work anyway and research on places to eat as if you would choose to drive! So what if you get where you're going and decide NOT to drive!This is of course assuming you know at least roughly, where you're heading for when leaving on your trips! Good luck!

Pick up a copy of the Stern's latest "Roadfood" book. It covers the USA, from coast to coast and border to border. "Eat Your Way Across the USA" is good as well, but some of the places therein may have may be gone, since the book is a few years old. I started "road trippin'" in 1987, armed with a copy of "Roadfood and Goodfood"...When I go out of town one of the Stern's books, or a printed page from this site is as essintial as the Rand McNally Road Atlas.

Mapquest.com is a good website, but not necessarily the most reliable or direct. Still, it's better than nothing, but does take time and printer ink to print out directions for everywhere.

For areas not covered by this site, or the book---you can always stop for gas/water/etc. and hope to get advice from the local police---they usually do have a pretty good clue. Chowhound.com is a pretty good site too, sorted by region.

Anytime you're even near Cincinnati, take i-275 TO Rt 4 Fairfield/Hamilton exit. Go north about 2 miles to Jungle Jim's grocery store. Most amazing store east of Mississippi River. Covers 60 acres. I consider it a museum of food from around the world. www.junglejims.com

carl reitz

Maybe computer whizzes could figure out a way to call a 1-800 number that could give the distances to nearest Roadfood stops. For example you could dial 1-800-ROADFOOD and ask to enter the interstate or route number, as well as the exit number to find out closest roadfood places ....

Sort of like an enhanced Streets and Trips service ....

quote:

Originally posted by Sundancer7

My business requires that I fly and drive a lot. Often I decide to drive on the spot. On the way, I generally do not have time to get off the interstate and look for places and my decision to drive on the spot does not leave me a lot of time to research. I left Knoxville Monday for Springfield, OH. I got off 1-75 at Cincy looking for a neat breakfast place. I took hwy 42 toward Xenia, OH. Never did find a place and subsequently skipped breakfast.

I find it difficult to gamble on a place. I hate to go in and waste the calories and time just to find out the bisquits are cold and the food average.

Goes with the territory I guess.

Paul E. Smith
Knoxville, TN

Carl
\ I agree with your recommendation about JJ's. There are a number of references to the place all over the boards here. do a search and see how many folks have been there !! It is kinda fun to know how widespread the reputation has gone. We got Paul to stop there about a year ago, and he became a convert to the wonders of the place then. I hope they get the mono-rail going soon.
AL

Get of at most any interstate exit, pass up the plastic franchises and chains that line the exit road and drive to the center of the nearest small town. There will typically be intersecting main streets. You're almost guaranteed to find great road food, including a great breakfast, within a few blocks of that center point.

Woo woo!
[url='http://www.hollyeats.com']Holly[/url]'s first post here !!!!!

Welcome aboard, Hollister :-)

And Paul: In Cincinnati, near I-75, I recommend [url='http://www.digitalcity.com/cincinnati/entertainment/venue.adp?vid=212632']Sugar N Spice[/url] on Reading Road in the Bond Hill area for a great true-roadfood breakfast experience. Of course you posted your comment almost a year and a half ago and are retired now, but what they hey :-)

quote:

Originally posted by Holly Moore

Get of at most any interstate exit, pass up the plastic franchises and chains that line the exit road and drive to the center of the nearest small town. There will typically be intersecting main streets. You're almost guaranteed to find great road food, including a great breakfast, within a few blocks of that center point.

Welcome to Roadfood, Holly!

I love your website, and I'm glad to see your post here. I hope you'll continue to contribute.

Is that the REAL Holly Moore ??!!!

I'm wondering too, wandering.

Me too.

quote:

Originally posted by Holly Moore

Me too.

If you're really you, then I give you 5 greasestains!

Wow, I had never heard of Holly Moore, so like so many other things I have learned at Roadfood, I am thrilled to have looked up his website. I was amazed. He is a roadfood luminary for sure. The website is wonderful!! Thanks for posting here, Holly. I look forward to reading your reviews.

carl reitz

RE- Homework before going on the road.
We do not yet get into the "Laptop at the motel" class of roadfood researcher, so our homework is done prior to leaving and carried with us.
For the coming East Coast trip we have the books, Sterns and the 1997 BBQ Guide to GA, SC, and AL. I used the message board to glean posts about where to eat and BBQ spots in the states involved. Plus a bunch of reports from the Roadfood Insider reviews. I think this is research overkill, but it beats watching the Weather Channel each nite in the motel for a long time ! The only place I am missing is the stretch from Richmond to the N C border on or within 100 miles of Rt 95. We will be off the Interstate as much as possible.
Has anyone been to the Thunderbird in Florence S C lately? The phone listing is still there, but the website is gone. They had a great breakfast buffet that we have hoped to try this trip. UPDATES PLEASE !!

Yes, tis me, and thanks for the welcome. Calvin Trillin jump-started my roadfood genes; the Sterns then pointed the way. Before the internet it was "Roadfood," the book. I have planned many a route and taken many a detour with the help of the Sterns and "Roadfood" - a lot of good eating and an occasional taking of their name in vane when, after a 40 mile sidetrip, I found the place had closed a few months earlier. But so it goes in the quest for roadfood.

It is just recently that I have realized how vast the Roadfood forums have grown. A lot of good talking going on here and plenty of good eatin to be found among the threads. Seems like a neat place to wander and offer the occasional two bits.

To the topic at hand, Roadfood.com, along with eGullet, CitySearch and a few other sites, are part of my basic research before eating my way about a city or a state. But like any true roadfooder, I get a far bigger kick eating someplace before it has been "discovered." And that usually means forgoing the internet and the books and investing some time interrogating locals. Along with my above mentioned "walking the center" of a small town ploy, I often stop by the local fire department or police station. Got some great BBQ pointers in NC from a dozen inmates dressed in khaki and standing outside after cleaning the sheriff's office - I had mistaken them for deputies until I saw the guys in uniform watching them. I've followed a police officer's black and white to his favorite breakfast joint and had a Savannah desk clerk walk me to an out of the way barbecue joint. No guarantees - sometimes the meal is a dissapointment. But more often the locals know where the good cooking is. And asking them is a great way to break the ice and make a some friends along the way.

Welcome to Roadfood Holly!! Love your website!!

On asking locals.......once upon a time before the Internet was invented by Al Gore and nobody knew what a computer was, my then-French SO and I were on vacation in the States and for some queer reason decided that we needed to go to New Hampshire. We rented a lovely A-frame. We had no clue as to where to go for a good meal, and this is an important part of life for a Frenchman! So I decided we should just stop and ask somebody.......but not just ANYBODY......we passed lots of people and then I spotted the RIGHT ONE. A rather large gentleman working on his lawn. Asked him where we could eat lobster,(in my best fake-French accent) he directed us to a lobster-in-the-rough place, BYOB, it was so good we ate there three nights in a row! Before there was Roadfood.com, there were.........the locals!

The Sundancer also welcomes Holly. I have visited the website many many times. Due to my home office being in King of Prussia, I found your coverage of the Philly area extremely helpful.

Paul E. Smith
Knoxville, TN

Hi Holly! When are you coming back to Nashville?

quote:

Originally posted by pogophiles

Hi Holly! When are you coming back to Nashville?

Funny you should ask. I'm driving to the Southern Food Alliance Symposium in Oxford Mississippi (Oct. 7-10) and will be passing through Nashville both coming and going. How's the Loveless Cafe doing under its new ownership?

quote:

Originally posted by Al-The Mayor-Bowen
Has anyone been to the Thunderbird in Florence S C lately? The phone listing is still there, but the website is gone. They had a great breakfast buffet that we have hoped to try this trip. UPDATES PLEASE !!

http://www.thunderbirdgolf.com/inn.asp This was the only website I was able to find when we were in preparation for our roadtrip to Sanibel Island, FL in August. I still have it saved in my Favorites here at work. I had also made reservations for a one-night stopover and the very nice lady did mention the buffet. We never made the trip because of Hurricane Charley (still awfully depressed about the whole thing), but I'm imagining that the Thunderbird and its buffet still are going on in Florence.

quote:

Originally posted by Holly Moore

quote:

Originally posted by pogophiles

Hi Holly! When are you coming back to Nashville?

Funny you should ask. I'm driving to the Southern Food Alliance Symposium in Oxford Mississippi (Oct. 7-10) and will be passing through Nashville both coming and going. How's the Loveless Cafe doing under its new ownership?

I've only been once so far and that was in the evening. I was not impressed. I fear they threw out the magic with the old equipment. Holly -- If you will driving down I-40 toward Memphis, you simply must get off at Lexington and check out Hays Smokehouse. If you'll have some time, give me a call or email. I'd love to show you another meat & three or two...

I drove up to Mammoth Lakes this past weekend (snowed in on Sunday----and it's still summer!). On the way up Highways 14 and US 395through the High Sierras, I passed many fast food places. It's amazing how, as hungry as I was, I NEVER FOR A MOMENT considered stopping at any of them. Instead, just before 9PM (ya think I wasn't hungry by then?) I saw a place in the town of Lone Pine called the Mt. Whitney Family Restaurant. Bam! Pictures on the wall of many movie stars from the days when they filmed many Westerns up there-----John Wayne, Lee Marvin, and an unsigned Warner Bros. horse. I asked about the CFS and if they made it themselves. I was told they cubed and breaded it themselves. A half hour later, after an excellent Chicken Fried Steak with mashed potatoes, white cream gravy, salad and a Deep-fried corn on the cob(!!!!), I was a happy camper. Roadfood is definitely worth the wait!

Ed, What a great testimonial to roadfood, and a good success story. Atmosphere like what you described only adds to the experience.

carl reitz