My Year in Roadfood (2011)

Greymo:  Great story.
 
Paul E. Smith
Knoxville, TN

Buffetbuster
 
Glad to see Wieners Circle on your hot dog list. After now sampling chicago style dogs at several hot dog joints, I think the char-grilled dog at Wieners Circle is my favorite.
 
And of course  Ted's in Buffalo is one of my favorites.
 
One of these days I'll finally have the experience  of checking out Charlie's Pool Room.

I don't mean to slight anyone here but, I don't know of anyone else on this board whose trip reports are as good yours, Buffetbuster.
Thanks for all the clever and delicious looking pictures.

I would have to say that every single Roadtrip report is great, even those without photographs...........we learn from each and every one!

Twinwillow


I don't mean to slight anyone here but, I don't know of anyone else on this board whose trip reports are as good yours, Buffetbuster.
Thanks for all the clever and delicious looking pictures.

 You are correct with your comment regarding BB, but don't forget WJ, TTM and The Mayor.  All are super great.  More are coming on and we appreciate all.
 
Paul E. Smith
Knoxville, TN

Sundancer7

Twinwillow


I don't mean to slight anyone here but, I don't know of anyone else on this board whose trip reports are as good yours, Buffetbuster.
Thanks for all the clever and delicious looking pictures.

You are correct with your comment regarding BB, but don't forget WJ, TTM and The Mayor.  All are super great.  More are coming on and we appreciate all.

Paul E. Smith
Knoxville, TN

 
I have to agree with both you and, Greymo!

Back to the signs!
 
Here are a couple interesting water towers I came across:

Some of my favorite rustic signs from 2011.
 


















 

 


 

And some flashy neon!















































 




 
 
 
 



 





 

bb, WL & ann -
Ate at Jack Pandl,s last February'ish on a Saturday evening.  I read the online comments beforehand but went anyway.
Lovely room, very nice service and 2 generations of management stopping by often and conversing with us.
The bar room was full, the dining room half when we got there, then full by our midway point.
We had a table of 6 and everyone enjoyed their meal!  We even had multiple courses....
Hope it stays around a long time...
CTD
 

I came here with fellow Roadfooders wanderingjew and Chris Ayers. One of the great things about being part of a group is that you get to sample more different foods and still preserve precious appetite. The bad thing is that you may only get a small portion of something you really like. The regular coney dog was good, but it was the fine bean dog that gets Nick's on this list. This was the first time having baked beans on a hot dog and it worked for me. My only regret, since all I got was a third of the bean dog, was not ordering one or two to eat all myself!
It's called seconds...

I beleive I like the sign collection the best...really interersting!

Geeze, Cliff, you sure do get around!

A priceless collection of iconic relics of America's lost art! Thank goodness most are "grandfathered" in because today in many cities, municipal ordinances would prevent their construction or use.
Thanks for the ride.
 

BB:
 
Thanks for giving "props" to the Weenie Beanie in Arlington, VA.  After landing at Reagan, it's always my first stop.

BB,
You qualify for, "Here's Your Sign"!!

I loved all the signs.  I have been to Tony Lukes  a dozen times and have never noticed their sign...............guess that I was too busy thinking o f my roast pork with rabe!

I love the pictures of the signs as much as the pictures of food.
 
I'm a fan of faded painted signs on old brick buildings.
 
Good job!

mar52


I love the pictures of the signs as much as the pictures of food.

I'm a fan of faded painted signs on old brick buildings.

Good job!

 

ChiTownDiner


bb, WL & ann -
Ate at Jack Pandl,s last February'ish on a Saturday evening.  I read the online comments beforehand but went anyway.
Lovely room, very nice service and 2 generations of management stopping by often and conversing with us.
The bar room was full, the dining room half when we got there, then full by our midway point.
We had a table of 6 and everyone enjoyed their meal!  We even had multiple courses....
Hope it stays around a long time...
CTD

 
Chi Town Diner
 
I wanted to get to Karl Ratzsch's and Pandl's but  didn't have time to do both (I know you would have) I looked at both reviews on yelp- First I looked at Pandl's and they were trashed, I then figured that they would predictably trash Raztsch's too- to my surprise Karl Ratzsch's was highly praised (in fact by some of the same Yelpers who trashed Pandl's. So that's why I picked Karl Ratzsch's over Pandl's. Karl Ratzsch was fine- I would give it a 6.5 out of 10. Next time I will certainly try Pandl's for sure.

BB:  What a collection of food signs.  I think it is super that you got a lot of the neon at night where they illuminate the best.  Thanks for sharing.
 
See you in Nashville
 
Paul E. Smith
Knoxville, TN

BB, amazing, just amazing!  Your year-end breakfast pics always make me angry (at the bowl of Grape-Nuts in front of me!) and hungry for some rib sticking food (biscuits & gravy!!!!)  I'm not much for hot dogs but I want to eat each and every one you posted this year!  And those pictures of the old signs and neon...you really captured the nighttime illumination at its best!  After reading this report I felt a bit like Wayne and Garth meeting Alice Cooper backstage.  "We're not worthy!  We're not worthy!"

Here are some regional specialties and other foods I got to try for the first time in 2011: 
 
Ana Potato - Toki Ona Diner (Elko, NV)

 
Bean Dog -Nick's Original Coney Island Hotdogs (Fall River, MA)

 
Burnt Ends Chili - Woodyard Bar-B-Que (Kansas City, KS)

 
Chicharrones - Garcia's Kitchen (Albuquerque, NM)

 
Chislic - Bumpin' Buffalo (Hill City, SD)
 
 
Chocolate Cobbler - Breadbasket (Newton, KS)

 
Coddie - Attman's Delicatessen (Baltimore, MD)
 
 
Coffee Soda - Given to me by Chris Ayers

 
Comeback Sauce - Mayflower Cafe (Jackson, MS)

 
Crab Dog - Crab Claw (St. Michaels, MD)

 
Dynamite - Moonlight House of Wieners (Woonsocket, RI)

 
Fried Crab Claws - Hunt's Seafood & Oyster House (Dothan, AL)

 
Fusilli - Salerno's (Old Forge, PA)

 
Gerber Sandwich - Ruma's Deli (St. Louis, MO)

 
Green Chile Meatloaf - La Plazuela (Santa Fe, NM)

 
Green Corn Tamale - El Bravo (Phoenix, AZ)

 
Ham Pot Pie - Park-N-Dine (Hancock, MD)

 
Hot Cheese Sandwich - J.J.'s Coney Island (Fall River, MA)

 
King Ranch Chicken - Bohannon's Brietzke Station (Seguin, TX)

 
Lobster Pizza - Portland Pie Co. (Scarborough, ME)

 
Michigan Hot Dog - Gus's Restaurant (Plattsburgh, NY)

 
Pizza Strips - DePetrillo's Pizza & Bakery (Warwick, RI)

 
Pork Pies - Hartley's Original Pork Pies (Fall River, MA)

 
Prosperity Sandwich - Ruma's Deli (St. Louis, MO)

 
Pusty - Florentine Pastry Shop (Utica, NY)

 
Real Italian - Colucci's Hilltop Market (Portland, ME)

 
Schnecken - Graeter's (Cincinnati, OH)

 
Smith Island Cake - Peaky's Restaurant (Princess Anne, MD)

 
Snail Salad - Andino's (Providence, RI)

 
Solomo Sandwich w/ Croquetas - Bar Gernika (Boise, ID)

 
Texas Tommy - Steve's Prince of Steaks (Philadelphia, PA)

 
Topopo Salad - Micha's Restaurant (Tucson, AZ)

ChiTownDiner


I beleive I like the sign collection the best...really interersting!

Let me get this straight.....  You like the sign photos even better than the food photos?  Okay, who are you and what did you do with ChiTownDiner? 

Sundancer7


BB:  What a collection of food signs.  I think it is super that you got a lot of the neon at night where they illuminate the best.  Thanks for sharing.

See you in Nashville

Paul E. Smith
Knoxville, TN

It's funny that you mention that, since I briefly considered a post on neon signs taken during the day, that probably look great at night.  Unfortunately, with the sun out, they just aren't especially noteworthy.
 
Thanks to everyone for all the comments, especially Twinwillow and billyboy.  And to Greymo for the wonderful story about Ted's.  That is a great tradition!

Hey Cliff, is there a difference between the Gerber and the Prosperity sandwiches in St. Louis?  
I see that you made it to Kane's Donuts in Saugus, MA.  Did you try the coffee roll?
I'm not sure if I asked you before...what did you think of Brooks' House of Bar-B-Q?
 

Back to the signs, restaurants love decorating their place with images of animals.
 
Fish and other sea creatures:


















 


 
 
 




Chickens:








 
 



 
Cattle:






 
 

 
  
Porcine:






 
 

 

billyboy


Hey Cliff, is there a difference between the Gerber and the Prosperity sandwiches in St. Louis?  
I see that you made it to Kane's Donuts in Saugus, MA.  Did you try the coffee roll?
I'm not sure if I asked you before...what did you think of Brooks' House of Bar-B-Q?

Thanks for the excellent question.  Bill, as close as I can tell, the only difference is that the gerber sandwich has ham, while the prosperity sandwich has beef and gravy.  This was also my first experience with provel cheese and while I wouldn't want to eat it everyday, it was perfect for those sandwiches.
 
Loved Kane's Donuts, but I don't think I ordered a coffee roll.  Would you mind reminding me what I apparently missed out on?  As for Brooks House of Bar-B-Q, we had a party of five and everyone really liked the place.  A great Roadfood spot! 

buffetbuster
 

BB, by any chance did you happen to take a photo of the actual sandwich?  Sounds like it could be a killer as well as a filler!
 
Brad

Brad, yes I did.  The Filler from Giant Drive-In finished #7 on my favorite burgers, so there is a photo on page 1 of this thread.  When I get home tonight, I will see if I have a better photo to put the size in perspective.