NEW POSTERS! Introduce yourselves!

Hungover: Great to meet you and your wife last weekend in MD. I like what I read on your website. Looking forward to seeing you two in July!

quote:

Originally posted by CheeseWit

Hungover: Great to meet you and your wife last weekend in MD. I like what I read on your website. Looking forward to seeing you two in July!

Thanks CW... enjoyed one of the Tastykakes you and Jane Dough so graciously donated last weekend. Counting the days till Cheesesteak Tour 2004!

Hello,

Some few of you may know me but let me take this time to introduce myself. I go by the name of Kodi usually on the net. My real name is Hank or Henry, whichever you prefer. I was born in West Virginia (jokes are appreciated, I love them) but my family lived in Va. WVa was just nearby and that was the best hospital. Rural....trust me. Family moved to Maryland when I was two so steamed crabs are pretty much in my blood.

Grew up here and am still here more years later than I care to think about, even though I hate the winters. I met my wife, Patricia, 20 years ago and she's been the absolute best thing to EVER happen to me! I say that for the ladies out there to just show that men think about these things too. I did have a first marriage but I won't go into that.......bad......very bad. Happy now though!

I started cooking when the first marriage ended and found that I liked it. I'm now hooked on the Food Network and all things like that. And I have to say that while I'm no chef I am quite a good cook, ask my wife.

In addition to cooking, which relaxes me after a 9 hour day staring at a computer screen, I enjoy reading (science fiction, fantasy, horror, science fact....quantum physics facinates me), motorcycles, guns (yes I'm one of those guys....we're not all bad), comic books (I have about 5000 of them.......never quit since I was a kid), movies, beer (home brewer off and on for over 10 years) and martial arts.

My wife and I have one daughter who is out of the nest with her own offspring (grandfather status bothers me not at all) and we have one dog. She's a Norweigan Elkhound who is 17 years old. We had a Husky named Kodi who died about 4 years ago........and yes that's where I got the name. Sad time then. Oh yeah at one time my wife had over 60 frogs. Exotics from all over the world. But that's another story.

I work in the area of engineering/drafting/design so I'm somewhat of a science guy but it's offset by my motorcycle/gun interests. A "philosopher cowboy" I was once called.......I liked that.

In a nutshell that's me and that's my 2 cents.

Kodi

Thanks for the thumbnail sketch, kodi! Good to meet ya' in MD a couple weeks back.

Cheesewit

Glad to meet you and I love you internet name!!

Kodi

Hi, my name is Tom Jackson, and I am a cheesesteak-a-holic.....

*pauses while the assembled crowd says 'Hi Tom' loudly and somewhat out of sync*

I......

*tears well up*

....have never had a real Philadelphia cheesteak!

*crowd issues a collective gasp*

....and until a year ago, thought a real Philly cheesesteak was made with...with...

*crowd leans in to better hear this revelation*

....steakums *groans loudly*

*moderators step forward to comfort and pull Tom off the podium, as he is too broken up to continue*

" Tom, TOM, It's gonna be all right TOM !"

"Now just put down that Cheeswhiz TOM...NO Tom Don't Squirt The Cheeswhiz on that Peanut Butter Sandwich, TOM !!"

"TOM, Even Rocky Balboa made mistakes, TOM, NO Tom You can't substitute Pulled Pork and Skyline Chili for the beef and onion...It just isn't the same.

"Sheesch TJ, Just go to Philly and get one...Then everything will be clear to you .....and stop bawling like a baby....."[|)]

I'm Matt.
Big Stern fan for years, never took a road trip without "The Good Book". Currently live in MD, near DC, but am orininally from NJ and spent some time in NC as well. So I am familiar with good pizza, BBQ, and certain ethnic foods(DC had the best Asian and Indian around.
Play music as a hobby. I will havet o keep this short since I am (GASP!) at work.

Al, I wasn't aware that you were TJ's sponsor in CheesesteaksAnonymous!

My name is Rob. I live and eat mostly in Chicago, but I relish the chance to eat all over the place.

I am sure, like a lot of people, the Stern's books were huge revelations. You mean there is someone like me out there. I've been buying editions since high school, and the books have provided invaluable reference. I am especially glad to have been led to Pope's Cafe in the middle of nowhere TN. I was less enamored with the famous Loveless Cafe.

I've been posting on various foodie Internet sites for many years, and finally started my own "blog" a while back: http://vitalinformation.blogspot.com/

I am a chef and have been cooking professionally for many years. My husband and daughter are as obsessed with food as I am. Searching for great new things to cook and eat is our main reason to travel. We want to experience regional food as many places as we can before Applebee's makes it extinct. I can experience it with roadfood.com without leaving my house. Thank you Sterns!

quote:

Originally posted by Louis

Signman, It's been a five years since I was last in Bloomington. My impression then was that the restauraunt scene in Bloomington was so fluid that it could change rapidly from year to year. So I'm probably not the best person to ask this question. You might want to check the "Where Should I Eat" forum for suggestions for the Bloomington area.

Having said that, there is a restaurant, not listed on this site, that is about an hour or so northeast of Bloomington in the tiny town of Morristown, Indiana called The Kopper Kettle. Jane and Michael Stern listed it in their 1997 book "Eat Your Way Across the U.S.A." In my book that's recommendation enough to check it out. I was there in 1999 and this restaurant has got to be seen to be believed. It is one eccentric looking place, both inside and outside. Words fail to describe it adequately. Someone who has a digital camera should go up there and take pictures of it and review it here. They are closed on Mondays. They are famous for their skillet fried chicken. If you have time, I'd suggest you check it out and report your fresh culinary investigation for the rest of us.
The address and phone number: Kopper Kettle Inn, 135 East Main Street, Morristown, IN 46161; Phone: (765) 763-6767.

I seriously considered buying the house next to the Kopper Kettle when it was for sale 10 years ago but I was afraid my 5 kids would create too much noise for the diners next door.

Welcome, all new members.
I am DaveM, and my new wife (as of April 18) is HeatherB.
We are in Woburn,Ma, about 20 min outside Boston in the "route 128 belt", considered Greater Boston.
I have lived in Nashua,NH, as well as in the Boston area since my birth, and Heather has lived in Maine, Erie,PA, and Ohio.
Heather has actually driven a cab in the city of Boston years back.
She was accepted at the Culinary Institute, but never went, and now attends some classes at the Cambridge Culinary School in Cambridge,MA.
My "family" home has been in Arundel,ME (Kennebunkport), and I have travelled through most parts of Maine, NH,VT, the Maritime provinces except Newfoundland, and Montreal, Quebec.
Please email us or ask any questions regarding our area-we love to help, and to give back to those who have helped us on our trips.
We have used Roadfood extensively on all our trips, and keep your eyes out for our postings on our honeymoon trip with roadfood recommendations from everyone.
DaveM

Hello fellow Roadfooders, my name is Dave and it's great to be part of the scene! I am a native of New Britain, Connecticut, but now live in New York City. When I was a teenager during the Eighties, I can remember reading the Stern's restaurant reviews in the local press! During the last twenty years I haved lived in Boston, Chicago, and Miami, and have always been facinated by great local food culture. I would always be the first of my friends to discover the hidden, homestyle foods that exist right in front of our eyes. Working my whole life in the Hotel business, I've seen trends come and go. Roadfood and the funky and different will always be around! When I was very young, my family took me to Capitol Lunch in my hometown of New Britain for the first time to get one of their famous hot dogs! I guess you could say from that moment on I've been seeking out the tasty, unusual, and the offbeat paths to finding cheap and inspiring food! Well look out Manhattan, 'cause I'm on a mission to find out "eats on the street" and everything else that comes in my way! Hey, if you ever come here folks, I'm the guy who dines on top of a newsbox on the corner, chowing down on the best Middle Eastern food that five bucks can buy at three in the morning! You can catch me walking down the street in the East Village with a huge "slice" on a paper plate in my hand, dodging yellow cabs and alternatively taking bites. Well, it's nice meeting all you fellow Roadfooder and thanks for keeping it real.

Good morning! I've been reading the Sterns work for years-have always gotten a good chuckle out of them!I've been reading the forums for the last few days-REALLY rainy here outside of Chicago-some real pistols on this site! I've cooked professionally for over 25 years-I'm "slumming" right now-cooking for a private preschool,but always enjoy reading cookbooks and collecting menus-my passion!I'd love to know if there are any many threads or menu website that you roadfooders know about-be thrilled to hear about them!

Hi ~ I am Amy, from Weston Vermont. Although I now work at in an office, I grew up in a restaurant family (my brother and father run 3 in Connecticut)and my sisters CA and Maggie each have one in Massachusetts (actually CA's is opening in a couple of weeks in Gill...a hamburger stand! with picnic tables outside, under an awning! ~ I will provide more details to those interested!). Somehow, I escaped the food service vortex (note the latent resentment due to never being allowed in the kitchen at Thanksgiving, while all the professionals were at work)...but I am actually a very good home cook. And I LOVE Roadfood of any type. It all started in high school, when CA and I decided the best food on earth was diner food. There were some very good diners near where we grew up...the Windmills (New Milford and Danbury), the Blue Colony in Newtown. I think nothing of driving almost a whole day to get to a snack shack that I like. I really enjoy this website!

Hey yall,

I went with my friend Victoria on a trip across the US in 1993. We took the Roadfood book and went out of our way to stick to the Roadfood program. It was fabulous. I've been a fan ever since and just found this forum. As a therpist I don't want to say I've ever lurked anywhere. Might be bad for business. Unless you count that time when the Allman Brothers were playing... Oops I'm being tangential!

I now live in Mt Pleasant SC between Charleston and Sullivan's Island. I am NC born and bred so don't try to convince me anyway but my way is the right way, LOL!
I'm happy to meet you all!

Sue Shankle (MSW)

It might be really nice if I could SPELL THERAPIST

quote:

Originally posted by lunasatic

LOVE FOOD here in Boyce, LA (just moved fr/Natchitoches). Population of Boyce is 3 (or so, counting the town dog), NO PLACE to eat (except my mother's house in the next block!).

Thx for the info. I live in Natchitoches, so will look for the places. Don't know Red's Ribs. I think Mama's has the best catfish I've run across (and I'm not a catfish fan); and believe it or not, the ribs at Brookshire's on Keyser are the best I've had outside of West Tennessee!

Hello all! Well, I just spent about 5 hours reading posts, and this place is so neat! I live in southern Illinois, and have most of my life. I had a brief stint (6 yrs) in central Illinois and then came back here. I work in law enforcement, am married and have 2 little boys. 2 and 6 (well almost anyways). We're taking our first family road trip in less than 2 weeks, which is how I ended up here. I look forward to getting to know all of you, and your eating habits

I'm not exactly new anymore, but I've somehow managed to miss this thread in the past few months. Better late than never. My name is Bill (my Roadfood name comes from a botched pronunciation of "William" by one of my Wiedemann-inspired college buddies,) and I've been a Northern Kentucky resident for all of my 41+ years. I consider myself an expert on Cincinnati chili due to my 40+ years of gastric daredevilry in that particular discipline. (Okay, so I'm not an expert, but I've eaten a lot of local chili in a lot of different ways at a lot of different hours, so that's got to be worth something.) I enjoy traveling and finding little out of the way places with oddball menu items or different takes on classic tastes. I'm partial to beaches, but I've been known to spend a vacation day on a two lane road with nothing but my camera, sunglasses and XM radio. (Geez, I get dressed first. Don't be gross.) I have the requisite wife and two kids, have been a baseball, basketball and soccer coach in the recent past and even spent time as a Brownie troop co-leader. (An experience I encourage everyone to avoid in this lifetime.) Other areas of gastric interest include burgers, pizza, steak, seafood, root beer, micro brews, barbecue, dusty candy that's spent quality time on the floor and anything I can throw on the grill.

Hi all!

I've been lurking for a while, but you all seem so nice and I've been wanting to put my two cents into a lot of these threads, so I think it's time to jump in!

I'm a native Pittsburgher, home of putting fries on everything! I seriously never realized this was weird until my boyfriend from California pointed out that this trend is pretty much exclusive to the 'Burgh. Go figure! I LOOOOOOOOVE food, and I'll try anything. Except that duck egg with the fetus inside thing they eat in the Philippines. Organ meats and brains kinda freak me out. I don't really like pork, and those sandwiches they have at gas stations are just wrong. Dense fishes are pretty gross...OK, maybe I won't try anything. But I'm pretty open.

I love cooking and baking. Sometimes. I love the feeling of finding a good recipe, cooking it up and thinking, "Wow! I made this and it's really good!" However, the time put into making an involved dish can be frustrating, and I don't so much like doing the dishes after (no dishwasher here) or cleaning up the inevitable mess in the kitchen. It's really worth it to have your own homemade lasagna, quiche, tiramisu, shortbread cookies, chocolate cake with peanut butter frosting, etc. I wish I had the capacity to create my own dishes. The most I'll do is put different stuff in my scrambled eggs. The best I've done is a good chunky salsa with colby jack cheese topped with fresh chopped cilantro, Tabasco sauce and sour cream. Make it into a breakfast burrito and it's divine! My other creation is shrimp with malt vinegar (uh, not in eggs though). Why has no one tapped into this yet?

Anyhoo, I look forward to chatting with all of you! I'm still a young'in (I'll be 25 in a month and a half) so I'm hoping to learn a bit here.I haven't travelled as much as I'd like, but I'll be picking your brains before my next road trip! Thanks everyone for creating such a friendly and entertaining corner of the net!

Smapdie: "Dense fishes"

Anyhow, welcome aboard. As somebody said, we take our food seriously, but not ourselves!

quote:

Originally posted by Kodi1. . . guns (yes I'm one of those guys....we're not all bad). I work in the area of engineering/drafting/design so I'm somewhat of a science guy but it's offset by my motorcycle/gun interests

Not to worry: A few guns (I prefer to call them "instruments of individualized destruction"), a couple of motorcycles (not now, regrettably), a tattoo, an earring, a taste for fantasy & SF, a bootlegging misunderstanding, an unfortunate predilection for ethnic jokes at anybody's expense including my own. . . . Oh, yes: and I just retired after 25 years as a priest. Recently joined ACLU and am about to rejoin Mensa and join the NRA just to keep conventionalists confused!

No, we're not all bad, we're all individuals.

Hi Everyone, Finally was able to register-Whew! I live and work in a small town near Lexington,Ky. Glad to be on the same board with so many nice folks.

Hi ya'll,

Let this be my first introductory post, on topic and filled with glee at such a great website. I'm an almost 40 year old who spent a few weeks every summer hanging around my aunt Ermie's cafe in Ripley, Mississippi handing out cokes and eating her variant of the slug burger. The restaurant's still there and it's open sporadically since she's in her 70's. It's called Crum's Cafe and if you visit tell her Philip Wallace sent you. Some of my other aunt's sometimes tend the place too. I reside in Smithville, TN, but I do go on the road quite often for business so this forum is a godsend.
The posts here are superlative. I especially love the nostalgic ones.
I was also overjoyed to find the food musings of Ort at this site. I've been a fan of Mr. Carlton since the mid-80's when I used to read his column in Tasty World (not about food, but an Athens music rag).
Wally is an old nickname, and of course the Bangs bit is a tribute to Lester Bangs. I'll answer to Philip or Wally.

Hi, everyone, I'm DP. I'm originally from Mississippi (grew up a few blocks from The Dinner Bell) but have been living in St. Louis for 20 years now. I've had the Roadfood books for years and have given quite a few as presents. I've been trolling the site for a long time and checking out the reviews. I travel a bit for work and always scope out my destinations. My favorite find was the late Ruth and Jimmy's in Abbeville and my current favorite find is DaKine's in San Diego. I've only started posting lately (as if you couldn't tell). I have some new recommendations for the Stern's when they come through St. Louis, namely Iron Barley, La Tropicana, and Billie's Fine Foods.

Hi gang! I'm Joan, and I've been a disciple of the Sterns' for about 20 years. Way back when, I was a music teacher in upstate NH, and I worked at Polly's Pancake Parlor in the summer for extra money. The 'Goodfood' book was being sold in the gift shop, and I bought one, and have since tried many of the recommendations. It's always fun to go to a new town, and eat at one of the listed restaurants, and have a local person be surprised that I knew about the place.

I live in Columbia, MD, home of 80000000000 chain restaurants, and they are ALL crowded. The joke here is that no one ever eats at home!

I am currently a full time student (and wife, and mother). Should be getting my PharmD in just under two years. Until that time, there isn't a lot of time to get out to fun places. I DO occasionally go to Lexington Market, since it's right up the street from the pharmacy school.

Nice to "meet" you all -- let me know if there is another crabcake gathering in this area!

Welcome, Newbies! And keep on posting!

THIS IS ME ON THE DAYS OF THE WEEK. MONTUEWEDTHUFRI MORNFRI AT NOON5MIN BEFORE QUITTING TIMEONE MIN5PMFRI UNTIL SATAFTER MIDAT 2AMSUN UNTIL 7AM[|)]UNTIL 705705 UNTIL3PM[|)]WHEN MY WIFE ASKES ME WHAT I DID ALL WEEKENDAFTER THAT