Road Trip! FL/GA/SC/NC/PA/MD +more! (Pics added)

If you tell me what you are lookin for foodwise in Philly I will tell you where to go.

BUT...

If I were to be in Philly for a couple days and wanted the best flavor here is where I would go.

1. Cosmi's Cheesesteak Double American, Fried onions on a Sarcone roll (8th and Dickenson 215.468.6093)

2. Nicks Old Origonal Roast Beef - Overboard with Provalone / Gravy fries. (20th and Jackson 215.463.4114)

3. Tony Lukes - Chicken / Veal Cutlet Italiano (39 East Oregon Avenue 215.551.5725

4. Sarcone's Deli - Old Italian / Hard Seeded Roll (734 South 9th Street 215.922.1717)

5. John's Roast Pork - Roast Pork Sandwich / Sharp Provalone
(14 East Snyder Avenue 215.463.1951)

6. Campo's - Mama Mia or Godfather / Both on Hard seeded roll (214 Market Street 215.923.1000)

7.Primo"s Hoagies - Crusher / Marinated Moz and Shooters/ Hard Seeded Roll (1528 Ritner Street 215.463.8488

8. Johnny Hot's - Hot Sausage Sandwich anyway you like.
(1234 North Delaware Avenue 215.423.2280)

9. Monk's Cafe - Mussles and Belg. Beer (264 South 16th 215.545.7005)

10. Franko and Luigi's BYOB - Italian Opera (13th and Tasker 215.755.8903)

11. Ludwig's Garten - German Beer (1315 Samson Street 215.985.1525)

12. Termini Bakery - Look around, this is right down the street from Cosmi's (8th and Dickenson 215.334.1816)

13. Isgro - Cannoli's (1009 Christian Street 215.923.3092)


Not sure if this helps but it is making me hungry!!!!

Email me if you have specific questions Philly is where our Eatingteam is based out of...

Tony

UPDATE: I am anxiously awaiting departure from Hooterville on Friday am. So far, I have been unable to secure a rental car that is suitable for the trip, so I may be in the ol' family truckster for the whole trip. I will keep calling errr...pestering my good buddies at Hertz to see if they can come up with something for me.

Here is the updated schedule. Restaurants in which I am pretty confident of a stop are highlighted inred and areas where I could still use a little help are anchored in lime green.

Day One - Friday, December 28 - Central Florida to Albany, GA
I still don't know what the lunch plans are - may revolve around what the car plan is. Still, if anyone is holding out any other recommendations between Valdosta and Albany, GA, I am all ears.

Day Two - Saturday, December 29 - Albany, GA to Columbia, SC or Charlotte, NC
Going to try to hit Stripling's Country Store and/or Bryce's BBQ and Rib Shack in Cordele. Dinner is still going to be late, and I am eyeballing some of the Macon-area BBQ options or maybe Carter's in Cordele. I think I am going to overnight in Columbia and not try to make it to Charlotte that late. For planning purposes, assume [url='http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&hl=en&geocode=&time=&date=&ttype=&saddr=Albany,+GA&daddr=Charlotte,+NC&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=31.426353,59.765625&ie=UTF8&ll=33.155948,-81.320801&spn=4.147376,7.470703&z=7&om=1']this is the route.[/url]

Day Three - Sunday, December 30 - Columbia, SC to Blacksburg, VA
I am planning to meet a friend for breakfast in/near Charlotte. I have read the reviews on the site, and will try to hit the Penguin Drive In, or The Coffee Cup Grillif they serve breakfast??? I am considering a stop in Mt. Airy, NC, if time allows (and Snappy Lunch is open on Sunday?). I have a friend who lives near Blacksburg, who I plan to see on the way up north - stopping for an early dinner - which appears to be at The Home Place in Catawba. He was amazed that I had even heard of the place, but agrees that it is excellent. He also has another place to show me in Roanoke for the evening. He was also kind enough to offer me couch space for crashing purposes!

Day Four - Monday, December 31 - Blacksburg, VA to Philadelphia, PA
My plan is to get a little bit of an early start and drive a little bit of the Blue Ridge Parkway and maybe Natural Bridge - I am all about the scenic splendor. Speaking of which, Foamhenge seems like a must-stop! Thanks, Tony! I hope to stop in Staunton for Wright's Dairy Rite. If I am still making decent time, I plan to stop at the Route 11 Potato Chip Factory in Middletown, VA. Good lord willing, I will arrive in Philly before dark.

Day Five - Tuesday, January 1 - Philadelphia, PA
I know that I am going to the Mummers Parade, but that is all I know. I have no idea what is on the eating agenda, but I could eat my way through the Reading Terminal Market or the Italian Market - or just about anywhere else. I hope to hit one or two of the places that eatingteam suggested either on this day or the following a.m.

Day Six - Wednesday, January 2 - Philadelphia, PA to Baltimore to Richmond, VA
I still plan to get a late start out of Philly, perhaps grabbing a good breakfast, some pretzels, and who knows what else? I plan to swing down towards Baltimore to meet up with my fellow Roadfooders from that vicinity. It looks like a lunch AND a dinner may be needed to accommodate those who can make one meal and not the other. I believe that G&M Restaurant is the place for crab cakes (likely lunch?) and maybe a stop at Lexington Market or a Maryland Blue Crab dinner some place? I will drop those who have expressed interest a private email). I still think Richmond is a reasonable overnight.

Day Seven - Thursday, January 3 - Richmond, VA to Myrtle Beach/Charleston, SC
I still haven't decided whether I am going to Myrtle Beach or Charleston, but I am pretty sure that I am going to find a way to make it to Wilber's in Goldsboro. If I make it to Charleston, I know that I am a dead man if I don't go to 82 Queen.

Day Eight - Friday, January 4 - South Carolina to St. Augustine, FL
This has turned into a true flex day - depends on where I overnight, depends on when I get up in the morning, and it depends on how sick I am of driving! But, I still may be able to do breakfast in Chas, lunch at the Crab Shack on Tybee Island (trust me, cecif - if there is ANY way, I am there!) and still make it to St Augustine for 4 pm, which is the goal. Dinner in St Auggies - well, that's easy....O'Steen's for fried shrimp!!!

Day Nine - Saturday, January 5 - St Augustine --> Home!
Still looking for a breakfast/lunch option in St. Augustine. Departing late afternoon/early evening. My plan, as of now, is to hit the Brickyard (finally) in Daytona for a burger.

So, here it is three days before departure and I still have no idea (really) where I am going - or, in what vehicle I am going to get there! I wish I could hit the Beacon in Spartanburg, but I just don't see it working out time-wise.

Thanks to all for the great suggestions! Now, just pray for decent driving weather, please!

Travelin Man-
It looks like you are going to have an amazing trip!

I am reasonably sure that Snappy Lunch in Mt. Airy is closed on Sunday, but I still recommend you call just to make sure. You will be driving right past two of my very favorite Roadfood joints, which are in that area, Keaton's and Lexington #1. Unfortunately, Keaton's is also closed on Sunday, but Lexington #1 very well might be open and is worth the detour.

Have a great time!

Interstate 75 to GA Rt. 82 out of Tifton takes you through Sylvester, about halfway between Tifton and Albany. A little ways past the Dairy Cream in a small wooden building on the right side of the road is Parkers BBQ. It's beem six or seven years since I've been up that way so I really do not know if it's still there, if it is stop in for lunch. It's not very fancy, wooden floor and old wooden tables & chairs, most of them occupied by farm hands (It's peanut and cotton country). Might not be the world's best but everything is homemade by Mr. Parker and his family, it's what Roadfood is all about. Try the lemonade.

quote:

Originally posted by The Travelin Man

If I make it to Charleston, I know that I am a dead man if I don't go to 82 Queen.

Damned straight!
If you do stay in Richmond overnight, remember McClean's on Broad Street for breakfast.

If you going from Goldsboro to Charleston, you're probably doing I-40 down to Wilmington, and then US-17 down to Charleston. That takes you right past Calabash, NC and the Calabash seafood places. Some say it's a special style of seafood and should not be missed.

Anyway, Calabash is just a few minutes off US-17. The last turn east, just before the SC border. There may not even be a sign for Calabash, more likely a sign for Sunset Beach.

In Calabash, there's a takeout place with a small indoor sitdown area inside -- Seafood Hut -- just on the left as you enter the main restaurant neighborhood, that is as good as the big sitdown places, if you want a quick taste. Everything is lightly breaded and deep-fried.

In Charleston, for just plain good food, I like Jestine's. 82 Queen is good, too.

I wonder how Travelin Man is doing on his trip? Hopefully, he will be able to check in a few times this week and give us some updates.

Maybe even join The Capt and I for our little escapade if he hits Myrtle....

Quick update - don't have much time before I need to hit the road again!

There have been some roadfood hits and some misses...and one new (to me) discovery, so far. Yesterday was the ultimate roadfooder's nightmare. Every place I wanted to try in Charlotte for breakfast was either closed on Sundays or didn't serve breakfast!

Penguin - no breakfast service
John's - not open Sunday
Coffee Cup - not open on Sunday

Fortunately, I learned my lesson about not calling earlier this year when I drove from Nashville to Lexington, TN to go to Hay's BBQ. I even tried to call wanderingjew to see if he had any last-minute suggestions, and fortunately, he pointed me towards citysearch (amazing how you don't use the resources you know when you just get flustered!). We ended up going to the Landmark Diner, which was excellent, and I will have photos (hopefully) and a report later on.

After departing CLT and heading north to meet my friend near Blacksburg, I hit some rough weather - been raining solid through most of the trip from south Georgia already (and, yes, they all need the rain down there - but, did they need it RIGHT NOW? ). Once I crossed the state line into VA on I-81, I was met with the most dense fog I had ever seen. Pea soup does not do this mess justice. Apparently, it is normal, as all the locals didn't seem affected by it.

When I got to VA, I found out that the Home Place is closed through this holiday week so that the family who runs the place can take a break. - again! But, again, at least we called before driving 45-odd minutes. So, my friend said that he knew of a great place in downtown Roanoke that I would love - Corned Beef and Company. Yes...yes, I do love me some corned beef, even though Roanoke may be one of the last places on earth I would expect to find it. Well, we get there around 8 pm, and you'll never guess what happened? Yes, they were closed. - again!

We ended up getting some sandwiches at a local chain called Macado's, which was OK. The sandwiches were good, but I thought the mac and cheese was overly "gooey".

All in all, a rough roadfood day.

Today's agenda - Foamhenge and the Route 11 Potato Chip Factory before arrival in Philly this evening!

Roosy - to what escapade are you referring in MB? I haven't had too much time to read the other threads around here lately.

Travelin Man-
I came very close to going to Charlotte myself this weekend, but when I started calling and nothing was open on Sunday (I know this is the Bible belt, but come on!), I decided to wait until another weekend.

Sorry to hear about the weather. Hang in there and I hope it gets better!

quote:

Originally posted by The Travelin Man

Today's agenda - Foamhenge and the Route 11 Potato Chip Factory before arrival in Philly this evening!

Uh-oh.




Hope the ol' Travelin Man is aware that the "grand tour" at the Route 11 Potato Chip factory is simply looking at said operation through a single plate glass window. Seriously.

The weather today was much better for driving. Happy time.

However, while I knew that the potato chip factory didn't offer much of a tour, I was looking forward to making a "factory store" stop and picking up some goodies for the folks back home.

Oh well...they will do without (or with something else!), because -



Actually, I wasn't even greeted by a sign...just a locked door.

It is just the way that my luck has been running this week!

Travelin Man-
Looks like you were so hungry, you took a bite out of the corner of the "Sorry We Are Closed" sign.

A day late but here's the low-down on both the crabcakes and the RoadFooders consuming the same yesterday at[url='http://www.gandmcrabcakes.com/']G&M Restaurant[/url] located just south of Baltimore in Linthicum Heights, Maryland.

At noon yesterday, I had the distinct pleasure of dining again with my Charm City friend, signman, as well as doing the same and meeting for the first time The Traveling Man.

In short, you could not find better food or better company.

It was an hour-and-a-half of guffaws, pictures taken of food and camaraderie amongst three people who sincerely believe that it is better to dine regionally even if you have to kill someone to do so rather than eating at Ruby Tuesdays. signman, as always, proved the consumate host and Maryland tour guide as later that day he took TTM to Baltimore for another culinary tour there, as well. And TTM is every bit as funny, personable and adventurous as he appears here and his quest for gastronomical adventures is truly contagious.

Anyhoo, the meal started with a shared plate of some of the lightest, hand-battered and delicious onion rings each of us ever had. After that, it was the piece de resistance in the form of [url='http://bp0.blogger.com/_hV1v9AwCc7k/Rlq7MT2vteI/AAAAAAAAAYs/C8e7hDZ6b1M/s1600-h/3.G%26M+Restaurant.jpg']this[/url]. (That photo is just too darn big for this thread but boy does the crabcake in it capture the delectability that is a G&M crabcake.)




These cakes have previously been detailed at length on this site but let me both: repeat that they are simply awesome in their golden, bulbous, lump-full and oversized perfection; as well as detail two observations that TTM, signman and I collectively shared about this mid-Atlantic delicacy:

(1) while some people (criminals, likely) may complain that these are filler-laden crabcakes, such is really offset that you are literally and often pulling out from such cakes larger than bite-sized pieces of scrumptious, moist and tender lump crab meat;

(2) and that for $ 11.95 and accompanied by either bread or crackers as well as your choice of side dishes, this may also be the best value in an unmatched, oversized crabcake.


At the meal's end and before TTM and signman journeyed into Baltimore to discover the culinary charms of that Maryland city, TTM presented to both signman and I some sanwiches he picked-up at a Philadelphia deli that morning for signman as well as to both of us the most wonderful of soft and fresh Pennsylvania pretzels which he also picked-up that day in Philly and some unbelievable chocolate-covered potato chips he kindly and generously transported all the way up from Melbourne, Florida and from the renowned [url='http://www.grimaldicandies.com/']Grimaldi Candies[/url].

Succinctly, a truly great lunch with two truly great guys.

Always a pleasure to dine with you, man named after a highway.

TTM, Can't thank you enough for picking up the Philly goodies. Just finished the last of the Cosmi's hoagies, and warmed just a bit in the microwave, they were terrific. Had half of each kind of roll. Dinner last night was the same.

So, now that The Travelin Man is back, just where is his mid to-south-Atlantic trip report??

if you go through Charlotte.............a stop at the PENGUIN DRIVE-IN is a must!

Hey, some of us are waiting for him to finish up his Pac NW report!

Seriously, I am really looking forward to this trip report. Nobody writes funnier or more interesting descriptions than Traveling Man!

Sorry....life kicked in pretty quickly once I returned to Hooterville. Apparently, no one at the box factory could get much done in my absence!

I tried to get some of the pictures downloaded, and then loaded into flickr, and then do the write-up, and all I got done was the[url='http://www.roadfood.com/Forums/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=24323']Crab Cake Smackdown Report[/url].

There is more to come. I promise.

And, buffetbuster, I also plan to finish the Seattle portion of that trip, too!

With all this writing, it's no wonder I have no time for a girlfriend!

quote:

Originally posted by i95

So, now that The Travelin Man is back, just where is his mid to-south-Atlantic trip report??

No fair...you got the pictures ahead of us all! I know the Travelin Man said he had an older car, but I had no idea it was THAT old.

quote:

Originally posted by The Travelin Man

There have been some roadfood hits and some misses...and one new (to me) discovery, so far. Yesterday was the ultimate roadfooder's nightmare. Every place I wanted to try in Charlotte for breakfast was either closed on Sundays or didn't serve breakfast!

I was gonna say too bad you didn't detour to Spartanburg for breakfast at the Beacon, but they TOO are closed Sundays... I reckon Sunday in the Carolinas is a spotty proposition, food-wise!

Now I gotta keep reading and see if there's a report yet...

p.s. i95 I am truly impressed with that photo find (I see when I hit reply it was on a udel.edu site, but did you just find it on google images or what...?!?!

Travellin Man, you just need a Roadfoodie girlfriend! Look at Chris & Amy ("ayersian"), they make it a "team" effort!!!

quote:

Originally posted by cecif

p.s. i95 I am truly impressed with that photo find (I see when I hit reply it was on a udel.edu site, but did you just find it on google images or what...?!?!

Sorry. Ancient Chinese secret.

Fully embarrassed by buffetbuster's now-almost-weekly efforts and with my next trip coming up faster than I can imagine, it seemed like a good time to actually sit down and work on my previous trip report.
Thanks to the moderators for moving this thread to it's rightful resting place. The complete photo log of my journey can be found at[url='http://www.flickr.com/gp/81181002@N00/816636']flickr[/url]. There are more photos there that were not included in this trip report.

Day One - Friday, December 28 - Central Florida to Albany, GA


Nothing denotes the beginning of a road trip quite like seeing your first "Welcome to..." sign. I had a buddy with me for the first part of the journey - so, the company was nice, as was the ability to plot out the next couple of days with a partner-in-crime. Four hours after departure, and still on time to our destination, we passed into the Peach State.

We arrived in time to watch our basketball team get crushed. It was an ugly display that had me looking forward to some kind of decent meal. Unfortunately, the area surrounding our hotel had little more to offer at 9 pm than an Outback and a Waffle House.

We did find a take-out barbecue joint called Wagner's. As it turns out, they were just about to close, and this may have affected the quality of the product. The staff was extremely friendly - but the food was one grade above awful.


This is in place of the exterior shot. It was way too dark to get anything.


We ordered a combo - which included a little bit of everything. The food was so cheap, and we let our over-empty stomachs do the ordering. Besides, given the cost, we figured even if one aspect wasn't exceptional, we would still have other stuff to eat. Pictured here is the BBQ chicken and sliced pork. The chicken - even the dark meat - was dry and the pork was exceptionally fatty. Drowning the meat in the super-sweet sauce provided only marginal help.


The ribs were the star attraction, but that may have been purely by default. Actually, that is probably just being unduly harsh - the ribs were better than OK. The beef, on the other hand, may well have been the single worst BBQ'd item that I have ever had the displeasure of consuming. This item belongs squarely in the Barbecue Hall of Shame.


I couldn't eat any of the sides, to be honest. I ate two of the ribs and sampled much of the other stuff, but by now, my hunger was simply gone. My buddy ate most of the beans, which makes me think that they might have been OK, but the cole slaw sat uneaten until the next morning.


This almost feels like piling on, but the limp bread was absolutely nasty. Believe it or not, there are four slices of garlic bread shown here.

Fortunately, this was my worst meal of the trip, if not my only disappointment.

Day Two - Saturday, December 29 - Albany, GA to Charlotte, NC

Slept in and got a little bit of a later start out of the hotel. On past trips like this, it is sometimes cool to have breakfast in the restaurant in the morning and chat with the coaching staff. After the previous day's game, neither of us wanted to be within 30 feet of Coach!

It was an ugly, rainy day. The plan was to hit Bryce's BBQ and Rib Shack in Cordele for lunch and make it back before the game. I used a Google search to come up with the phone number. We called to find the number disconnected. Strike One! This will be a running theme for the trip. As an aside, when I drove out of the town later in the evening, I tried to find this place, and I *may* have (it was kind of dark - and it was still raining). So, I am not sure if they are still in business or not - or if I dialed the wrong number?

Instead, we back-tracked a bit to Sylvester, and went to Parker's BBQ. I guess I read John A's recommendation as lukewarm, but I am glad that we went - and after the previous evening's experience (and my previous GA BBQ experiences), I was starting to think that I just didn't care for Georgia BBQ. Parker's did not disappoint, at all!


Right along the main route from I-75 into Albany, along Rte 82 is this little gem of a BBQ place.


The rib plate with garlic toast. The bread was much better than the previous evening in that it had the texture of bread! The ribs were excellent. While the picture doesn't quite show it, the sauce was almost an orange color, but it was pretty tasty - tangy and sweet.


These crinkle-cut fries weren't on the original plate because they were cooked when I ordered them - so, they didn't arrive on the table at the same time as the rest of the food. Crinkle-cut fries must be de rigeur in this area, as we also had the same the previous night (no photo). These were (again) better - the fresh frying helped, I am sure. They were crispy, hot and provided a good transport option for the remaining BBQ sauce.


There is not much to the decor of Parker's - wooden communal tables, notwithstanding. Mr. Parker did come out and greet the table sitting beside us. They looked like they'd been there once or twice before. The staff was exceptionally friendly. As is still often the case in the south, there are times when you may find yourself the only white person in a restaurant - and that was pretty much the case here. Nonetheless, we were welcomed as long-lost family. I would highly recommend Parker's to anyone passing through Sylvester, GA.

Fortunately, our basketball team was able to put it together and come away with a hard fought win. That delayed my departure out of town as there was much more post-game revelry. I made sure that my buddy secured a ride back home and I blazed off into the miserable weather.

Despite my best plans to try Carter's for fried chicken, I just wasn't hungry that soon into my travel. Instead, I ended up punting this one meal and compromising on a chain place that is unavailable to me at home, Zaxby's for chicken tenders. The nearest location to me is about 60 miles away, and I like it just fine. It is nothing exceptional, but it worked into the route (i.e. it was close off the exit in an area that I hadn't planned a stop). More than anything, the timing of the stop allowed me to remain awake (via caffeine) until I made it to Charlotte.

More to follow...

Travling Man..On the way down to Daytona Beach, stop in Jacksonville at the Blue Boy Sandwich Shop..There are 3 of them...Get the one close to I-95. A great roadfood place.

Also stop at Hog Heaven on Ormond on I-95 at the Harley Davidson mega complex. St Louis ribs, mac n cheese and slaw is my suggestion.

Then you should be just about ready for the Brickyard!

If you have any room left over, try Leahan's Chinese off Beville Road.

Damn, those photos are so old I half expected to see them in sepia tones.

Nice report thus far, travelin man....
All Roadfood eyes are awaiting the possible pics from Virginia, Philly, Myrtle Beach, Daytona Beach, and any other surprises you have in store for us.

I'm still meaning to do a trip report from late August, (my Syracuse/New York State Fair/Sylvan Beach adventure).. (somehow I got real backed up with that one!)

Too bad you ran into a lot of "sorry we're closed" signs on Sunday, and at the Corned Beef place at 8 pm. Well, at least the Reading Terminal Market in Philly is finally open on Sundays nowadays

quote:

Originally posted by The Travelin Man

Fully embarrassed by buffetbuster's now-almost-weekly efforts and with my next trip coming up faster than I can imagine, it seemed like a good time to actually sit down and work on my previous trip report.

I'm glad to see that my elaborate and fiendish plan was a success. Now, I think I will just stay home every weekend!

I said it before.....I'll say it again. Nobody writes better descriptions than the Travelin Man!

Thanks for all the kind words so far, folks. I will address those later on....but, I might not want to stop the train that is my writing for fear that the engine won't ever start back up again!

Day Three - Sunday, December 30 - Charlotte, NC to Christiansburg, VA

A friend was driving over from Hudson, NC to meet me for breakfast in Charlotte. As I mentioned earlier in the thread, choosing a place for breakfast proved to be a greater challenge than I had initially anticipated. I purposely encouraged our meet in Charlotte for fear that there would be fewer options in the smaller surrounding towns on a Sunday morning. Little did I know....

So, with no Penguin Drive-In (no breakfast service), no John's (not open Sunday) and no Coffee Cup (also not open on Sunday), I really had no idea what to do. My buddy is a pretty big Waffle House fan, and sensing that I needed to act quickly to avoid that I used my Bat Phone to call wanderingjew to see if he had any last-minute suggestions. He was pretty much as lost as I was, but suggested that I try CitySearch (amazing how you don't use the resources you know when you just get flustered!). One of the highest rated breakfasts in the Charlotte area was a place called the Landmark Diner, which, if I had done my homework properly, I would have known that it is also recommended[url='http://www.roadfood.com/Forums/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=5743&SearchTerms=landmark+diner']here[/url] by the well-respected Ort. Carlton.


Note that the weather is still a continuing theme.


I was looking for a standard breakfast, and the reports that Landmark does the basics well were correct. That is an excellent plate of pancakes - light and fluffy, the way they oughta be. The bacon and eggs were also just the way I like them. Not shown in the photo is a side of fresh-cut fruit. When I inquired as to the nature of the fruit (I was politely trying to determine if this was some syrup-laden concoction out of a can), I was given the only-in-the-South reassurance "Oh, honey, it's cut up right back they-ahh!" Classic.


I am all for clogging my arteries as quickly as I can, but since I was born north of the Mason-Dixon line, I don't know that I will ever understand the lure of biscuits and gravy. However, my buddy declared that these were the real deal. Admittedly, they looked pretty good - and I had my obligatory forkful, but it just isn't something that clicks with me.

Since the rest of this report seems to be in buffetbuster's honor already, I want to add that I also indulged in some excellent chocolate cake for dessert. That's right - dessert for breakfast. Unfortunately, still learning the intricacies of my camera (and desperately not trying to draw attention to myself in this very busy establishment), I couldn't get a decent picture. My buddy got a good picture - with his phone, of all things! I think he may take better photos with his phone than I take with my camera! Unfortunately, I didn't get anything else in the picture to give this slice of cake perspective. It looks amazingly huge - and it was a healthy piece of cake, but I think the photo distorts things somewhat.



Disappointed that I missed out on my planned Roadfood stops in Charlotte, we drove right past this place on the way back to my hotel, and I made my buddy pull over so that I could take a few pictures.


Yes, Bar-b-q King was ALSO closed.


I pulled into one of the stalls anyway. I wanted some practice for later in my trip! [url='http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2409/2256214620_ea524f0f4c_b.jpg']Hi-Res[/url] screen-busting shot of the menu, if anyone is interested.


Honestly, at this point, this picture best summed up my entire trip!

I departed Charlotte with a full belly and a desire to get back at some point to eat at the places that I missed. I trudged through the rain up I-77 towards the Virginia line. As much as I wanted to stop in Mt. Airy to go to Snappy Lunch, well...guess what? It was closed. Intent on making it to my friend's house in Christiansburg (just outside of Blacksburg - near Virginia Tech) and going to the twice-recommended Home Place, I kept on making good time. I crossed the Virginia border into some of the worst fog I have ever encountered. I can only be glad that the rain had subsided and it was still daylight (I think), because visibility was reduced to less than a car length.

White-knuckled, I arrived at my buddy's house around 3:00 pm. They were all gathered around the TV ready to watch their beloved Redskins, who still had a chance to make the playoffs. Nathan informed me that while the Home Place is normally open on Sundays (as their web site indicated), they were closed THIS Sunday, as the entire place shut down for the week between Christmas and New Year's! Of course. We set out for Roanoke to find a good Plan B restaurant that Nathan had come up with - a place called Corned Beef and Company [url='http://www.cornedbeefandco.com/'](web site)[/url]. Sounds like it would be right up my alley, no? Well, it was closed. As a matter of fact, I can't imagine that it would have been possible for FEWER places to be open in downtown Roanoke at any given time - short of the time we were there on this Sunday night.

We ended up at a regional chain, Macado's [url='http://www.macados.com/'](web site)[/url]. They appear to specialize in catering to the college crowd (I am pretty sure all/most of their locations are located in college towns) - with sandwiches, burgers, and pub fare. On this night, we were also treated to the fine Virginia stylings of what appeared to be gay karaoke night. I am not passing judgment, mind you, just trying to eke out the right visual, for those that want to play along on the home game. Fortunately, since neither Nathan nor I are much for cuddling in the booth at a restaurant, it was probably obvious that we weren't there for the karaoke. And, lastly, dudes should not ever - I mean EVER - sing Meredith Brooks's [url='http://profile.imeem.com/P64BZF/music/Kae8P8i4/meredith_brooks_bitch/']Bitch[/url]!

On our way out, right next door, I spotted this place called Texas Tavern, which was neither in Texas nor a tavern (discuss...). That looked like a place I would want to check out the next time I am in town.

We retreated back to Nathan's house to fight another day.

Good job TTM, keep it rollin'! (I want to see what happened near the end in GA...)