Jane & Michael coming to your area?

RE: Jane & Michael coming to your area? (Ort. Carlton.)

Thu, 04 Sep 2003 19:46:22 GMT

Dearfolk,
I need to amend my outdated post. For a month now I've been eating nearly every day at The Normaltown Cafe' in their new 175 B Tallassee Road location here in Athens. It qualifies as Roadfoodable because it's right down from an exit on The Athens North Bypass (which carries U. S. 29 and 78, and maybe also 129 and 441 at that point). It's also what I would refer to as Sternable because y'all would appreciate it.
The best days (to me, anyway) are Tuesday and Thursday... Tuesday they have shepherd's pie (ummmmmm!); Thursday is pot roast day, and you can even add pot roast vegetables on the side. Thursday's homemade creamed corn is too good to imagine. Most everything else runs the gamut from superb to downright heavenly.
Since the place is open from 6:00 A. M. until 9:00 P. M. every day, it's a good breakfast stop as well (served until 3:00 P. M. any day, or even later if they aren't real busy and the cook is in the mood).
I've found a good 'un, folks, and wanted to share it.
Unhungrily, Well-Fed Ort. Carlton in Restaurant-Glutted Athens, Georgia.

RE: Jane & Michael coming to your area? (ksiegel@mac.com)

Thu, 07 Aug 2003 13:11:46 GMT

Here in Tampa Bay, anything goes. I'd recommend El Cap in St. Pete, who claim to have the best burgers in town, and they've been there for about 50 years. Also, The Hurricane on St Pete Beach for excellent grouper sandwiches, the ancient 'n' stinky Coney Island Grill in St Pete for greasy oniony chili dogs and hand-made shakes, the Dairy Inn a few miles north for the best of stand-up/hot weather/low class dog & suds noshes, and always, always, may I recommend Alessi Bakery on Cypress Street in Tampa.

RE: Jane & Michael coming to your area? (Sundancer7)

Thu, 31 Jul 2003 05:14:05 GMT

lleechef: I figured you had to do you own stuff cause as I recall, there ain't jack---- on that road except gravel and pretty scenery. I could barely get a bag of chips at Livengood.

As I recall, the trucks that travel that highway only have one speed and that is wide open

Incidentally, I could not open your website

Paul E. Smith
Knoxville, TN

RE: Jane & Michael coming to your area? (lleechef)

Thu, 31 Jul 2003 01:55:55 GMT

Actually, we did find really good food all along the Haul Rd. (Dalton Hiway). We have some of our pics on the Prudhoe Bay website, one of the better ones was the HotSpot Cafe, just north of the Yukon River Bridge. By the way, once you pass Livengood, it's 414 miles up and 414 miles back........all on a gravel road. It was one of the best road trips ever. At Oil Spill Hill (80 miles from Deadhorse) we luxuriously dined on duck breast, pommes Darphin, fresh vegetables and a great 1989 Chateau Croix de St. Georges. Who says you can't have great food in the Last Frontier??
check it out: www.prudhoebay.com/photos_Zemanek.htm
PS. I cheat......I'm an executive chef.

RE: Jane & Michael coming to your area? (Sundancer7)

Wed, 30 Jul 2003 15:50:32 GMT

LLeechef: Betcha did not find too much road food on the Dalton Hwy. If I recall, that was the dirt road from Fairbanks to the Prudhoe Bay oilfields. If so, I drove up to Livengood cause I thought it must be a town cause it had a dot there on the map. turns out it only had one old piece of a store and was run by and old prospector from Yugoslavia named Sam. Said he got there by dog sled in the 40's.

Paid him $16 for a six pack of bud twenty years ago. Must have been really thirsty that day.

Paul E. Smith
Knoxville, TN

RE: Jane & Michael coming to your area? (lleechef)

Wed, 30 Jul 2003 13:13:48 GMT

Come on up to Alaska for roadfood in The Last Frontier. I've never had a bad meal here, the food is great. King crab, halibut, wild salmon, shrimp, ling cod, snapper are superb. Fresh vegetables grown in the Mat-Su valley and moose, buffalo, elk, caribou are excellent. Buckwheat sourdough pancakes are a must while here, maybe with a side of reindeer sausage. Some Katchemak Bay oysters and smoked salmon make a nice snack with a glass of chardonnay. We have driven on every road in Alaska, including the Dalton Hiway to the Arctic Ocean, and have had GREAT roadfood!

RE: Jane & Michael coming to your area? (hucknbock)

Wed, 30 Jul 2003 09:55:03 GMT

I live in central Maine, and the problem with getting anybody to come to Maine is, all they want to see is the coast. But on the off chance that they would want to venture inland, here's where I would take them:

Breakfast: Big G's Deli in Winslow. I always have their 3-egg omelets, but if that is only 3 eggs, the chickens must be juiced. I think there is a choice of about 25 items you can request for fillings. Comes on a serving platter with a mess of home fries (that's oversized hash browns for you westerners) and raisin bread toast which is about 1 inch thick and 8 inches tall. My wife always has a "breakfast sandwich," that bears no relation at all to the McD's variety. 50's rock-n-roll decor.

We very seldom eat lunch after a Big G's breakfast, but I might take you back for lunch. They have at least 80 sandwiches named after celebrities, plus about every other combination you would want. My favorite is the "Avocado Montebon" -- seafood salad, bacon, swiss, and avocado. Same size bread, so my wife orders a half portion, eats a 1/4 and takes the other 1/4 home for dinner.

Or if you want variety, we could go to the Purple Cow. This may technically be a chain, since there are two of them, but the one in Fairfield is a typical western cafe (which is not typical in Maine), and where all the blue-collar locals hangout.

For Dinner we would go to the Lakewood Inn in Madison. Lakewood was a thriving artists colony on the Straw Hat circuit back in the 20' and 30's, and the original buildings are still there. The live theater has been going steady all along (I hear they even got air-conditioning last year!), but the restaurant was abandoned for about 10 years before being restored about 3 years ago. The dining room is a glassed-in porch with a wonderful view of the lake. Elegant venue, excellent service, gourmet cooking (or as close as you get in Maine), rich deserts, reasonable prices. I like the Fettucini with shrimp and chicken. If you time it right, you can even go to the stage play afterward.

RE: Jane & Michael coming to your area? (Oneiron339)

Fri, 11 Jul 2003 09:21:26 GMT

Hey Ort, you forgot the Royston Diner, which has great jumbo cheeseburgers (all the way) and Double Bridges BBQ in Franklin Spgs. BTW, I know where Vanna BBQ is and have eaten there many times (but I think it's only open 2-3 days a week). So you owe me one. Zeb's is better IMHO. I'll work on the ATL list for you.

RE: Jane & Michael coming to your area? (Ort. Carlton.)

Thu, 10 Jul 2003 21:26:21 GMT

Dearfolk,
When those gallivanting Sterns rumble down here to Georgia, I'll keep them busy for aeons: The Normaltown Cafe'; The Gateway Cafe; Plantation Buffet; Weaver D.'s; Wilson's Soul Food; Chonnell's; Ms. Sarah;s; Mama Sug's in Winterville; The Silver Screen Grill in Crawford; The Berryman House in Bowman; Vanna Country BBQ in Vanna (all you town freaks: I dare you: find THAT one!); Bar-H Barbecue in Franklin Springs; The Roystonian in Royston; Backstreet Bar-B-Que in Hartwell; Robison;s Bar-B-Q in Monroe; Charlie's in Monroe; The Trackside Cafe in Auburn; Zeb's Barbecue out from Danielsville; Cross Roads Bar-B-Que out from Canon (down the hill a few miles from the Canon Universalist Church); then I'd turn them loose with my Atlanta possibilities. When y'all are coming, let me know. I'll work up a better list.
Always Hungrily, Ort. Carlton in 30601-land.
P. S. Oh, about those w-o-n-d-e-r-f-u-l onion rings in Anderson, South Carolina

RE: Jane & Michael coming to your area? (jmckee)

Thu, 10 Jul 2003 18:39:42 GMT

Cincinnati, OH, or actually just outside the county...

Breakfast: Marx Hot Bagels. Great bagels, excellent coffee, slightly deranged attitude.

Lunch: Maya's, in Blue Ash. The world's best Jewish-Bolivian-French restaurant because it's the world's only Jewish-Bolivian-French restaurant. Wonderful soups (Italian Wedding Soup on Tuesdays is a must). Superb salads and stuffed Bolivian pastie/calzone hybrids. And a pastry counter to die for. Or at.

Dinner: hmmmmm....Lots of choices, but because I love real barbecue and there's not much of it here, I'll pick (this time) BBQ Revue. It's in an old Frisch's Big Boy, whence it moved after 13 years as a carryout-only business. Terrific ribs, beef, chicken, barbecued over a slow hickory fire. Sauced with a distinctively spiced brew--do I detect a hit of celery seed? Top-knotch side dishes, including the goopiest Mac-n-Cheese I've ever had. Desserts? Dunno. Never left room. Recently, the owner, who's a railroad buff, bought a 1940's diner car and had it moved to a track in the parking lot. He's having it renovated into a stand-alone ice cream parlor.

Nevertheless, for dessert there's only one choice: Graeter's ice cream. Get one of the chip flavors. Or a sorbet. Or chocolate. Or Peach. Or the flavor of the month. In August, get cocoanut ice cream with bittersweet chocolate sauce--a Mounds sundae. Get a chip wheelie: Chocolate Chip ice cream sandwiched between two chocolate chip cookies. Get a soda. A shake. Just get some.

RE: Jane & Michael coming to your area? (paoconnell)

Mon, 30 Jun 2003 23:35:35 GMT

Well, I live in Las Vegas NV, the city that reinvents itself continually. There aren't many "old time" Mom and Pop places, so I'll suggest goodies at the various casinos.
Not too surprisingly, the smaller casinos have the most interesting food.

Breakfast: The Golden Gate at 1 Fremont Street--the oldest casino in Las Vegas. Very good breakfasts at the Bay City Diner, and (as a midmorning snack) the famous 66 cent Shrimp Cocktail (popcorn shrimp, but still good) at the San Francisco Shrimp Bar and Deli (which also has good sandwiches).

Snack: $1 Vienna Beef hot dogs at the sports book in the Barbary Coast at the Strip and Flamingo, or at the Suncoast on Rampart a few blocks south of the Summerlin Parkway.

Lunch: Our favorite (yeah, it's not road food, but the place is family owned, homey, and close to home) is the sushi special at the Narita Japanese Restaurant, on Tenaya just north of Cheyenne.

Dinner:

First, we're talking buffets here.

Best inexpensive buffet is the Garden Court Buffet in Main Street Station (on Main Street just north of Fremont). Food is simple, but the variety is great Cost is $10.29 to $14.99 depending on the night of the week.

Best Expensive buffet is the Aladdin Spice Market Buffet at $19.99, but worth every penny. Delicious food, including Middle Eastern/Greek food, seafood, Italian food that isn't just spaghetti and pizza, and superb desserts.

Best Coffee Shop Special: Lucky's 24/7 at the Hard Rock Hotel, Paradise and Russell. From 4 PM to 7 PM (but it's not on the menu--just ask the waiter/waitress) they have three Twilight Special dinners for $5.99: prime rib (my favorite!!), a half chicken, or bowtie pasta primavera. The rib and chicken come with potato or vegetable. All three meals come with a nice salad.

Best Bar Food: Triple 7 Brewpub at Main Street Station. Try the pizza or the ribs, as well as the microbrews.

Coffee Shop I've heard about but haven't been to yet: the Peppermill, near the Riviera on the Strip. The place looks like a coffee shop right out of the 60s, and the food is supposedly excellent and generous.

Happy Eating!

Pat

RE: Jane & Michael coming to your area? (DaveM)

Mon, 30 Jun 2003 22:45:26 GMT

Abbott's Frozen Custard in Rochester down by the lake.
Did that and the Dinosaur BBQ in one day.
Great BBQ, and New England doesn't have Frozen Custard
DaveM

RE: Jane & Michael coming to your area? (NancyPeter)

Mon, 30 Jun 2003 20:50:46 GMT

Another good spot to try in Cooperstown is the Doubleday Cafe on the main drag in town. Great breakfast/lunch/dinner plus gorgeous wooden bar in front. The Hall of Fame is just down the road a piece...

RE: Jane & Michael coming to your area? (Cosmos)

Tue, 24 Jun 2003 18:17:39 GMT

Its Skaneateles, and yeah I think the Krebs is still running, although they've been trying to sell for years. I've never been there though, have to give it a shot.

RE: Jane & Michael coming to your area? (seafarer john)

Tue, 24 Jun 2003 17:36:52 GMT

Is Krebs still going on Skeneatlis(sp?) ? It was a nice top a lot of years ago, but havn't been there in years.

Cooperstown is worth a visit for the Omergang Brewery, and I'm told there is a very good BBQ in town.

Also recommend the Sterns try to get to some of the cheesemakers in the central NY area.

RE: Jane & Michael coming to your area? (Route 11)

Tue, 24 Jun 2003 15:16:31 GMT

If they were in the Charlottesville area...The Nook, Lafayette Hotel in Greene Co. VA and Theresa's Place in Dillwyn, VA. I wish there were some better restaurants in Charlottesville proper, but they all feel the need to be "edgy".

RE: Jane & Michael coming to your area? (Cosmos)

Tue, 24 Jun 2003 13:13:02 GMT

quote:
Originally posted by confusedemmy

Well, Jane and Michael ARE coming to my area (Ithaca, NY). Not too much roadfood to shout about around here, but I CAN highly recommend the fried russet potatoes with chipotle aioli at "Just a Taste". UMMMMM. My favorite take on a classic.

I was quite happy to get the e-mail saying they are coming to the Ithaca area, especially the part about trying the Dinosaur BBQ in Syracuse. (the last time they were in town they couldn't squeeze it in their agenda).

I would recommend lunch and dinner visits to get the full Dino flavor. Savor the standard BBQ at lunch when its a bit less crowded, but come back for the expanded menu and adventurous specials at night, (don't forget to sample the sauces). I'm sure Mr. Rushmore will be a good guide, if he's not on the honeymoon by then, (and if he is, send me an e-mail).

While you're in town you could try Doc's Little Gem Dinner for a frittata, or pick up some Leihs and Steigerwald sausages, or try some of the local spaghetti joints, and you can always find a charity cornell-style chicken BBQ.

Welcome to Central New York, I hope the weather works out for you, its been a bit wet & chilly (still, that's good BBQ eatin' weather too).

RE: Jane & Michael coming to your area? (confusedemmy)

Tue, 24 Jun 2003 11:47:13 GMT

Well, Jane and Michael ARE coming to my area (Ithaca, NY). Not too much roadfood to shout about around here, but I CAN highly recommend the fried russet potatoes with chipotle aioli at "Just a Taste". UMMMMM. My favorite take on a classic.

RE: Jane & Michael coming to your area? (muzzlehatch)

Mon, 16 Jun 2003 00:33:01 GMT

One day in the Burlington, VT area:

Breakfast: Farmer's Diner in Montpelier (45 min drive), the best breakfast spot in N Vermont I've seen, bar none. Corned beef hash and sausages are musts!

Snack: Meier's Bagels, Burlington. Best bagels in town, very cheap, Montreal-style

Lunch: Burgers or fish-n-chips and the Vermont Pub and Brew, washed down with a pint or two of the Brutal Bitter (especially if they have it casked), Smoked Porter or Burly Irish. Sit outside and get a nice view of City Hall Park.

Snack: Mirabelles. Best pastries in town.

Dinner: Burlington is really more of an ethnic-food town than a roadfood-town, so let's end it with the Five Spice Cafe, a great melange of Malaysian, Indonesian and Thai cuisines with the spiciest most inventive food in the area. Great seafood and vegetarian dishes, especially; good tropical drinks. Expensive for Burlington, probably $75+ for two.

Then a walk by the lakefront at sunset. What could be better?

RE: Jane & Michael coming to your area? (RubyRose)

Sun, 15 Jun 2003 22:29:22 GMT

Glad I could bring back some food memories of the Lehigh Valley. Frank N. Burger, Norma J's is right on Route 309 (east side of road) about 3 miles and 5 lights north of Route 22. Next door is what used to be Parkland High School and is now a middle school since they built a new high school. FYI, they also razed and rebuilt the old Starlite Diner, right off of I-78 on Route 100. It looks like it's completed but hasn't opened yet.

Edited because I didn't give very good directions

RE: Jane & Michael coming to your area? (frank n. burger)

Sun, 15 Jun 2003 17:05:28 GMT

hello ruby-where exactly is the breakfast spot you mention? i go to allentown all the time. i live in pottsville. yoccos is by far the best hotdog spot in the area. i also used to eat often as a kid in the early 60s at the willows. my aunt and uncle lived within walking distance and fondly remember french-fried pumpkin.also a parkland atendee.thank you.

RE: Jane & Michael coming to your area? (mayor al)

Sun, 15 Jun 2003 15:38:50 GMT

Let me turn the tables on our hosts with this thread theme in mind. Micheal or Jane... Fill us in a bit about how you select an agenda for you adventures? Do you have a final destination, then fill in the days as you head towards that goal...Or Do you plan each meal stop based on previous experiences and/or recommendations? Or is the whole thing a roll of the dice, a tank of gas, and a change of clothes and off you go??
I am interested in the planning phase of a roadtrip that is,indeed, based on roadfood...Rather than a trip to see Mother or DisneyWorld, with interesting stops along the way.
I have done roadtrips with railroad activity as the criteria for route selection...In fact we still do that a lot. (another hobby is train-chasing and rail photography), but haven't set up a real foodie-trip.
So let us in on the how's and Why's of the planning stages, Pleae!!

RE: Jane & Michael coming to your area? (howard8)

Sun, 15 Jun 2003 15:30:39 GMT

Rubyrose: Outstanding. If your not married and thin, I would like to meet you and do that outstanding itinerary. Michael: if you are ever in the Hackettstown, nj area, please try Golden Skillet Fried chicken. I did a thread in the chicken category and no one responded. It is so damn tasty. People love their ribs but I have not been able to stop myself from ordering the chicken; particulary them thar thighs.

RE: Jane & Michael coming to your area? (mayor al)

Sat, 14 Jun 2003 02:45:49 GMT

Depending on the time of year of their visit to Kentuciana we would have a couple of Alternatives...
1.Bluegrass area in KY with breakfast in Louisville, Up to Jungle Jim's in Fairfield Ohio for a shopping spree in the ultimate foodie store, then return to Louisville via the Claudia Sanders Dinner house in Shelbyville KY. An easy one day outing with some real fun, and a couple of good meals thrown in.
2. So Indiana-- Up to Gnawbone for a Tenderloin sandwich and a loop thru Bloomington for some ice cream then west to the Amish places, maybe the Black Buggy for a dinner fit to fill a thousand starving Ethiopian Refugees. Back to Louisville ..
Both loops make easy day trips that offer some interesting scenic or historic stops along the way.

RE: Jane & Michael coming to your area? (seafarer john)

Fri, 13 Jun 2003 18:53:24 GMT

Re: Hot Shoppes. Your are right, Marriot was the owner. The man who was in charge of all the Thruway Hot Shoppes was one of the original owners of New Paltz' famous Pat and George's bar on Main Street - more familarly know as P&Gs and still going strong under excellent management. George is long dead and I think Pat is also gone. Pat was rumored to have moved up in the Marriot organization after they lost the Thruway franchises - a reward , I guess, for squeezing every penny out of the places abusing captive clients. Anyway, Pat was a nice guy who frequently came around to P&Gs and was generous with "setting up the bar" when I was in college.

RE: Jane & Michael coming to your area? (ocdreamr)

Fri, 13 Jun 2003 11:53:16 GMT

jpatweb

Do you remember the one in Williamsburg? It was the only place my grandmother would eat on her semiannual trips there.

RE: Jane & Michael coming to your area? (jpatweb)

Fri, 13 Jun 2003 11:42:37 GMT

The DC area Hot Shoppes were a different sort from the thruway versions. On some levels they oozed a bit of Southern cafeteria charm. Lots of old-timers took their meals there regularly. Unfortunately they lost out to developers, demographics, changing consumption patterns, and everything else that can spell doom for these types of places. Closed one by one until eventually the last shop, in Bethesda, Maryland, was shuttered. I think Marriott owned them.

RE: Jane & Michael coming to your area? (seafarer john)

Fri, 13 Jun 2003 11:02:14 GMT

The education I am gaining in regional names for food items is just great. In my neighborhood, whiting is a kind of hake filet, and lake trout is a pink fleshed member of the trout family that comes from fresh water lakes. We would , among other preparations, deep fry a whiting filet, but never a lake trout.

We once had Hot Shoppes as the exclusive place to get a snack and gas along the New York State Thruway (The Dewey Thruwey). They were God-awful places- dank, smelly, not too clean, bad coffee, worse sandwiches, inept service, and overpriced gasoline.

RE: Jane & Michael coming to your area? (ocdreamr)

Fri, 13 Jun 2003 10:00:47 GMT

jpatweb

First you have to understand that lake trout is another way of saying whiting (don't ask, I don't know why, it just is) To find it you have to get away from the inner harbor & get out to the neighborhoods. It's mainly a soul food offering so it dosn't show up in the main tourist areas but you might run accross a place in South Baltimore near Federal Hill and over on the east side around Fells Point. It's one of those things best offered in a little corner shop or when the church ladies put together lunches that offer either chicken or fish. To describe it, it is a whole fish lightly battered & deep fried served on a slice of white bread to absorb the grease.

RE: Jane & Michael coming to your area? (jpatweb)

Fri, 13 Jun 2003 09:41:58 GMT

Wandering: We do indeed have a surfeit of ethnic eateries, particularly in Northern Virginia (for a thrill, check out the Eden Center in Falls Church next time you're in the area) and for that I'm grateful. In fact, the foods of certain countries, such as Vietnam and Afghanistan, have been dug in for so long that they're part of the mainstream. In the spirit of this board, however, I don't consider them to be roadfood, at least not for the time being.

On the diners you mentioned, I have to first say that I grew up in New England, right smack dab in the classic diner belt. I have high standards in this area and seldom find anything south of Jersey that meets my ideals. Silver is an ersatz diner, 100 percent profit driven and probably soon coming to a theater near you. By the way, I completely agree with your comments in another thread regarding chains. Tastee is just ok. I wouldn't go out of my way for it. I miss the Hot Shoppes.

Ocdreamer. Huge fan of Baltimore, in fact, I'll be there tomorrow. Morning Edition for breakfast and then anything is possible. I'm not familiar with the lake trout angle. Please elaborate.

Michael: It's settled then. My lunch today has hot smokes written all over it.

quote:
Originally posted by wanderingjew

quote:
Originally posted by jpatweb

I live in the DC area, where sadly, local roadfood gems are few and far between. I'd tell them to try their luck in Baltimore.

True but you guys have more ethnic restaurants than you can shake a stick at. Besides, what about the Silver and Tastee Diner. I know they are a small (very small) "mini chain" in the area. How are they