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What's the best/worst meal you ever ate on the road

5K views 50 replies 20 participants last post by  Walks With The Wind 
#1 · (Edited)
For me, both Mexican. A place in Prescott Arizona fed "the chef" (Warren) and I both for under $10. Fantastic fresh food, hot chips, perfect salsa..... can't remember the name but it appeared to be in an old Pizza Hut building...

The WORST was a Mexican place in Gallup that offered us round Tostito's chip before the meal. Other than the Subway at the Love's truck stop, I will NEVER eat in Gallup again.
 
#2 ·
Best was a, I don't know what to call it, cook shack, set up in someone's yard somewhere around bayou Teche in Louisiana. I had the best fried crawfish pie and meat pie ever. The crust wasn't just a pocket for the filling. It was buttery flakey awesomeness, and stuffed to the gills.

The worst was a mom and pop "home cooking" place outside Waco, Texas. I had chicken fried steak, green beans and mashed potatoes with a glass of iced tea. I'm pretty sure the whole meal was microwaved in a black plastic tray covered in cellophane. It had all the trappings of a cheap generic microwave dinner. The tea was likely powdered.
 
#4 · (Edited)
The best was a meal in this Top tier Hotel, where I've stayed several times when I've had business in DFW, in Texas:

http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=...7AfKsalTxDw5O2agQ&sig2=8Z_zGOuhCXtmkttkLMe0qw

Much to my surprise, an absolutely wonderful dinner for two, with huge steaks that could actually be cut with a fork, with all of the trimmings, without any adult beverages, with tip was north of $200:biggrin:

The worst meals have always been at any fast food restaurant chain! My riding/ touring bud's just acted like Bugger King, Dairy Queen, Taco Bell or McDonalds were oh-so wonderful:(

I like the little Mom and Pop restaurants where I get 'Home style' cooking. These are the places that I stop and eat at when I'm on my weekly breakfast or lunch rides, usually 150 to 200 miles total so the bike and I need fuel:p

There's nothing like Heartland 'Gas Station' CUISINE, with their deep fried Oprah, day old French fries, fried burritos, with or without a hot dog inside, day old fried catfish and the ever present deep fried 'popcorn shrimp,' and my favorite, ham, egg and cheese on a week old biscuit:p

Sam:coffeescreen:
 
#8 ·
While traveling we always look for the Mom and Pop places. Since they're usually the only places we go, we've had both our best and worst experiences at them. Its all part of the adventure. Last summer we followed a large group of riders into a Ma & Pa place. They walked in like they owned the joint. They started moving around tables so they could sit together, blocking aisles, draping their jackets on empty tables and chairs, while cussing like sailors with small children in the restaurant. Not surprisingly, they left without moving anything back when they were told the grill had just broken so the kitchen was closed. After they stormed out, the waitress came to get our order. When we mentioned that we thought the kitchen was closed, she winked and said "it just opened again". That would never happen at a chain restaurant. :biggrin:
 
#9 ·
Mmmm! Gas station food. There was a Texaco in Opelousas, Louisiana that had a kitchen. They made all sorts of hand eat food. Amazing. So says, they made their own boudin. It was delicious.

Allsup's fried burritos are a cult classic.
 
#10 ·
Worst meal many years ago at a Country Kitchen in KC, had biscuits and gravy and the sausage in the gravy must have been bad... got food poisoning. :frown:

General rule of thumb for a good place to eat is where all the pickup trucks are parked. Haven't hit a bad one yet. ;)
 
#13 ·
I think the worst was a pizza place somewhere between Rochester, MN and Anamosa, IA. A buddy and I were riding to J+P cycles and made a quick lunch stop in some little town along the way. I would say that it was a frozen pizza, but I haven't actually had even cheap frozen pizza that bad. The crust was like a shingle, the sauce bitter and the rest was just super salty.

I have a tie for the best.
The chicken quesadilla at El Dorado in Ashland, WI. Huge portions, great prices, and just a little bit of chaos in the restaurant.

and

The jagerwurst and spatzel at Harbor Haus in Copper Harbor, MI. I love German food anyway, and this is among the best I've had.
 
#15 ·
One of my favorite road trip meals was at a church picnic. I had completed the 48 states in 10 days ride and had been eating gas station, truck stop food for 10 days.
I stopped at a church to see if someone would sign my IBA witness form and I was invited to the church picnic. Mmmm homemade food!!

 
#20 ·
Awww man! Now you guys are putting up pics of delicious looking chow... I'm going to gain weight just following this thread! :smiley_drinkcoffee:



One of my favorite road trip meals was at a church picnic..... I stopped at a church to see if someone would sign my IBA witness form and I was invited to the church picnic. Mmmm homemade food!!
Pretty hard to beat a church pot-luck! :thumbsup:

From perusing your pics, Rollin, I'm beginning to think half of the reason for your riding adventures has been to find unusual and delicious menu offerings! ;)
 
#24 ·
I should not have wandered into this thread. Now I'm hungry and stuck at work...

Best road food: some local diner just off the Blue Ridge Pkwy. It was some gravy-covered toast stuff. Either I was really hungry or it was amazing because I remember it 25 years later.

Worst road food: Almost any fast food joint. Road food should be local cuisine.
 
#25 ·
Worst road food: Almost any fast food joint. Road food should be local cuisine.
Agreed. I am always amazed that people travel to different places and then just eat the same thing they eat in their hometown. Isn't a big part of travel trying new things in new places, with cuisine being pretty high on that list.
 
#26 ·
Fast food chains have their place. When I'm on the road I use them because they are predictable, reliable, fast, and cheap. I can pull in, spend 3 bucks and some change, and I'm back on the road in 15 minutes. Spend a little more and some of them have some decent choices too. But, the only time I usually eat fast food is when I'm on the road, so I'm not already sick of it before I start.

Local places can be great if I have the time to spend and I want to sit around in a restaurant. If I'm actually stopping for a few hours, or at the end of the day maybe, they can be good options. During the day when travelling though I don't often have the time and would rather keep riding then sit around.
 
#27 ·
Good point! Sometimes we eat fast food just to keep on schedule en route. It's once we reach our destination that we REALLY want to sample the local flavor!

Fast food chains have their place. When I'm on the road I use them because they are predictable, reliable, fast, and cheap. I can pull in, spend 3 bucks and some change, and I'm back on the road in 15 minutes.
 
#28 ·
If I'm on the back roads, I always go for the local place. But if I'm on the super slab, fast food is usually the option just for convenience.

Besides, the local places will usually have some vegetables dripping with oil so I can at least pretend I'm eating healthy and watching the figure.:biggrin:
 
#30 ·
If you're crossing the country on I-80 take a short detour to the Amana Colonies in eastern Iowa and check out the Colony Inn Restaurant in Amana. No menus. They serve family style. It's like going to grandma's house for dinner. You sit down at big tables and they start bringing you big platters and bowls of delicious 'home-cooking' type meals.

Only problem is a real likelihood of over-eating.
 
#32 ·
It may have been Critter. These out of the way places rarely have set hours. Open and close when they feel like it. But I ALWAYS check the door. Never can tell. Found an out in the sticks bar like that on a hot day once and I wanted a soda. Not a car or bike anywhere but checked anyway. They were getting ready for the rush that would hit in a few hours. Deer Creek Lodge just outside California Hot Springs. I'm ******* enough I figured I could manage it. Really nice bar and grill. So had a home cooked burger and a beer instead of the soda. Still no one there when I left about an hour later all fat and relaxed ready for the 200+ mile ride back home.
 
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