I blame my association with quality car roadtrips and good meals on the trail on my Dad (Thanks Dad). In my youth, the trip to Maine in 1966 to 1972 was always highlighted by a stop at Godfried's in Saugus MA for a delightful breakfast or lunch. My discussion (today) will hopefully unveil other considerations for a stop that by my definition is "within 1 mile" of any of any major highway (today) in the US. The 2 stops that have been enjoyed by me recently would include a stop at Rein's Deli in Vernon CT (US 84) and a stop at Frank Pepe's Pizza in New Haven CT (US 95). On both stops, I acknowledged certain modern advantages to travelling today and placed my order ahead of time. I seek the alternatives in this discussion to the fast food choices that I partake in when I fail to plan ahead, which is 75% of the time.
I don't plan ahead at all I should though. Some of these pizza places though that Dave Portnoy reviewed they will sometimes give me a 2 or 3 hour wait time. New Haven especially. And yeah I do the exact same thing, just concede and get those 10 piece mcnuggets buy one get one and call it a day.
I try to eat at local restaurants and avoid chain restaurants when I travel. One of my coworkers went with a group of people to New Orleans one time and she told me everyone in the group except her wanted to eat dinner at Pizza Hut.
A little more than a mile off I 80, but worth the detour:
There's a stretch of I 80 in Pennsylvania that used to be marked by a sign reading, "No services next 87 miles.". Lewisburg is about 8 miles south of the highway in the middle of that section. When I was at the US Prison in Lewisburg (don't ask) I discovered Country Cupboard, a nice hotel attached to an Amish restaurant. Simple food well prepared.
On the eastern end of Indiana is Shipshewana, which is Mennonite, rather than Amish, but again simple food made well.
You will not be surprised to learn that the Amish and Mennonites are not big fans of strip clubs, at least in their own neighborhoods.
I set google maps to whatever the destination is. Then, once I’ve done that, I will go back to the search engine and “search along route” and click the the restaurant category. The options that pop up will show you how long of a detour you’re making. Skim google reviews on the available options and then pick a place.
I've used Google, Yelp, and a phone app (iExit) with a decent degree of success to not go 10 miles in the wrong direction looking for fuel, food, or rest stops.
From978: I was in that neck of the woods one night in October and chose a detour to State College PA for the evening. That was not a detour I regretted!
The risk nowadays is the processed foods and adding toxic oils in the cooking process. The safest options really are a burger, with half the bun, no mayo or minimal mayo, or a steak. A lot of rice is cooked in oil. Places like cava and chipotle cook their meats and rice in sunflower or rice bran oil. A burher or steak usually doesnt have added oils. Although it seems some places like cheesecake factory, add oil to their beef and buns, maybe steaks too. There is way too much grease on the beef and bun there
That's just more planning than I can do on a long road trip. My goal is generally to make as much distance as I can in a certain amount of time. I try to time my food and bathroom stops for when I need gas in order to minimize the number of stops. So often I am at the mercy of chain joints. When I am south of the Mason-Dixon line I'll usually try to find a Golden Coral so I can avoid the carbs so I don't get groggy. Otherwise looking for a Subway.
Tony's (Now Tony's I-75 Restaurant, I guess he needed to make it clear) was always our go to when traveling down to Detroit. It was a great family restaurant and apparently still there 40 years later. I still look for family owned places whenever I can find them.
Maps all places on the food network. It has a road map feature where you can set how far off your path you are willing to drive. You do not have to use the road map, you can just search a city. I have found a ton of really good places using this site.
Shadow - I thought we were travelling down the "dining at the Y" path, but no - Cafe Risque is a qualifier!
Daddilac - Thank you for the value add! I will bookmark your provided link.
Sgt - You made me look strictly by the statement "when travelling down to Detroit"! If Tony's was a little further south I might check it out. Looking at the website Tony's looks like Jim Gassegun's (sp) restaurant of choice.
Covid restrictions pretty much forced me to brown bag it while traveling and I’ve mostly stuck with it unless there is a restaurant I’m really wanting to visit. It takes a bit of planning and prep up front but I’ve noticed how much better I feel minimizing the grease, carbs and who knows what in processed foods.
London, KY just off !-75 between Lexington and Knoxville.
Great local restaurants - Local Honey and The Abbey.
Fun bar with good food - The Butcher's Pub.
Nice bnb that will be less than a chain hotel; The Bee Hive.
McDonalds sells two mcdoubles for $3.50 everywhere. Toss the pickles, toss cheese off one of them, toss all the buns out besides half of one bun. You end up with one half bun, one slice cheese, 4 patties, diced onions, and ketchup mustard. The pickles need to be tossed because of the additives and crazy ingredients in them like “alum”.
The problem with places like cava and chipotle is they add lots of oil on their rice... sauces like guacamole are high fat high calorie... and they actually even cook their meats, even their beef, in rice bran oil or sunflower oil. Most burgers dont have added oils. And even if you want carbs theres better sources than rice or burger buns.
60 years ago, my Dad and I were returning from my grandmother's funeral. It was time for lunch and we were about 30 miles from home. I had a McDonalds or Burger King in mind but my Dad, who travelled a lot in his work had a different idea. He pulled into a roadside diner, replete with several semis out front. I was not enthused.
We went in and we both got the special - a Salisbury steak with mashed potatoes, peas and gravy for very little more than a burger and fries would have cost.
What a revelation for that 11 year old! Easily one of the best meals I ever had that my mother hadn't cooked. I also learned that the presence of long distance truckers in front of a diner virtually ensured that the food inside would be great. That has never let me down.
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I feel bad.
I stopped at Costco today and had a hot dog.
There's a stretch of I 80 in Pennsylvania that used to be marked by a sign reading, "No services next 87 miles.". Lewisburg is about 8 miles south of the highway in the middle of that section. When I was at the US Prison in Lewisburg (don't ask) I discovered Country Cupboard, a nice hotel attached to an Amish restaurant. Simple food well prepared.
On the eastern end of Indiana is Shipshewana, which is Mennonite, rather than Amish, but again simple food made well.
You will not be surprised to learn that the Amish and Mennonites are not big fans of strip clubs, at least in their own neighborhoods.
From978: I was in that neck of the woods one night in October and chose a detour to State College PA for the evening. That was not a detour I regretted!
A lot of times I’m just like Muddy, in a rush and just need any type of food and whatever is in front of my that I can eat while driving wins.
I am a master at dipping nugget nuggets while driving, and I only get sauce on my jeans 20% if the time.
Maps all places on the food network. It has a road map feature where you can set how far off your path you are willing to drive. You do not have to use the road map, you can just search a city. I have found a ton of really good places using this site.
Daddilac - Thank you for the value add! I will bookmark your provided link.
Sgt - You made me look strictly by the statement "when travelling down to Detroit"! If Tony's was a little further south I might check it out. Looking at the website Tony's looks like Jim Gassegun's (sp) restaurant of choice.
Great local restaurants - Local Honey and The Abbey.
Fun bar with good food - The Butcher's Pub.
Nice bnb that will be less than a chain hotel; The Bee Hive.
The problem with places like cava and chipotle is they add lots of oil on their rice... sauces like guacamole are high fat high calorie... and they actually even cook their meats, even their beef, in rice bran oil or sunflower oil. Most burgers dont have added oils. And even if you want carbs theres better sources than rice or burger buns.
We went in and we both got the special - a Salisbury steak with mashed potatoes, peas and gravy for very little more than a burger and fries would have cost.
What a revelation for that 11 year old! Easily one of the best meals I ever had that my mother hadn't cooked. I also learned that the presence of long distance truckers in front of a diner virtually ensured that the food inside would be great. That has never let me down.