Road trip? Better take your own food

[LVSteve]

You missed some great eats! Relic Road in Winslow gave me one of the best pastrami sandwiches I have had west of the Mississippi, and the chupacabra eggs are something everyone should try. Plus you can get your picture taken on the Corner.

The El Rancho in Gallup is an old Western filming local and does a heck of a steak sandwich

The Junkyard Brewery in Gallup is the site of an old Junkyard and much of the interior is incorporated from that. The BBQ is great, especially if you go when they have duck.

You also would have passed Laguna Burger, which some people consider the finest Green Chile burger in the state (I am not one of them, but still...)

On the way to Texas we were in 'get there' mode, and on the way back it was out of sync with mealtime. Did take our pictures on 'The Corner', though.

After our experience in the downtown area, I began to think that 'Gallup' is an ancient Indian word for 'Panhandler Central'. The food sounds interesting if a little heavy when traveling.

Laguna Burger sounds interesting. I guess we could try that in Albuquerque.

 

[Golddollar]

We prefer the small and cozy places. Great mom and pop off I95 in Ridgeland SC called Eats and Sweets. Our go to when heading to HHI, Savannah or points south.

We had three places like that around here and now we're down to 1. The long time owners retired and nobody took over the business. One is now a flea market and the other is now a Dunkin' Donuts.

 

[kaaskop49]

I remember 'road food' as being chance-y. Traveled by Greyhound across the U.S. in 1965: the company's rest stops featured cafeteria-style spreads that had sat for too many hours. Small glasses of OJ that had separated, for example, and stale sandwiches. No thanks. We learned how to ask the counter staff to heat a can of Heinz soup from the display on the wall behind the counter. At least it was safe and there is no stigma in my life eating food from cans. Back then, not all the fast food places as exist now. (Stay out of the Hong Kong Cafe in Flagstaff.)

Arrived at a Wyoming rest stop near midnight: a motel alongside a giant stories-high pile of gravel(?) from the nearby mine. Diner closed, so dinner was 2 Snickers bars from the machine. Memories...

Gotta learn how to make do: this evening, neighbor/best friend brought over another filet mignon from his grill. See why he's my best friend?

Kaaskop49
Shield #5103

 

[Greyman50]

On the road now to a long time friends in N?C. Small town North of Durham and has one of the best “ home cooking” eateries I’ve found. Place is kind of run down, serve in styrofoam to go boxes with plastic ware but food is like ones Grandmother fixed 50-60 years ago and large servings. PM me if interested as not sure about posting name. Spent the night in Savannah on way here and have found several pretty good eateries there.

 

[lihpster]

A guy can go a long way on Cheez-Its and pepperoni sticks. Wash it down with a Red Bull and you can go even farther.

 

[SMSgt]

Sorry, duplicate post.

Some posts are worth repeating.

 

[LoboGunLeather]

Some posts are worth repeating.

In my case it is more a matter of old man fat-fingering the keyboard.

 

[Mr. Vito]

I like McDonalds, and some other "fast food" places as well. I'm not thrilled with the higher costs in the last couple of years, but I enjoy the food. When out for the day I can enjoy stopping at Mickey D's for a double quarter pounder with cheese, fries and a Diet Coke. But better than McDonalds, and certainly more costly, is Five Guys. Really, really good burgers even if a bit costly.

As to Denny's, I haven't been to one in about 20 years and never cared for their food. The only positive part of Denny's was that they were open 24/7.

 

[Golddollar]

I am a connoisseur of the cubed Lebanon baloney and cheese offerings at Rutter's.

 

[Rule3]

I tend to agree, but because of the distances between civilization out West, it's often all there is or all that is open.

For example, if we leave Vegas for Phoenix and take the most direct route, there is lots of food in Kingman (~110 miles), but after that it gets flaky. Wikieup is 161 miles away with one restaurant, but then there is nothing until Wickenburg, 236 miles. Leave Vegas after work and tell me where you are going to eat. Then there is the "how long do I want to stop" question. The Cracker Barrel in Kingman is usually slammed.

When we did our run to Texas last Christmas, we noted that a bunch of the 'towns' next to I-40 were really collections of trailers near to some railroad facility or were actually reservation settlements. Many of the signs for the 'towns' off I-40 between Flagstaff and Albuquerque had no indication of food at all.

Have no fear, the only thing on "hold" at MD is the 1/4 lb due to the onions. You will not starve

 

[375hh1973]

Had a Double Quarter Pounder with cheese, large fry, and a large coke for lunch today.

Don't eat a lot of fast food but I had a craving.

Got my salt and grease for the week, and yup, it was tasty!

 

[Mike SC Hunter]

I hear Cracker Barrel is shutting down a number of locations. They have new management and a new menu not quite as good as the old one. Waffle House is referred to by my sons as. "The Mother Ship"

Cracker Barrel lost a lot of customers when the put in an alcohol bar.......

 

[Greyman50]

Cook Out is the “ best fast food” burger joint I’ve found and been 5-6 years since eating at one. Find and try one you will like it.

 

[03hemi]

Just got back last Friday from a week long annual golf trip with the boys, played golf, smoked cigars everyday at different courses in Hilton Head.
We ate out every meal, nobody's dead yet. lol

 

[robvious]

She who must be obeyed and I just got back from a 10 day double road trip.. headed north from Nebraska to Sioux Falls SD with our car club for the annual overnight cruise weekend... then took off for New Orleans with our first overnight stop in Arkansas (6.5 hour drive) then did the long haul to The big easy (11.5 hours).. she is a great road warrior.. we google upcoming towns and search for wineries, breweries, distilleries, meat lockers & cheese makers... she can survive on jerky, meat sticks, string cheese and Pepsi Zero.. maybe a wine tasting... we have a no franchise rule on road trips.. has worked for over 30 years.. and have found some wonderful places with wonderful people.. recommend Melbas in New Orleans... all the food was awesome and I believe that they are open 24/7... and daiquiri to go... road trip home was different route.. followed the Mississippi River with an overnight stop in Cape Girardeau, beautiful historic town. We continued and took a left at St Louis.. went thru the Rhineland of Missouri... beautiful and lots of places to stop for sausage, jerky, whiskey & wine.. recommend Hermann Missouri as a stop... for a couple of days if possible... we travel with an empty cooler... usually full when we get home... those are the souvenirs we like most...

 

[Doug M.]

The older and more aware I get, the less I eat at fast food places unless just desperate.

 

[kozmic]

And for those who don't know how to fight, there is usually a Cracker Barrel close by to the Waffle House

The only fight going on after a meal at Cracker Barrel is the one in my intestines.

 

[kozmic]

My wife and I have been making frequent weekend day trips to scope out the migratory birds on the local lakes and ponds. We pack a light lunch or just some snacks so we save room for ice cream at any of our favorite joints. Sadly, most ice cream only shops begin to shut down for the winter right about now.

We haven't been to a choke and puke in years. Local diners? Yes. Fast food places? Hard pass.

 

[ladder13]

​

I tend to agree, but because of the distances between civilization out West, it's often all there is or all that is open.

For example, if we leave Vegas for Phoenix and take the most direct route, there is lots of food in Kingman (~110 miles), but after that it gets flaky. Wikieup is 161 miles away with one restaurant, but then there is nothing until Wickenburg, 236 miles. Leave Vegas after work and tell me where you are going to eat. Then there is the "how long do I want to stop" question. The Cracker Barrel in Kingman is usually slammed.

When we did our run to Texas last Christmas, we noted that a bunch of the 'towns' next to I-40 were really collections of trailers near to some railroad facility or were actually reservation settlements. Many of the signs for the 'towns' off I-40 between Flagstaff and Albuquerque had no indication of food at all.

She, the brains, plans our stops as she did from Phoenix to Cottonwood to Sedona to The Big Hole to Scottsdale. She spends hours checking mileage, arrival times and everything else.
We ate at not one single fast food joint, all mom and pops, all great experiences.