LATEST REVIEWS
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Lost River Drive-In
Arco, IdahoIf you are hungry near Craters of the Moon National Monument, Lost River Drive-In is the place for excellent burgers, fries & shakes made with real ice cream.
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Ruiz Hot Dogs
Tucson, ArizonaAn empty-lot cart with a semi-attached dining area, Ruiz serves one of Tucson’s best Sonoran hot dogs.
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Barto’s Idle Hour
Frontenac, KansasBarto’s Idle Hour serves the best fried chicken in Kansas, sided by German potato salad, cole slaw, onion rings, and bread baked by the Frontenac Bakery.
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Clam Shack
Kennebunk, MaineClam Shack fried clams are great; lobster rolls are even more impressive, so huge and fresh. Al fresco dining only at this Kennebunk landmark..
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Backyard Cafe
West Columbia, South CarolinaThe Backyard Cafe is a destination for handsome hamburgers, after-5pm Dixie dinner & from-scratch ice cream atop squares of gooey butter cake.
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The Lemon Tree Co.
Boise, IdahoBoise’s Lemon Tree Co. makes both vegan/vegetarian and carnivore sandwiches, including a massaman curry bahn-mi and Frito-accented Peruvian with sausage.
GUIDES
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The Best of Branson, Missouri
Branson, a city of countless entertainment theaters, not to mention zip lines, wax museums, and mini-golf courses, is a tourist Mecca. But that doesn’t mean it lacks good places to eat. In fact, some restaurants that cater to tourists do a fine job serving honest Ozark vittles, like the pork tenderloin at the always-crowded downtown Branson…
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Roadfood Adventures: Scottsdale to Bisbee, Arizona
7 STOPS |
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1 min
Scottsdale to Bisbee, Arizona
Roadfood Adventures are not just quests for great food wherever the road leads, but an invitation for travelers to connect that memorable…
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Best Eats in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee
Anybody visiting Dollywood, Pigeon Forge, and Great Smoky Mountains National Park will have no trouble finding a place to eat – there are hundreds. The trick is to find a good one. These “bests” are Roadfood’s choices to enjoy a unique eating experience that is delicious and memorable, served with genuine hospitality.
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Hidden Gems: Savannah
10 STOPS |
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1 min
The city of Savannah is a profoundly colorful swirl of Low Country flavors that taste of old-time Dixie, of the Low Country, of African-American soul, and of the modern South. This roster of Roadfood favorites is only a start to savoring a city that is an eater’s dream.
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Hidden Gems: Key West
12 STOPS |
12 MILES
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1 hr 1 min
Key West likes to call itself The Conch Republic, meaning its culture is unique, like a nation unto itself. Foodwise, that means a wonderful, crazy mix of restaurants that reflect the Caribbean and the Deep South with flavors that range from traditional to off-the-map creative. Here are a dozen Roadfood favorites that offer a memorable tastes…
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Chicago Must-Eats, Humble & Grand
12 STOPS |
59 MILES
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2 hr 6 min
If you are looking for a true taste of Chicago — eating experiences that are unique to the city or at their very best here — savor these memorable Roadfood favorites. They range from humble donut shops to grand steak dinners and of course include Chicago’s magnificent hot dogs, deep-dish pizza, and the great street-food sandwich…
DISHES
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Dixie Dog
Hot dog historians believe that the Dixie dog first was configured in Huntington, West Virginia, where it remains immensely popular, at Stewart’s root beer stand, which opened in 1932. The next year, proprietor Gertrude Mandt developed a chili sauce and started serving hot dogs. Exactly when slaw became part of the formula is lost in the…
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Maple Bar
Washington is a great donut state, but its finest fried morning pastry is longitudinal rather than round. We refer to the maple bar, a specialty of nearly every donut shop. Generally, it is a simple, lightweight, quick-fried bar topped with a lather of maple frosting that creates a taste as big as the outdoors. Popular add-ons…
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Pimento Cheeseburger
The pimento cheeseburger was invented in Columbia, South Carolina in the 1960s at a long-gone restaurant called the Dairy Bar. The inspired pairing of carnivorous succulence and cheddar luxury, with a soupcon of spice, has become popular throughout the state and much of the Southland, but you still find the beefiest and cheesiest ones in and…
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Poutine
One way to refer to yukky leftovers in colloquial Quebecoise is to call them poutine. At its worst, poutine can indeed be awful. But made right, it is transcendent. It must start with excellent French fries (twice fried), which are a staple at roadside snack bars throughout the province. Top the hot spuds with squeaky-fresh cheese…
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Carne Adovada
Carne adovada, marinated meat, is hugely popular in New Mexico, where it is pork chunks or chops sopped in a puree of red chile and baked slowly enough to become dramatically tender and, in serious chile-growing country, even more dramatically hot. Served in all levels of restaurant, it can be a substantial and quite elegant main…
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Smith Island Cake
Not every state has an official dessert. Named for one of the two inhabited islands in the Chesapeake Bay, Maryland’s Smith Island Cake is a 10-layer tour de force of fluffy cake and creamy icing in all the colors of the flavor rainbow. It’s well worth trying to eat it on Smith Island, where the locals…
FEATURES
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Cle Elum Bakery
Cake donuts and maple bars are at their best in this long-standing town bakery, which also is known for its cookies and bread. Good coffee, too.
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Roadfood Adventures: Winter Park to Miami, Florida
From Orlando and Winter Park down the east coast of Florida to Miami is a journey of never-ending adventure. Here you encounter brilliant sunshine, exotic wildlife, and bright urban energy, as well as an array of spectacular seafood, Latin-spiced specialties, and farm-fresh fruit. Must-eats include rock shrimp, El Cubanos, porky chicharones, and spectacular grilled cheese sandwiches….
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Roadfood Adventures: Selma to Montgomery, Alabama
Sweet Home Alabama! … from Selma – Queen City of the Blackbelt – to Montgomery — the Heart of Dixie — is an inspiring journey through the Deep South. Selma is all about the birth of the 20th century Civil Rights movement as well as home to some of the best BBQ in the nation. Montgomery,…
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Roadfood Adventures: San Luis Obisbo to Ventura, California
Memorable food stops with meals that are California’s alone … sophisticated wineries and wine-tasting rooms: these are the pleasures of an oceanside drive through SLO CAL, named for its easy-going pace, part of California that retains Golden State allure. Much of it is still wide-open country, with a legacy of cattle ranches as well as restaurants…
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Two For the Road
By Jane and Michael Stern
Originally Published 2006 Gourmet Magazine
OUR FIRST DATE WAS OVER A WHITE-CLAM PIZZA at Pepe’ s Pizzeria on Wooster Street in New Haven, Connecticut, and it was instantly apparent as we gazed into each other’s eyes across the thin-crusted Neapolitan pie speckled with tiny, tender…
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Jane’s Diary: The Bar Sinister
Paris, London, Rome, Butte. Yes, Butte, Montana! This may seem a weird line-up of favorite cities, but it’s true. I have traveled the world a fair amount and have gone to places exotic enough that I worried about strange bugs biting me, but few have been as memorable as Butte.
I am not an authority on…