LATEST REVIEWS
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The Egg and I
Minneapolis, MinnesotaThe Egg and I is a surviving old-school diner in hip Uptown Minneapolis. Many come for dinner plate-sized pancakes
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Jesse’s Embers
Des Moines, IowaJesse’s Embers of Des Moines, Iowa, cooks steaks on an aromatic charcoal grill and serves them with great onion rings and expertly-made cocktails.
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Nelson’s Ice Cream
Saint Paul, MinnesotaNelson’s is a long-time St. Paul scoop shop that pleases crowds with eye-popping portions of ice cream in dozens of flavors.
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Soul Food Kitchen
Orlando, FloridaAt this best-bet soul food restaurant in Orlando, specialties include baked chicken, roast pork, and triple layer cakes.
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Don’s Drive-In
Traverse City, MichiganA pink building with a bright neon sign, Don’s of Traverse City is a big slice of Americana – a burger-&-malt drive-in dating back to 1958.
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Poodle Dog Restaurant
Fife, WashingtonDiner fare is excellent in at the Poodle Dog in Fife, Washington. The stand-out item is a butterhorn pastry that is as large as a lunch plate.
GUIDES
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Roadfood Favorites in Miami
With ready access to fresh seafood, a thriving population of cooks from Latin America, and culinary culture that’s both tradition-minded and cutting-edge, Miami is a great place to eat. Among Roadfood favorites are exemplary Cuban food in the Little Havana part of town, smokin’ urban BBQ, Caribbean ice cream, and fabulous surprises up Fort Lauderdale way….
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Hash Tour of South Carolina
7 STOPS |
227 MILES
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4 hr 13 min
Hash (on rice) is the star side-dish at barbecue parlors throughout South Carolina. A byproduct of whole-hog cookery, but frequently also made with beef, it can vary from soup-loose to stew-chunky. It delivers intense barbecue flavor, but beyond that dreamy duet of meat and smoke, it can vary from relish-sweet to savagely peppery. True Barbecue…
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Roadfood Favorites in Bend, Oregon
For many visitors, Bend, Oregon is all about the outdoors: hiking, fishing, skiing, and biking at their best. If all that healthful activity and fresh mountain air engender robust appetite, the personable city offers a variety of good places to eat. Among the Roadfood favorites are bakeries, butcher shops, and food trucks, fantastic pizza, ridiculously large…
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Local Authentic Eats from Las Vegas to Palm Springs
8 STOPS |
313 MILES
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5 hr 28 min
Road Trip Overview
This 5.5 hour road trip will take you over a total of 312 miles from the chaotic fast paced streets of Las Vegas to the relaxed town of Palm Springs just next to Joshua Tree National Park. With 3 fantastic restaurants in Las Vegas and another 5 in and around Palm…
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Eat Your Way Through Texas; Dallas, Austin and Hill Country
8 STOPS |
316 MILES
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5 hr 27 min
Road Trip Overview
With a total of 316 miles to cover on this food filled road trip, the predicted drive time is 5 ½ hours. Beginning 30 minutes outside Dallas, the second largest city in Texas, this road trip will take you through small towns and fields, as well as the city of Austin,…
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The Best Places for Pork Roll in New Jersey
What’s Pork Roll?
A New Jersey inamorata little known beyond state borders, pork roll, aka Taylor Ham, is pink like baloney but rugged-textured like salami. It contains enough sugar that when a slice is fried, it develops a caramelized crunch on its surface. It can be a plated breakfast meat (like ham) or the…
DISHES
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Frito Pie
Casseroles layered with corn tortillas go back to Mesoamerica, but the Fritos pie (or, if you wish, Frito pie) cannot, by definition, predate 1932. That is when Fritos were patented by Elmer Doolin, who got the recipe from a streetcorner vendor and started selling them at his lunch counter in San Antonio. (Doolin subsequently invented the…
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Snail Salad
What Italians throughout New England call scungilli, Rhode Islanders know as snails. And while scungilli salad is fairly rare, snail salad is ubiquitous in the Ocean State. The creature in question is a sea snail, what south Floridians might recognize as conch –a very pretty mollusk in a spiral shell. It is boiled, its meat extracted…
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Beef on Weck
Beyond perfectly cooked and expertly sliced roast beef, the “weck” aspect of Buffalo’s favorite sandwich is essential. From the German word Kummel, meaning caraway seed, a kummelweck looks vaguely like an ordinary hard roll spangled with caraway seeds and coarse salt. But it is not ordinary. A correct weck is delicate, its freshness evanescent. Lightness is…
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Lemon Icebox Pie
When the climate is hot and a meal is spicy, no dessert is more refreshing than lemon icebox pie with its cool, sweet-tart equilibrium. It is popular throughout the South, but especially so in Memphis and down into cotton country.
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Hot Lobster Roll
Simplicity itself: hunks of warm, fresh-picked lobster bathed in butter and piled into a split-top bun that has been lightly grilled (in butter) on both sides. No mayo, no lettuce, no herbs or seasonings. Just sheer lobster-eating bliss.
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White Clam Pizza
White clam pizza was first served in New Haven in the mid 20th century. It is a simple pie, made with neither tomatoes nor mozzarella cheese – just freshly-opened clams, minced garlic, a dusting of sharp Pecarino cheese and a sprinkle of herbs. The elegant medley is really more a flatbread than a pizza, its crust…
FEATURES
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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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Roadfood Adventures: Beulah to Moran Township, Michigan
The northern part of Michigan is known to Michiganders and Midwestern vacationers as “Up North.” It’s a natural wonderland, surrounded by Great Lakes coastline, covered with forests and farms, and dotted with convivial taverns, town cafes, and remote restaurants with ambitious chefs as well as downhome diners and old-time drive-ins. It’s cherry and apple orchard country,…
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Jane’s Diary: Quest for the Macrame Owl
A few days ago I walked past a gift boutique in my home town and came to an abrupt halt. In the window display among the cute pink and green Lily Pulitzer shifts and novelty gifts for the golf nut in your life were two macrame owls.
You may not be familiar with macramé’s first flush… -
Jane’s Diary: Meeting the Titan of TV News
For a few years Michael and I bounced among Good Morning America, The Today Show, and CBS This Morning doing Roadfood segments. Decades back, lots of people watched these network shows; and if you were fortunate enough to be on one, whatever you were selling sold. Roadfood sales soared…