LATEST REVIEWS
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Sue’s Grill
Wagener, South CarolinaAn ingenuous little diner at the edge of town, Sue’s goes the extra mile to serve good burgers, sandwiches, and square meals. Pleasant staff, decent prices.
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Spud Fish and Chips
Kirkland, WashingtonA humble eat-in-the-rough Seattle area seafood restaurant, Spud serves some of the best fried cod and halibut anywhere, sided by superb French fries.
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Sion’s Mexican Restaurant
Manhattan Beach, CaliforniaSion’s is a casual coffee shop in a motel parking lot that surprises with regional Mexican breakfast specialties.
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Denmo’s Snack & Dairy Bar
Southbury, ConnecticutDenmo’s is a happy Connecticut drive-in restaurant serving excellent fried seafood & hot lobster rolls as well as beautiful foot long hot dogs with hot relish.
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Cha Cha Chicken
Santa Monica, CaliforniaCha Cha chicken is a pan-Caribbean beach shack doing all sorts of clever things with chicken and jerk sauce.
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Gray Brothers Cafeteria
Mooresville, IndianaGray Brothers cafeteria is a Hoosier heartland sampler, including fried chicken, four-star mac ‘n’ cheese, cornbread stuffing and butterscotch pie.
GUIDES
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8 Best Casual Outdoor Dining Spots in Chicago
Some of Chicago’s best Roadfood is eaten standing up at a counter or at outdoor tables. Here are eight of our favorite only-in-Chicago places where eating outside is the right thing to do on a beautiful spring day.
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13 Best Taco Places in America
When we started hunting Roadfood many years ago, good tacos were hard to find anywhere other than the southwest borderlands and southern California. Today, great tacos are nearly everywhere. Here are 13 of Roadfood’s favorite places to get the best tacos coast to coast.
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Best Bets in Louisville, Kentucky
If you’re in Louisville, Kentucky, for the Derby (or any other reason), Roadfood has a few essential eateries to recommend for the best local, authentic meals. For Derby Pie and countless other fabulous pies and cakes, the Homemade Ice Cream and Pie Kitchen is a gem. Kentucky’s legendary hot brown sandwich was invented at the … Continue reading Best Bets in Louisville, Kentucky
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Skyline Drive Detours
Skyline Drive, the 105-mile two-lane that threads through Virginia’s Shenandoah National Park, has decent food at its National Park Service Oases. (Try the Smithfield Ham Monte Cristo or the roast turkey with cornbread stuffing at Big Meadows Lodge at mile 51.2.) But when big appetite beckons, we head for one of the four entry/exit points … Continue reading Skyline Drive Detours
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Pies Across Arkansas
Which is America’s #1 pie state? Iowa, Wisconsin, Oregon, and Maine all are contenders, but we’re tempted to give the nod to Arkansas. Cream pies and fruit pies, baked pies and fried pies are at their best throughout the state. So, when eating barbecue, catfish, meat-and-three, or country ham — all pretty darn wonderful in … Continue reading Pies Across Arkansas
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Tucson’s Mexican Gems
Among the countless Mexican restaurants in Tucson, these five give the best feel for the amazing range of styles and specialties, from the outlandish Sonoran hot dogs at El Guero Canelo to humble neighborhood tacos at Pico de Gallo, and to chef Suzanna Davila’s magnificent meals at Cafe Poca Cosa, where you never know what … Continue reading Tucson’s Mexican Gems
DISHES
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Meat-and-Three
A term used through much of the South but especially in Nashville, “meat and three” quite simply refers to a menu template that lists two to five entrees and one or two dozen side dishes. From these lists, a diner picks one entree and three sides. Among the sides will be vegetables, but also congealed … Continue reading Meat-and-Three
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Whole Hog Barbecue
Whole hog barbecue is an arduous, time-honored ritual that few modern restaurants continue to employ. The process commences late in the afternoon, when the pitmaster starts burning oak and hickory logs until they turn to charcoal. The coals are pushed from the chimney where they burnt into an adjoining pit, where halved hogs are arrayed … Continue reading Whole Hog Barbecue
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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 … Continue reading Pimento Cheeseburger
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Crab Louis
Dressing is important in Crab Louis (or, if you wish, Louie). It is mayonnaise, cream, lemon juice, and red chili sauce, usually with green onions and spice. But of course, what matters more is the crab. Fresh Dungeness crab makes all the difference. No one knows for sure where the Louis formula was created, or … Continue reading Crab Louis
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Spiedies
Binghamton’s marinated, skewered, charcoal-cooked hunks of pork known as spiedies are quintessential bar food, wanting nothing more than cold bottles of Genesee beer to be complete sustenance. Their presentation is straightforward: the meat on the skewer rests on a slice of plain white bread which rests on a small paper plate. That’s all there is … Continue reading Spiedies
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Puffy Tacos
Scottsbluff, Nebraska, has been home to immigrants from Texas and Mexico for nearly a century; and it boasts restaurants that reflect that southwestern flavor. The custom in many of them is to flash-fry corn chips and tortillas so they puff up in the oil and become as three-dimensional as a sopaipilla – airy breadstuffs with … Continue reading Puffy Tacos
FEATURES
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The Best Local Restaurants in and around Palm Springs
Palm Springs is an eater’s oasis in the desert. If you come on I-10 from the west, stop in Cabazon at Hadley’s Fruit Orchards (where trail mix was invented) and at Crazy Coyote Tacos for hotter-than-hot sauce. From the east, visit Shields Date Gardens in Indio for a date shake, date pancakes, and date ice … Continue reading The Best Local Restaurants in and around Palm Springs
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Yellow Church Cafe
Expertly crafted artisan fare, including house-baked breads and world-class cakes, make meals in Ellensburg’s adorable former church restaurant truly heavenly.
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Model Pharmacy
A vintage lunch counter serving true New-Mex green chile stew, warm fruit cobblers, and soda fountain specialties, Model Pharmacy is a taste of old Route 66.
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Route 66 through Albuquerque
Route 66 did not bypass cities. It ran straight through their hearts. In Albuquerque the old highway is called Central Avenue, and it takes travelers right past or very near a bevy of excellent downtown eat places — some new, some dating back to the heyday of the Mother Road.
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Jane’s Diary: The Thing is…
For those of you who may not have committed to memory the complete works of Jane and Michael Stern, here is an interesting factoid. At the same time we wrote the original edition of Roadfood, published in 1978, we also wrote a companion book called Amazing America. It is a lame title for a book … Continue reading Jane’s Diary: The Thing is…
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Jane’s Diary: Death by Chili
Growing up, I never liked spicy food. Then again, I was never served any. My default meal as a kid was chicken ala King, white meat, white sauce on white rice. The pizzazz came from a fleck of pimento and a few green peas. I did not start to eat spicy food until I was … Continue reading Jane’s Diary: Death by Chili