Road Food – The Best of the Best!
From the travels and adventures of the “World’s #1 Trackchaser”
For me, trackchasing has never ever been just about going to the races. When I travel I like to see things. I also like to eat well. To me “eating well” is as much about the ambiance as the food. Many years ago I discovered a book titled “Road Food”. The authors told of more than 1,500 “off the wall” places for the most unusual dining experiences. That was for me. Don’t get me wrong. I do enjoy eating in several restaurant chains especially when those chains are not available in my home state of California. Here are some of my favorites. Chick-Fil-A Culver’s IHOP In N Out Burgers Krispy Kreme McDonald’s Sonic Drive-In Steak N Shake Tim Horton’s Waffle House Wendy’s Whataburger White Castle In today’s technology-laden world I rely on my iPhone app Yelp! Yelp! provides user ratings and reviews about restaurants. When I pull into town I pull out my iPhone and begin checking Yelp! Soon after I’m normally found licking my fingers. ALASKA Fat Olives – Homer Wolf Run Café – Fairbanks ARIZONA El Torero – Tucson Harlow’s Café – Tempe Honey Bear’s BBQ – Several locations in Phoenix Tee Pee Mexican restaurant – Phoenix Tucson Tamale Company – Tucson CALIFORNIA Barbara’s Fishtrap – Princeton by the Sea Boll Weevil Restaurants – San Diego Los Comadres – Santa Maria Natalie’s Peruvian Seafood (try the dry-fried corn and bread with green hot sauce) – Los Angeles Siquios – Colton Vehar’s Mexican restaurant – Tulare Yank Chow (get the slippery shrimp) – Los Angeles COLORADO Cantina Grill – Denver International Airport, Denver Enstrom Candy Company – Colorado Springs HAWAII Kula Lodge – Maui St. Louis Drive-In – Honolulu IDAHO Pickle Place (home of the largest rocking chair in Idaho and a real good breakfast) – Arco Upstairs Bar & Grill – Kuna MONTANA NEVADA Lupo by Wolfgang Puck – Las Vegas Mt. Everest India’s Cuisine – Las Vegas NEW MEXICO Barelas Coffee House (not just a coffee house; a real find) – Albuquerque E2 Restaurant – Las Cruces Frontier Restaurant – Albuquerque La Hacienda Express, Albuquerque International Airport – Albuquerque Padilla’s Mexican Restaurant – Albuquerque Taqueria Jalisco – Clovis OREGON Jake’s Famous Crawfish – Portland UTAH Hire’s Big H – Salt Lake City Navajo Hogan (one of my favorites; tell owner Bill I said hello) – Salt Lake City WASHINGTON Burgerville – 39 stores primarily in Oregon and southwest Washington WYOMING Garcia’s Mexican Restaurant and Cantina (best mango margarita or any margarita I’ve ever had!) – Torrington The Bucking Horse Steakhouse and Lounge – Torrington The Old Corral Hotel and Steakhouse – Centennial Waldorf A’Story (quaint, breakfast) – Story ILLINOIS Davis Bros. Pizza – East Peoria Emmet’s Tavern & Brewing Company – Palatine Hungry Hobo restaurants (ask them what happened to the #4 sandwich!) – all over the Quad Cities Rudy’s Tacos – Quad Cities in Illinois and Iowa Steak n’ Shake – all over the Midwest and selected southeastern areas INDIANA Front Porch Steak House – Worthington Harry’s Old Kettle Pub & Grill – Wabash Heyerly’s Baking Company – Ossian King Bar-B-Que – Indianapolis The Red Pepper Deli Café – Madison The Tamale Place – all around Indianapolis IOWA Chatterbox Cafe – Audobon Maid-Rite – all over America Northwestern Steak House (highly recommended; get there early or wait) – Mason City Ronneburg Restaurant – Amana KANSAS Brookville Hotel – Abilene (not recommended) Cozy Inn – Salina Hog Wild Pit BBQ – Hutchinson Uptown Bistro – Wichita MICHIGAN Don’s Drive-In – Traverse City El Adobe Mexican Restaurant – Mt. Morris Jonny B’z Dogs and More – Grand Rapids MINNESOTA Keys Bar & Grill at the Foshay – Minneapolis Moose and Sadie’s – Minneapolis My Sisters Place (my last dinner with Ed Esser) – Grand Marais NEBRASKA Bohemian Café – Omaha Don and Millies (one of my favorite hamburger fast-food chains in the world) – about seven locations in and around Lincoln King Kong – Lincoln Misty’s Steakhouse and Lounge – Lincoln Runza (hamburger fast food) – all over Lincoln Surfside Club – Omaha Taste of Texas BBQ – McCook NORTH DAKOTA Grizzlies (try to Buffalo burger special) – Jamestown Lucy’s North China Cuisine – Fargo Prairie Woods – Wishek OHIO Dusmesh – Cincinnati Gold Star Chili – stores all over Ohio Possum Holler Pizza – Obetz Skyline Chili – stores all over Ohio Tony’s Italian Kitchen – Englewood Viva Tequila – Mason OKLAHOMA Earl’s Rib Palace – Moore Jimmy’s Egg – Oklahoma City Tacos San Pedro – Oklahoma City SOUTH DAKOTA King Buffet – Yankton Prime Time Tavern (one of my all-time favorite steakhouses; what a value) – Huron WISCONSIN Cousin’s Subway Shops – all over Wisconsin Culvers – All over the upper Midwest Four Corners Saloon – Mason Krolls West – Green Bay Mars Cheese Castle – Kenosha ALABAMA Coming soon. ARKANSAS Coming soon. FLORIDA Daytona Brickyard – Daytona Beach GEORGIA McGinn’s Southern Pit BBQ (near Atlanta Motor Speedway) – Griffin Pascal’s (Atlanta International Airport) – Atlanta Pop’s Kitchen – Sylvania Silver Skillet Restaurant – Atlanta Slope’s BBQ, seven stores all around Georgia KENTUCKY El Caminante Mexican restaurant Walt’s Hitching Post (Sadly, this place is now closed. It was one of my top 10 most favorite restaurants in the world.) – Covington LOUISIANA Cafe du Monde (you gotta get the beignet) – New Orleans Charlie’s Steak House (I started eating here in 1972; One of my top ten world favorites) – New Orleans Herby-K’s (home of the shrimp buster!) – Shreveport Mulate’s (sadly, this place is now closed. You missed the Cajun live music on Friday nights) – Baton Rouge Rays PeGe – Monroe MISSISSIPPI Louisiana Sisters Cajun Gourmet – Hattiesburg MISSOURI Amighetti’s – St. Louis Biffle’s Smoke House BBQ – Concordia NORTH CAROLINA Lexington Barbecue – Lexington SOUTH CAROLINA Waffle Houses (South Carolina is as good as any place to find one) – all over America TENNESSEE Rendezvous BBQ Ribs – Memphis TEXAS Big Texan Steak Ranch….home of the “Free 72-oz. Steak” – Outstanding!! – Amarillo Leblanc’s Cajun Kitchen – Livingston Whataburger outlets, nationwide – mainly in Texas Weasie’s Kitchen – Waynesboro CONNECTICUT Planet Pizza – Ridgefield DELAWARE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA California Tortilla – Dulles International Airport, Washington, D.C. MAINE Becky’s Diner – Portland Dysart’s Truck Stop (get the cinnamon roll early in the day!!) – Bangor Fox’s Lobster House (it’s the blueberry pie and ice cream baby!) – York Kelly’s Landing Restaurant – Greenville Junction Nunan’s Lobster Hut – Cape Porpoise The Lost Gull – Oxford MARYLAND Chick & Ruth’s Delly – Annapolis MASSACHUSETTS La Summa Cucina Italiana – Boston NEW HAMPSHIRE Picolla Italian Ristorante – Manchester NEW JERSEY NEW YORK Anchor Bar (home to the first-ever “Buffalo Wing”) – Buffalo Daniela’s Trattoria – New York Earl’s – Sardinia Hing Won – New York City Mooncake Foods – New York Roberta’s – Brooklyn Stanley’s Corner Bar – Utica Stella’s Diner – Syracuse Strawberry Shortcake House, Cobleskill Fairgrounds – Cobleskill Trattoria Trecolori restaurant – New York – New York PENNSYLVANIA Geno’s Steaks (a tourist trap but you gotta go there once) – Philadelphia Leo’s Steak Shop (near the airport and my personal favorite) – Folcroft Pat’s King of Steaks (across the street from Geno’s – try ’em both) – Philadelphia Ray’s Pizza – Lansdale Romano’s (Philly cheesesteaks) – Philadelphia Yokko’s – Allentown VERMONT Lake House Pub & Grill – Lake Bomoseen WEST VIRGINIA Quinet’s Court Restaurant – New Martinsville AUSTRALIA Sydney Dumpling King – Sydney (Burwood) ARGENTINA El Mirasol Steakhouse – Buenos Aires CANADA Bar Le Casino De Mirabel – Mirabel – Quebec, Canada Bernie & the Boys – Drumheller – Alberta Buffet Fu Lam Wok & Grill – Montreal – Quebec Cassecroute Chez Mike – Saint Just de Bretenieres – Quebec Chum’s Restaurant – Cache Creek – British Columbia McKelvie’s Restaurant, Halifax – Nova Scotia Restaurant Holder (old town – fine dining) – Montreal Tim Horton’s (hundreds of visits) – Everywhere in Canada Universal Café (the best for breakfast) – Montreal, Quebec CHILE CHINA Nathan Congee and Noodle Shop – Hong Kong COLUMBIA DENMARK DOMINICAN REPUBLIC El Conuco – Santo Domingo Pate Palo – Santo Domingo ECUADOR II Risotto – Quito La Marquesa Restaurante – Cotacachi, Ecuador Segundo Muelle – Quito EL SALVADOR Tipicos Margoth – San Salvador FINLAND FRANCE Abracadabra Italian Restaurant – Caen Le Hamelin – Honfleur GERMANY Spice – Frankfurt GUATEMALA Tacontento – Antigua GUYANA GREECE Cosmos Shopping Mall bowling alley restaurant – Thessaloniki (gourmet food in a bowling alley no less!) ICELAND INDIA Indiana – Agra Pindi’s (outstanding service) – New Delhi Ramsbagh Palace Hotel (at least go there for a drink!) – Jaipur Samode Bagh (you should go for the breakfast buffet) – Rajasthan Samode Haveli Hotel Courtyard (magnificent) – Jaipur INDONESIA Café Batavia – Jakarta IRELAND JAPAN MEXICO Bronco’s Steak House – Ensenada, Baja California Café De Tacuba (the best!) – Mexico City Crabsters – Progreso, Yucatan Las Brasas Asadero – Mexicali, Baja California Los Girasoles – Mexico City MOROCCO Delhi Palace – Royal Mirage Hotel – Marrakesh Kozy Bar – Medina of Marrakesh Le 6 – Marrakesh Royal Mirage Marrakesh – Marrakesh NETHERLANDS NEW ZEALAND Pompeii (Italian) – Palmerston North NORWAY La Rosa Nautica – Lima PHILIPPINES David’s Tea House – Manila POLAND Rozana Restaurant – Warsaw QATAR SENEGAL Restaurant Le Fassy – Goree Island – Dakar SINGAPORE Andhra Curry – Singapore SOUTH AFRICA Moyo’s at Melrose Arch (one of my worldwide top ten) – Johannesburg Steers (pretty good South African hamburger fast food) – All over SA SOUTH KOREA SPAIN Paella Senorita – Barcelona SRI LANKA TAHITI THAILAND UNITED ARAB EMIRATES UNITED KINGDOM London Noodle House – London URUGUAY Casapueblo Hotel – near Piriapolis
Now as you read about all the various eateries I have visited rest assured that I have eaten at every one of these listings. (some many times). I estimate I eat well over 500 meals in restaurants every year. Except in the most unusual cases (noted), they have all been above average. I try to avoid eating in chains, unless I’m on some sort of a calorie reduction diet, at all times. There are just too many unique places to dine to waste my time on places where I can eat anytime I want back home.
VIRGINIA
Coming soon.
China Delight – Claremont
PERU