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Eighth symposium - Food
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Eighth symposium - Food Food More specifically, food while on the road. If you mention truck stop food to most people they’d most likely have a negative reaction. In all actuality, most of it is pretty damn good!  As long as you stay away from the buffet  For those who may not know, there are basically 5 “name brand” truck stops out there: Petro, T/A, Flying J, Pilot and Loves. There are a few smaller “chains” with several locations out and about including Sapp Brothers and Wilco-Hess. Petro has the Iron Skillet restaurant, T/As usually have a Country Kitchen/Pride, Fork In The Road, Buckhorn or a few have their own independent restaurant. Flying J used to have their own restaurant but when they experienced financial troubles and Pilot bought them out the restaurant was removed and a Denny’s was installed.  Uhhhh….no. When you‘re still in your late teens/early 20s and have been out partying all night a Denny‘s might be okay Pilot locations usually have some sort of fast food type situations aside from the Bosselman’s Pilot locations which have a Grandma Max’s restaurant. Loves has fast food type only, a lot of the truck stops usually have a Subway shop even if they do have a regular restaurant or fast food.Even though the places at the T/As might have a different name they usually had the same menu, as did the Iron Skillet. They didn’t have a whole lot of variety, understandably, but there were several menu items that I preferred and thought were quite delicious. They all had the usual burgers, steaks, chicken, fish, sammiches and salads along with a few specialty type items, usually some type of “thing” of the month These restaurants also had a buffet area. Yeah. I would hardly ever eat anything from the buffet as it was usually a bit crusty around the edges and not usually appetizing. But sometimes they had some fresh food just put out or there was something that I was craving so I’d hit it up and of course there was usually a nice salad bar  One of the best things I had eaten at the Iron Skillet was a new item on their menu the last couple years I was driving and I am pretty sure they still have it available. It's called the Twisted Turkey Reuben  I believe Arby’s is serving something similar called a Rachael. Basically it’s shaved turkey meat with some type of southwest chipotle sauce, cole slaw and swiss cheese (I always subbed pepper jack) on toasted rye bread…or wheat can be used too. Messy but very delicious  I still make them myself when I have the craving The T/A had something fairly similar called the Portland Pattie Melt. A burger with pepper jack, grilled onions and chipotle sauce on toasted wheat berry bread. Yeahhh…messy but damn good. I’ve always said when you eat something and it makes a mess on your face it’s gooooooood One of the things I discovered a little late was a certain way the Iron Skillet and the T/A restaurants charged for their buffet to go. To go? I know, weird…but beneficial They charged by the pound if you loaded up a take out box from the buffet. The reason someone would do this is because you either didn’t want to sit there and eat or you didn’t have enough time to sit and eat, get the breakfast, lunch or dinner stuff to go and eat it at your convenience. The best part about it was the breakfast buffet was usually about $7.99 but the amount of food I’d get for my breakfast usually cost me around $5.…and it was a lot of food too! I’d get several sausages and/or bacon and about 5 or 6 eggs’ worth of scrambled eggs, quite filling for $5 Both the Iron Skillet and T/A restaurants did specials for holiday meals and on Thanksgiving and Christmas they would have real carved turkey and homemade stuffing with all the trimmings. They would also have special deals on Father’s/Mother’s Day and they’d do specials for current or former military personnel. Quite like those other two the Grandma Max’s restaurants had their own menu with a little bit of variety as well, specials, buffet and salad bar. Rarely did I ever stop at those locations but when I did I enjoyed their Macho Breakfast Burrito, it was quite big and full of eggs, sausage, bacon, hash browns, cheese and drowning in some kind of green chile sauce. Then covered with more cheese. Needed a nap after eating that one Sapp Brothers had their own restaurant and although it was usually smaller than the others they had some righteous food available on their menus including a large B-fast burrito as well The thing that made Sapp stand out was their fresh baked pastries, cookies and breads… OMFG….their banana bread was the BOMB!! One of their best menu items was the banana bread French toast. Uh huh, that’s right…banana bread French toast. One inch thick slices of their home made banana bread drowning in the French toast goop, cooked up nicely and smothered in butter and syrup. Another nap please There was one Iron Skillet location, in Racine/Sturtevant Wisconsin that had an awesome bakery as well, always loved stopping there The few Wilco-Hess locations where I stopped had some sort of kitchen/grill type restaurant, nothing special or fancy but some place you could get freshly made food that was decent. There was another place where I was lucky enough to have been able to stop a few times, in Johnson Creek Wisconsin. There is a smaller truck stop there, north side of the freeway, enough room for maybe 70 trucks. Not your typical truck stop but they had a restaurant there called The Pine Cone Lodge. EVERYthing and I do mean EVERYthing on their menu was home made style. They also had their own bakery on premises and were evil enough to put the check out register right there where the display counter was for their freshly baked items. Items such as cinnamon buns about 10 inches across and 2 inches thick. Éclairs 8 inches long, 3 inches wide and 4 inches tall, chocolate chip/peanut butter/sugar cookies the size of a small personal pizza, god damned apple fritters the size of a catchers mitt FFS!!!  Evil EVIL DEVIL people!!! Once in a while I was lucky enough to be parked someplace where there was a Bob Evans restaurant close by, they always have great food at very reasonable prices. Or maybe if I was in their area I had relatives who could pick me up and we’d go to a nice place to eat. My top 5 truck stops out of all the places where I spent the night are: 1 - T/A (Iowa 80, largest truck stop in the world) in Walcott, IA. Had their own restaurant plus several fast food places AND a Dairy Queen LOVE the Blizzard 2 - T/A in Morris, Il located about 30 miles west of Chicago, they had their own restaurant and bakery.* 3 - Petro aforementioned in Racine Wisconsin. 4 - Petro in Fargo ND. Their Iron Skillet was a little more than the others because they had a pizza bar, a potato bar, a Mexican food bar and a bigger salad bar. 5 - Petro (used to be a T/A) in Albert Lea Mn. Located a couple miles south of where the 35 and 90 freeways cross. Their restaurant had a Swedish food theme and several very good items on their menu, they also had a larger convenience store featuring a lot of local cheeses and meats…and the kicker? There was a Cold Stone there 2 “special mentions” would include the Pilot in Tifton Ga. on the 75, they have a Steak ‘N’ Shake there…it was my first experience with that restaurant and I’m damn glad I got to Then there was the Pilot right next to the Werner terminal in Dallas. Well, not so much the Pilot but there was a Whataburger across the street. Another awesome burger joint…they make burgers fresh by your order (you choose what goes on it from the list) and they are like you made them in your backyard on the BBQ Now, most drivers do not eat in the restaurants every day all day. Most, like me are smart enough to have a plug-in refrigerator or cooler which we stock up with various edibles we buy at a Wal*Mart or a grocery store where we can stop and park. I would frequently get a package of turkey lunchmeat, sliced Swiss and pepper jack cheeses, mustard, mayo and sandwich slices Claussen pickles. I’d take a slice of the Swiss, put a half slice of pepper jack and 3 slices of the turkey and a pickle slice, throw some mayo and mustard on it, roll it up like a taco and munch away. I’d usually have some tortilla chips and salsa with it. Quick and simple There were a few places where I chose to eat that were less than satisfying. The food was bland or not enough or ill prepared. Or like one place in Virginia where I got some food once. I got the pulled pork BBQ meal. Uhhh… WTF??? This shit tastes like it was cooked in a douche or something, very tart nasty vinegar taste to it. I called the waitress over and inquired, to which she explained in some areas of the country (mostly in the south) their BBQ was like that, just the way they did it. No thanks, I‘ll pass. It usually only took once, maybe twice where I’d have a negative food experience and I’d either not order those items or eat at a different place. There were a few times in a couple places where a guy had his own portable BBQ set up he’d pull around on a trailer with his p/u truck, always nice to get some freshly BBQed food. I got to experience some different styles of food or different ways it was prepared than what I was used to. One thing I wanted to try once but missed by a day was frog legs. The T/A in Strafford Mo. had a typical restaurant and I was there on a Thursday night once. I noticed on the menu they were doing a frog leg Fridays with fresh frog’s legs. I would have done it just to try it I also tried grits for the first time too. Ummmm, can you say unflavored Malt-O-Meal? Another couple of things I discovered that were damn good, something I had never eaten previously…steak and eggs and biscuits and gravy. Yup, steak and eggs, never had that growing up or ever before going on the road. I was looking for other options for “filling” type food items when I was doing the Atkins diet a few times and since meat and eggs are a primary source of food items for that particular diet I figured I’d give it a shot. Never really seemed like an appetizing combination to me and I hardly ever eat steaks…long story. But DAYUM!! Dems is some good shits!! Big ol’ chunk of steak slathered in egg yolk mmmm hmmmmmmm My parents never fixed biscuits and gravy either so I never got to experience that in my life prior to going on the road and I’ll readily admit, it was hard to stop ordering that All in all I’d have to say my food experiences on the road were pretty damn good, a lot better than I expected from preconceived notions without any personal evidence to back them up. I discovered some great food combinations and tried some things I never had before, not to mention learning of burger places that were worthy of multiple return visits. If you are ever traveling and feel the need for filling your mouth with some good food, don’t be afraid to stop and try something new, you never know what you’ll find along the way *The restaurant at that T/A is called R place and is decorated with a shitload of old toys from the 30s or 40s on through the 70s, very cool atmosphere. They have a burger called the Ethyl Burger...it's 2 pounds of meat on a giant roll with lettuce tomato etc. If you can eat it in an hour or less it's free. They have a wall of fame with photos of the conquerors and right next to it a wall of shame containing photos of the not so fortunate Everyone is on a different plane of intelligence. Some people's plane has not taken off yet!!  |
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Food while on the road.....interesting....I enjoyed reading it!!!  WITHOUT PASSION LIFE IS NOTHING
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Interesting insight to living on the road, thank you for sharing "To Be Consumed" Blog : I want to be your drug of painful withdrawals.
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I was a city driver for the last thirty years so i saw very few truck stops. Did you ever stop at the Tekhi truck Plaza east of Battle Creek on I 94, or Arlene's, on the west side of BC? Once in a great while, if I was meeting a couple of other drivers for lunch, I'd eat there, but neither one was my first choice. Become a member now and get a free tote bag.
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Thank you for this post! It makes me want to take a road trip... Visit my blog It's a Mad, Mad, Mad World of NaughtyInSO, leave a comment, become a watcher. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ LIVE AND LET LIVE Be happy! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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ty for sharing.. The life of living on the road.. But what i have found while traveling through the States they sure do have some awesome food stops along the way hugssssss V Become a blog watcher sweet_vm
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Good read!  I like eating at truck stops. Over here, these stops are a dying breed. 
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Driving as much as my ex and I used to do, either around this country, Canada, or Mexico, we were quite used to the cuisine at the truck stops. Always go to the one that there is a wait for. That means that the truckers know the food is good. I'm smiling at this particular memory, Kitkat The observant make the best lovers, I may not do right, but I do write, I have bliss, joy, and happiness in my life, Kitkat Come check out my blog KItkat1415 check out this post by me Adventures In Body Grooming #39 April Topic Link: What Lies Beneath If April Showers Oh Bloody Hell What Kind Of Weather Turns Me On Bloggers Symposium 40
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Ah, good memories for me as well. Having been all over the country on road trips, whether in one of my street machines, or solo/in a group on the Harleys, it's always smart to hit the truck stop restaurants. Some great, some still fairly decent. When I'm in the mood for average stuff here in town, that's one thing. However, on the road, I really don't want to take the chance of inhaling a gut bomb. That could literally have disastrous consequences down the road! Si Vis Pacem Para Bellum Audentes Fortuna Iuvat Politicians. Lampposts. Assembly Required.
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Okay, this is wonderful. It's a literal road guide to food... and it combines the best of food reviews, personal anecdotes, and real passion for the subject. Well done. Only thing I would add to this is an obsession I had for several months a few years ago: I was intrigued by using the ambient heat of a vehicle engine as a cooking catalyst. Turns out there are whole cookbooks devoted to engine block cooking. Cordon bleu via the crankcase: Who knew? And no, I haven't had a chance to experience this... yet. Stop in, read, and offer comments at my "swinging as seen in the media" blog, "Confessions of a Lifestyle Man" humorlife, which is also the home of the monthly virtual symposium. New post: The Virtual Symposium Returns Lets Pick A Topic
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