I just got back from a nearly three-week long business trip. Most of my time was spent in the DC area, with a final weekend around Cincinnati. I tend to be a junk-food junkie, and those parts of the country don’t disappoint at all. While LA has some great places for me to get my fill, going back east and to the midwest always gives me something to look forward to.
From my experiences on this trip and those past, I can tell you that I’m a huge fan of:
Five Guys burgers (although I recently discovered through another thread that they’ve surfaced in LA, too)
Cracker Barrel
Bob Evans (just for the biscuits and the country fried steak)
Steak 'n Shake
Raising Canes (WHY in God’s name are there not more of these places?)
Blueberry Hill (Vegas chain of greasy spoon diners with some of the best pancakes on earth)
I also confirmed that I’m kind of neutral about Skyline Chili and negative on Waffle House and White Castle.
So tell me – where do you look forward to eating when you travel? And while I am about the junk food, please share any place you look forward to eating at, no matter how fancy or trashy.
DC is a goddamn black hole as far as fast food goes…I guess thay don’t want to pay the rent. No White Castle or Krystal, Burger King is a relative no-show, Hardee’s eschews, Wendy’s isn’t as ubiquitous as elsewhere. There used to be good southern food here, but all the yankee transplants killed that. The best food in this area is little ethnic places in strip malls, and that’s about it.
There are a number of Chicago-area restaurants that I no longer have access to since i moved here. Fortunately, I visit Chicago three or four times a year, so I’m able to get my fix then. At the top of the list is Portillo’s, where I have to decide whether I want a Maxwell Street Polish or an Italian beef. During my last visit I went to Superdawg’s for the first time in years, and they were just as good as I remember.
I would like to have a White Castle around. They don’t exist anywhere near Boston but I have had them in the Midwest. They make these tiny little burgers called sliders with little patties thinner than a pancake. An average person can eat 4 or 5 of them in one sitting. The burgers are simple but flavorful and heavy on the onion flavor. Some people love them and they have contests to see who will drive the longest for a bag of sliders.
If you want to see what they are like, they sell frozen microwavable sliders in supermarkets that are pretty accurate renditions of the real thing.
Not me, but my dad fell in love with Potbelly’s when he was visiting me in Chicago, and I’ve managed to bring him Potbelly’s sandwiches to California a couple times. (They have an outlet at Midway.) He microwaves them back up and is delighted.
White Castle (in Indiana there’s one in every podunkin little town on the map, but in Illinois they’re only in the Chicago area and St. Louis area).
Krispy Kreme Donuts (MHO is that a local donut maker who shall remain nameless has considerable political clout 'round here and has “discouraged” the city council from giving them a permit).
In & Out Burger - Had a meal there in Vegas. Dayum.
That was my understanding. There’s a place in Salina, KS called Cozy Inn. Apparently it’s very much the same, and was opened the year after White Castle opened. I’d bet that it’s better, because it’s always been a mom & pop place. I love that place.
I’m going to build a Cozy Inn right next to my new Popeye’s. And next that, a Zweigel’s hot dog stand. And next to that, a McAngioplasty.
There’s a Potbelly’s a block away from the DC office I worked at. I didn’t know it was a chain, but those were some tasty, tasty sandwiches. I’ll add this to my list, as well.
I live near San Francisco. My in-laws live in Chicago. Whenever we go visit, one of my top junk food priorities is White Castle. Also, Al’s Italian Beef, which I think you can’t get anywhere except Chicago.
I live in San Antonio, Texas, which is home to all sorts of quality Mexican food.
Unfortunately for me, I lived on the East Coast all my life where the Mexican restaurants all sell Queso Blanco (white cheese dip, usually spiced with jalapeno). I have no idea as to whether Queso Blanco is authentic Mexican (actually, I rather doubt it), but gawddamn I love the stuff!
After 16 months here, I still have yet to find a Mexican restaurant that sells it. I can find it in Houston. I can find it in Dallas. I can find it damned near anywhere east of the Mississippi. But I can’t find it in San Antonio.
Which sets up a rather bizarre habit - whenever I leave this city on a business trip, I make it a point to hit a mexican restaurant that sells my Queso Blanco. Preferably on top of beef nachos. (Where’s that :love: smilie we so desperately need)?
There are also no Ruby Tuesday’s here, which I enjoy for the salad bar. Also no Waffle House’s, but that’s slightly mitigated by the fact that Whataburger is open all night long.
When we would visit relatives in Ohio, we would often make a point of stopping off at the Amish restaurants in the area. Damn, their food was good. Fresh veggies, made right, by people who LIKE veggies, by damn.
When in Michigan:
[ul]
[li]In & Out Burger (chain, western USA). The hype really is worth it.[/li][li]El Herradero (Hermosillo, Mexico). Ordering restaurant steaks anywhere but Hermosillo breaks my heart.[/li][li]Artilliani’s (Leon, Mexico). I think that’s the right spelling.[/li][li]Grid-Iron Burgers (Killeen, Texas). Don’t know if it’s still there![/li][li]Schlotskey’s Deli (chain, Southwest USA). Probably butchered the name, but man, I loved that place.[/li][li]Scheiner Boch beer (Texas). Granted, not a beer, but I can’t get it in Michigan.[/li][li]Lucy’s Seafood Kitchen (small chain, GTA Ontario). Always fresh, always changing main menu. Mouth is watering now.[/li][/ul]
That’s pretty much it. Krystal is like a bad White Castle knockoff. I have no idea why people like Chik-Fil-A so much, plus it’s closed 90% of the times I’d actually go there.
When not in Michigan, like now:
[ul]
[li]Cloverleaf (Eastpointe, MI). The original Detroit style pizza (yes, it is too a style).[/li][li]National Coney Island (SE Michigan). Or almost any coney island for that matter. At National, no surprises.[/li][li]Dragonmead (Warren, MI). Microbrewery, but qualifies as a restaurant because they now sell subs and still let you order in for delivery.[/li][li]BW3’s (nationwide, I think). Just good wings.[/li][li]Any Lebanese / Middle East restaurant, especially the ones that violate their Muslim morals and sell beer*. My mouth stopped watering for Lucy’s, but it’s watering again for some chicken shawarma.[/li][/ul]
*(Actually most of the Lebanese and many of the Iraqis are Christian.)
Not me, but my father moved from Phoenix to California (Originally Laguna Hills, but now Ventura) and his favorite gift from me on holidays is Honey Bear’s BBQ.
So about every other road trip out to see him, we drive to the “bad part of town” to purchase Honey Bear’s and then stuff it all in an ice chest with cold packs for the 7+ hour drive.
But man, they do have some incredible barbeque pork sandwiches. Daaayum.
I live in Israel, so you would think there would be great - or good, or at least decent - kosher deli here. There isn’t. It’s one thing I really miss about being in the States.
My favorite kosher deli is Mr. Broadway in New York City. We always used to eat there when we were in New York.
My daughter was recently in New York for a visit, and she went there. I was trying to figure out a way for her to get a sandwich back to me. It didn’t work out, unfortunately.