You call that a wasteland? Try driving I-10 between San Antonio and El Paso. Now THAT is a wasteland.
At least there’s actual agriculture going on around I-5.
There’s the “Taste of India” off of the 5 near Bakersfield… I’ve never been, but an Indian place in the middle of nowhere always stuck out like a sore thumb to me every time I went from Los Angeles to Santa Cruz for school. Indian food never sounded like a good idea for folks on a long drive and I always wondered if this place did good business. It’s still there after all these years, so they must be doing moderately well.
I noticed that restaurant on my recent drive back. My comment to my wife went something like this:
“I’m not going to get Indian food if I have a 5 hour drive ahead of me and zero likelihood of ever going back.” It’s a recipe for disaster.
North and south rivalry was happening in the Spanish/Mexican days.
I think I ate there once, randomly. The place with all the lunchboxes as decor, yes? We stopped there because we hadn’t seen anything that looked good for a while and it looked at least harmless. It was… not very good. Not the worst food I’ve ever had, but yeah, ‘low-grade diner food at best’ describes it pretty well.
I’ve driven I5 many times from SF to LA, and I don’t bother stopping. Just grind it out, or bring something you like with you.
However, I recently took 101 down to Santa Barbara (hadn’t done that in years), and you drive through at least 3 wine regions (Santa Lucia Highlands, Paso, and Santa Maria). Tons of great places to stop. Takes a bit longer, but if you plan on stopping anyway, it might be worth it.
My theory on the “THE” thing is that SoCal folks are used to naming their freeways: The Santa Monica Freeway, etc. That carries over to the numbers. I have to say that it grates on my ears to hear it, and some folks up hear in the civilized world are picking it up, too.
I agree!
Seconding John Mace. There is nothing on the 5. Period. But the 101 has lots of places. The traditional stop for my debate team coming home from Stanford is Pea Soup Andersen’s in Buellton.
There’s always John Madden’s favorite spot, Chuy’s in Van Horn. Not to mention Balmorhea State Park. the Davy Crockett statue in Ozona and the Caverns of Sonora…
Me too. If I’m really hungry, I’ll usually go for the Jack In The Box at Lost Hills.
The only reason to take I5 is if you just want to get there fast. If you’re a tourist, there are definitely places worth stopping along 101, and the drive time isn’t that much longer. I’ve never done Rt1 all the way. I’m sure it has it’s advantages, too, but I think it’s considerably longer, time wise.
The area around Buellton, per selinus’ post, is where Sideways was filmed. Don’t drink any f*ing Merlot when you’re there! Further north, I really want to spend some more time in Paso (Paso Robles, for you outsiders). There are some great wineries there.
We stopped there a few years ago. Slow service, mediocre food, and their air conditioner was on the fritz. We regretted not just going to Burger King.
Sacramento. The politicians aren’t using theirs…
Actually, if you want to cross over to 99 and drive down that road, you could stop in Fresno at (what is apparently) the only Sonic in California. I’ve been tempted to do that, just to make all those damn commercials I’ve seen for Sonic mean something.
Of course, almost all the central valley cities are on 99, so it’s a slower ride, but also gives you a variety of places to stop and find those local joints you’re looking for. It’s also a straighter shoot for the Tehachapi Pass if you go that way (to avoid LA traffic).
If you do go down 5 and go up the Grapevine, there’s a Tommy’s right near Magic Mountain (in Valencia, I think). But only stop there if you like your burger and fries covered in awesome amounts of chili.
Otherwise, I got nothing. I always just hit up Carl’s Jr. or In-N-Out. I5 is really a road made for fast food, and not much else.
Two Sonics in Turlock.
Several years ago, I stopped at Taste of India while in a carpool including a vegetarian (food along 5 isn’t very veggie friendly.) The food was moderately good, and the owner stopped to talk with us (one of us was from India, and he was pleased to talk to someone in Hindi.) I left with an overall good impression of the place.
However, I haven’t been back, and Hamster King’s comment makes it sound like it’s gone downhill.
Shame - it’s nice to have a place that isn’t the typical burger/fast food place there.
If you’re doing this in Feb/March, and you like fruit, you can grab some oranges. I can’t believe how many forests there are along this road with rows and rows of orange trees! And grapes. Lots of wild grapes growing in vast areas.
Oh my goodness. Thanks for the correction–I just checked Sonic’s website, and it claims there are 5 of them here in the (greater) Bay Area–including one in Hayward! This must have happened fairly recently; I know I’ve never actually seen a Sonic around here, and I’m sure I checked for nearby Sonics just a few years ago. The damn things must be sprouting like mushrooms.
Reported.