Will Travel For Food

[filkertom]

More people are travelling for the sake of culinary adventure.

In the words of Bob Seger, "Shit, I've known that for ten years."

I go out-of-state for Skyline Chili. Whenever Anne, Les and I go to Dizzy Whirl, we plan our restaurant visits weeks or months in advance (favorite spots: Jiko, Artist Point, '50s Prime Time Café, Akershaus, Marrakesh, and in the next two years we will get to Bistro de Paris and the Chef's Table at Victoria and Albert's). Whenever Les and I go up north, we go to the Hack-Ma-Tack Inn in Cheboygan. About a year and a half ago, Anne and I seriously discussed flying out to California because Chef Ron Siegel was offering his Iron Chef-winning menu for $125 a person. (Found an interview with him about it. Cool.) And we all hope to go to Morimoto in Philly one day -- yes, even Leslie who does not like seafood.

You may remember how much I enjoyed MidSouthCon last year. At least part of that was comparing two really great BBQ places, Interstate and Neely's, strangely enough rather different products though both owned by members of the same family. We also finally got to try Sonny's, which had some really fine baby-back ribs.

When you travel, how much does the food enter into it? And what food in particular keeps calling you back?

Comments

[valarltd.livejournal.com]

Next time you're in Memphis, Central BBQ is excellent as well.

When I travel, food is a sideline. There are specific places I do like to go my trips.

When I'm in Kansas City, a visit is not complete with a trip to FunHouse Pizza (http://www.funhousepizza.com/rt_main.html) in Raytown. After 35 years, still some of the best pizza in the world (IMO). If I spend more than one night at my mother's, we go to a little cafe up in Turney MO, family owned and operated for 50 years.

In Clinton, MO, it's Uchie's (http://springfield-branson.entertainment.com/discount/Uchies_Restaurant/coupon/999EDI00007871205OFR00685084205RED00917587.html) on the square, just a little old fashioned diner.

In Lansing, MI, I like Cottage Inn Pizza (http://www.cottageinn.info/) and Charlie Kang's, the Chinese place right next to the Holiday Inn South.

In Mishawaka IN, there's a little stripmall Indian place called Taj (http://www.campusfood.com/restaurant.asp?restid=2119&campusid=196) that makes tandoori to die for.
(Other than that, I've only traveled for work, and that means a lot of Wendy's Subway and iron Skillet)

[filkertom.livejournal.com]

Heh. For me, Cottage Inn is local. As in, less than a half-mile down the street, physically closer than any other pizza place.

[bald-ruminant.livejournal.com]

I don't plan trips just for the food, but if I find restaurants I like, I make extensive plans to dine at those establishments again whenever I'm out that way.

[drzarron.livejournal.com]

Well you already know that Diana and I travel on our stomachs.

If its a familiar place, we start to consider the places there we love, or places we had meant to try. As you said, an early part of any Disney World trip is what meals will we eat at favorite places and what places haven't we tried yet.

We were just talking about Anthrocon and bemoaning the move from Philly from a foody point of view. No Morimoto's, no proper cheese steaks.

When we plan on travel to a new location, eventually we'll start exploring eating possibilities. Great fun to work on a trip to some place cool AND arrange to try some eatery we've heard of.

Course with Diana's new tiny tummy, the whole major restaurant exploration isn't as glorious as it use to be, but we still manage.

[kightp.livejournal.com]

Some people take photos when they travel. I collect menus. Food is, by and large, how I form my travel memories. "Ah," I'll muse years later to an erstwhile travel companion, "remember the night we were snowed in in Baltimore, but the Korean restaurant stayed open just for our party and the owner cooked us all his specialities? Remember the pasties we bought from that diner in Ishpeming, and how we ate them, still warm, sitting on the hood of the car overlooking Lake Superior?"

Since I rarely get a repeat visit to the same place (well, except Seattle and Portland), I don't often get the called-back experience.

[poltr1]

Every time I go back to Buffalo to visit my family and friends, I always dose up on the local chow that I can't get anywhere else -- beef on weck, Ted's hot dogs, Mighty Taco, loganberry drink, Buffalo-style pizza (think New York style but with a thicker crust), and of course, chicken wings.

When I go traveling, I like to avoid the chains and visit the local eateries.

I had a great food adventure at FKO 9. My ex-wife and I went looking for sesame paste. We found an Asian grocery on route 10, and above it was a Chinese restaurant. We were the only Caucasians in the restaurant. The food was wonderful.

[marahsk.livejournal.com]

I have two jars of Ted's hot sauce in my fridge as we speak.

[mnelson.livejournal.com]

There is a BBQ franchise in the Dallas/Fort Worth area called Red, White, and Blue that serves Memphis BBQ.

It's so good.

Spring Creek BBQ here is good as well.

The FenCon committee (actually the Con Chair) has taken its GoH's out for BBQ on the Thursday night before the con.

Although in 2005, our bellydancing troupe sponsored a party because they are good friends with Mike Resnick.

I don't think of the food when I travel, but if there are interesting and different restaurants at my destination, I will try to seek them out.

There are a lot of interesting (although expensive) restaurants in San Diego near the convention center that I couldn't find in Dallas, so I tried them out when I went to SDCC.

[filkertom.livejournal.com]

I think the chain you're talking about is Red Hot & Blue (http://www.redhotandblue.com/). We've got a couple of those up here in Michigan, and it is tied for my favorite BBQ with the Eastern North Carolina whole-hog pulled pork they serve at Zingerman's Roadhouse (http://www.zingermansroadhouse.com/content/pages/home.php).

The first time we had RH&B, it was just down the street from the Van Dyke Suites, where ConClave and ConFusion used to be. Thought it sounded interesting. Ate there three times that first weekend.

[drzarron.livejournal.com]

When next you're over our end of town at dinner time, you have to try "Famous Dave's BBQ" its amazingly good.

[tigertoy.livejournal.com]

There's a Famous Dave's in Champaign, but I haven't eaten there. (I don't eat out much while I'm at home.) If it's really that good I may have to make a point of trying it.

[acelightning.livejournal.com]

[mnelson.livejournal.com]

Yes, it's RH&B....

D'oh!

[jenrose]

In Tampa, our food find was Sonny's. It's a chain, but at both of the ones I went to, the service was SO awesome... they just take care of you, totally, it must be in the training. And the St. Louis Ribs.... dear lord in heaven were those TASTY. Not greasy, lots of meat, extremely SATISFYING. And the salad bar had, of all things, some of the best cottage cheese I've ever tasted. Weird. I nearly cried with joy when, after a nightmarish trying-to-rent-a-car experience after our cruise, on our way to the condo we found a Sonny's for lunch. It made the day go from craptastic to "no problem", just like that.

[bfirrera.livejournal.com]

First, I LOVE Marrakesh and 50's Prime Time. May I also suggest adding the following to your Disney regimen: Le Cellier (Canada in Epcot) (http://allearsnet.com/menu/menu_lcd.htm). You MUST try the Canadian Cheddar Cheese Soup!

For counter services: Columbia Harbour House (http://allearsnet.com/menu/men_chh.htm) is my favorite in Magic Kingdom, though the burgers in Cosmic Ray's (http://allearsnet.com/menu/men_cr.htm) have the great fixin's bar and great entertainment from Sonny Eclipse.

If you want to eat great counter stuff around the World Showcase...I recommend the following:

Start with the Beef and Corn soup at Lotus Blossom Cafe in China (http://allearsnet.com/menu/men_lbc.htm), a Chicken Shawarma sandwich and fries at Tangierine Cafe in Morrocco (http://allearsnet.com/menu/men_tg.htm), followed by either School Bread at Kringla Bakery in Norway (http://allearsnet.com/menu/menu_k.htm) or a Rainbow Kaki-Gori in Japan (http://allearsnet.com/menu/menu_kaki.htm).

---

When in Philadelphia, along with Morimoto's (which IS highly recommended), I would also suggest: Jones (http://www.jones-restaurant.com/) (another Stephen Starr restaurant...this one focusing on "Comfort" foods), Mixto (http://www.mixtophilly.com/) (a great Latin fusion restaurant down in the Gayborhood), Amada (http://www.amadarestaurant.com/) (great Mediterranean tapas), City Tavern (http://www.citytavern.com/) (Colonial food and atmosphere down in Old City), and of course Geno's Steaks (http://www.genosteaks.com/) (or Pat's if you are so inclined...).

---
Paul (pabsungenis) and I can't imagine going to Chicago and NOT eating at: Giordano's Pizza (http://www.giordanos.com/)!

[filkertom.livejournal.com]

Love Le Cellier, even though I've only eaten there a few times. The Cheddar soup is indeed fantastic, as is the pretzel bread.

Don't actually do a lot of counter service at WDW. Besides wanting to sit down and enjoy a fancy meal, we've found that the fastish food is often spotty, just because nobody likes paying eight bucks for a burger, even if it's a decent burger. For that, I want it to be wonderful. I do love The Mara -- the soup bowl is great, and their rather American fried shrimp dinner actually has a good quantity of meaty and tasty shrimp. And, yeah, the Tangerine in Morocco is excellent. Love the couscous salad. And do not forget the fish & chips window at Great Britain.

[drzarron.livejournal.com]

SO hard to pick favs at WDW.. so many choices.

"Mom's" - the 50's Prime Time is a fave, the whole experience.

Ohana Ohana Ohana.. LOVE Ohana. I love a big restaurant that you sit and bang, food is there.

I REALLY miss the "Empress Room" that used to be onboard the old Empress Lily. Its been replaced by Victoria and Albert's, which we still enjoy, but it ain't The Empress Room

"Artist's Point" at Wilderness Lodge is a must.

Columbia Harbour House takes the cake for counter service. Its also usually uncrowded.

Favorite "secret" place is the Yakitori House in the World Showcase, Japan. Again, excellent place for pre-fireworks meal.

California Grill is probably the best upscale.

As far as food goes, nothing over Downtown Disney way is on our must list. As far as the chains over there, House of Blues is very good.

The Liberty Tree Inn off Liberty Square is another jewel that a lot of people skip for some reason. Excellent family style "American" food.

We really love the Tusker House over at Animal Kingdom.

Our last trip ended two days before Animal Kingdom Lodge opened so haven't tried the food there, but everyone raves about it (Looking at Tom)

Oh, for fun, Whispering Canyon is a must for lunch. The food is decent, but the servers there are a stitch!

Ordering box lunches from Wilderness Lodge, renting a boat and anchoring off the shore of The Magic Kingdom while you eat. So nice.

Ack.. told you this was hard.. more later

[filkertom.livejournal.com]

Much agreement on Yakitori House, California Grill, and Ohana. And, yeah -- the two best meals of my life so far were at Jiko. (Third was at Artist Point.)

[hmlamb.livejournal.com]

Ok Dave your making me do it, I'm going to Disney World next week.

[mdlbear]

Food's a big part of travel; always has been. In Grant's Pass, OR, a convenient stop on any drive from the SF Bay Area to Portland and points north, we always have dinner at R Haus, and often a lunch or breakfast at the Rogue River Brewing Company. Going south we take US101 and stop for lunch at Pea Soup Anderson's in Buellton. And so on.

And no visit to Shin Yokohama would be complete without a trip to the Ramen Museum.

Stir Crazy!

[pickledcritter.livejournal.com]

Whenever we go to Archon in Collinsville or St. Louis in general, we hop across the river and go eat at Stir Crazy at least once each trip.

[selenesue.livejournal.com]

Waaaay before the trend... Fond memories of the 1978 Westercon in San Francisco, when a Thundering Herd of us got bored with the convention and took Saturday off for a foodie tour. Dimsum brunch at Yank Sing's, Ghiradelli Square, Fisherman's Wharf.

[bryanp.livejournal.com]

To be as fat as I am you'd think I'd plan more around food, but I don't. *sigh*

Our (my wife and I) last real vacation was a week in Egypt. Absolutely incredible, an experience I will always treasure.

The food was ... eh. I had a few good meals but mostly it was stuff that just didn't appeal to western palates so much. I base that on comments from everyone with us, not just my own thoughts.

When we got back to Cairo (we started in Luxor and cruised up the Nile, stopping along the way to hit temples et al) and checked into a large hotel I found it amusing that several of us guys on the trip all went straight to the hotel restaurant and ordered a cheesburger & fries.

Now I need to go nosh my little snack and be ready for a salad for lunch. Trying to drop a few pounds. *double sigh*

[rook543.livejournal.com]

Speaking of travel & food, Alton Brown is currently shooting six more episodes of his "Road-Food-Cross-Country-Motorcycle" show, Feasting on Asphalt.

The first four aired last year and were really good.

[venusinblue.livejournal.com]

I'm a big seafood person, so I'm partial to the Sake Cafe (http://www.bestofneworleans.com/dispatch/2001-11-06/restreview.html) in New Orleans.
Are you going to MidSouthCon this year? Terry Pratchett is the Writer GOH this year. I'm sooo exited!

[filkertom.livejournal.com]

Sorry, nope. Same weekend as FilkOntario.

[atalantapendrag.livejournal.com]

Travel and good places to eat go together like porn and batteries. On the rare occasions I've been able to travel, places to eat were always one of the first things I lined up.

A friend of mine is visiting from Scotland for a few days, and one of the plans I'm making is things for her to eat! Magnolia Cafe, Amy's Ice Cream, Mangia Pizza, Threadgill's, Hut's Hamburgers, the flagship Whole Foods location, Coco's Cafe...

Of course, bookstores (indie new and used), music stores (ditto), an 'experimental' production of Hamlet, and tattooing and piercing will also enter into things.

What's that buzzing in your luggage?

[selenesue.livejournal.com]

"Travel and good places to eat go together like porn and batteries. "

You get a No-Prize for the Best Simile I have seen all year!

[ladyjeanetta.livejournal.com]

When traveling, I'm big on trying new things, and this definitely includes food. I've decided I'm going to tour the world, one chocolate bar at a time **chuckle,** trying the local sweets wherever I end up. My favorite so far is the hazelnut Galaxy bar, discovered in Ireland.

Of course, my explorations extend to "real" food as well. The best ham-and-cheese sandwich I've ever eaten was in a small town called Conwy in Wales. Made with a local sharp cheddar and a homemade mayonaisse-mustard, and served with fresh scones and jam, with a side of homemade dried vegetable chips. The mouth waters... Of course, it didn't hurt that this was eaten at the base of Conwy Castle.

I wouldn't say food greatly influences where I travel. But it certainly helps me remember certain places!

[lukeski.livejournal.com]

I do my best to find Skyline Chili whenever I am in Ohio or Indiana (they sell it in cans at Meijers and Krogers). I just bought 4 cans when I was in Toledo, would have bought more if'n ida made more money there.

I don't like steak much at all, but the best most savory steak I ever ate was at Cinderella's Castle at Disney World. If you've never eaten there, go there next time you're touring Orlando. :)

[druidsfire.livejournal.com]

And Cincinnatians can and do ship/bring Skyline-in-a-can to noted filkers/dementia radio DJs/artists upon request. :)

[filkertom.livejournal.com]

I actually can get frozen Chili Spaghetti at the local Meijer's. (And I should stop in and get some soon. :) But it ain't the same as fresh.

[poltr1]

The next time you're in/around Dayton, we should do Skyline. (They got 'em there too.)

[tomreedtoon.livejournal.com]

You ate at the freaking Cinderella's Castle? I only ate there once, in the company of my ex...this was years ago...and I almost had to sell my shoes to get out of there!

As for Disney meals, I was surprised at Gloria Estefan's restaurant in Downtown Disney, Bongo's. I once got Pompano Papillot there (pompano fish, stuffed with crab meat and seafood and baked in parchment) that was superb. And their outdoor restaurant sells pretty authentic Cuban and Media Noche sandwiches (both with ham and roast pork; the Cuban is on crusty toasted bread and the Media Noche on soft bread).

By the way, when Tom Smith comes to Orlando for OASIS, and IF my bosses give me that time off, I will either take him to Bubbalou's Bodacious Bar-B-Que or I'll bring some to him. (You know how it is to actually leave a convention when you want to sell stuff. I may do a road trip for him.)

As for me...well, the times I went to St. Louis, when my mom was still alive, I always brought back a couple of Haas's Gooey Butter Coffee Cakes and a couple gallon bottles of Maull's Barbecue Sauce (don't baste your barbecue, Maull it).

[filkertom.livejournal.com]

Plan on that road trip. Dunno what the schedule's gonna be like. But TRUST ME: it sounds goooooood. :)

[pixelene.livejournal.com]

I can promise you, he didn't eat there recently.

Parker's Rules

[kenalepha.livejournal.com]

In Wilson, North Carolina is Parker's which has to have the best Fried Chicken and Pork BBQ place on the East Coast. They do a brisk business all the time, and more food goes out the back door as take home than goes onto the restaurant tables. (So saith my nephew who once worked there.) Parker's has been around a long time and is always one stop when I go home to visit family there. Here is a review:
http://www.roadfood.com/Reviews/Overview.aspx?RefID=2131

[seanmonster.livejournal.com]

When ever I pass through Colombus, OH, I make time to stop at the North Market (http://www.northmarket.com/). It's right next to the convention center.

[jss]

There's a reason my (work-related technical) conference trip reports read like gourmet whos-and-wheres more than technical summaries. :)

[hitchkitty.livejournal.com]

I spent a year in Germantown, Maryland when I worked for Lockheed Martin. My apartment was just down the street from a lovely little Italian bistro called Agrodolce. The atmosphere and service, not to mention the phenomenal food, began my tendency to leave 50% tips for above-and-beyond experiences. And, of course, it's where I proposed to my wife.

Between my apartment and my office was a lovely little Irish pub called Mrs. O'Leary's (http://www.mrsolearys.net/). Live entertainment, excellent pub grub.

I've only been back to Germantown once since leaving in summer of 2001, and the trip was centered around dining at Agrodolce again. Next time, I'll have to hit O'Leary's as well.

[jenrose]

I might cruise with Celebrity again *just* for the escargot.

SRSLY.

[trdsf.livejournal.com]

Tony Packo's in Toledo. 'Nuff said.

[allah-sulu.livejournal.com]

I once drove over six hours (round trip) just to surprise my wife with some White Castle burgers when she got up (they don't have them where we live, but she grew up with them and gets the craving from time to time).

But I can't complain, because when I go back to New England (where I'm from) I need to sample the crap I grew up with.

[capt-video.livejournal.com]

We usually take Rachel Ray's advice: ask the locals. (We tip better than she does too...) That said, we make several trips a year to the 100+ year old Wittmond Hotel in Brussels, Illinois (usually combined with eagle watching in the winter, antiquing in the spring and apple/pumpkin picking in the fall). There is no menu, just all-you-can-eat family style dining... all home made on the spot. Sausages, peach jelly, corn salsa, and fried chicken I would sell my Grandmother for. All at a price that makes you feel guilty.

[backrubbear.livejournal.com]

I've never been one to travel that far for food, at least since I moved out of Northern Michigan.

However, if Skyline Chili is your thing, and it's faithful enough, there's one here in Monroe.