What's the best road food?

If I'm going crazy and need to stop and recharge, Cracker Barrel.

If I gotta keep moving, McDonalds, of if I'm feeling fancy, Arby's.

Or, chocolate covered coffee beans, cashews, an empty jug and some Gatorade and/or water if I've got to get there NOW.

If I have to have food on the go some form of a quick snack is my preference.  A honey bun and cup of coffee from Love's Travel Centers, any time of day, is preferred over any fast food offering and can be piggy backed on a fuel stop.  At the end of the day, if we are in Cracker Barrel country that's our go to.  And now you can get beer or wine.

Trail mix without a lot of candy in it, beef jerky, and water.  Plus I like keeping sugar free gum around to try and clean some of that jerky out from between my teeth afterwards.  A small cup of coffee can be nice but it's hard to find coffee fast that isn't also pretty awful.  Breakfast in a diner can be nice.  I just don't want a lot of sugar when I'm sitting all day.

I've always been one of those guys that believed "as short of time out of seat the better"... keep rolling.  So it was truck stop coffee and a snack.   Pit stops are timed, aren't they?  You can eat when you get there!  (I'm trying to beat the GPS prediction for arrival when we departed.)

Later in life I'm bending to the trophy wife's desires.  Letting her pick what ever.  She usually goes for something local to the area with high reviews where you sit down and calmly wait. not chains.  Turns out to be really great.  I'm learning to be patient and calm, but its a work in progress.  This from a guy that has done 750 miles in a class A in a single day.  1000 miles with truck and race trailer.

Trying to learn to smell the flowers...

p.s. she sometimes thinks Waffle House is the go-to dinner choice.   go figure.

When Sting and the Ultimate Warrior were driving to shows as a tag team in Texas (mid-'80s), Warrior would go on and on about Waffle House until they got east of the Mississippi where all the Waffle Houses were at the time. Sting said Warrior really liked to eat so once they got out East he would demolish Waffle House.

https://www.dinersdriveinsdiveslocations.com/

Click through some of these to find very worthwhile spots to change up your usual travel food.   (Best for the "smell the flowers" journeys and less for the "cannonball run" trips.)

(meme related)

Moe's, five guys, sonic, taco bell, and chic fil-a

I once did an entire Solo National Tour (thurs-Sun) eating exclusively at Wawa. 

Why do we eat at Dennys.......becuase it's open.

In reply to bludroptop :

that is fine dining Sir! 
wawa has better/faster/cheaper food than a lot of restaurants.  They have not spread put enough yet, but im happy that they are. Good food and non-eth gas. 

Subway.  Deep fryers and me don't get along on road trips.

We tend to pack PB&Js and get fast food. We do not typically get fast food at home so it's a bit of a treat for the kids. As for what is pure "road food only," that's gotta be Combos. Has anyone actually bought Combos anywhere other than a gas station / truck stop?

I let google or yelp pick for me.  I like experiencing local stuff.  I'll sometimes pick a chain, but it will almost always be a "local" chain, like a Sonny's BBQ when I'm in the south, or In n Out when I'm out west.

Now it is readily apparent that someone should write a good "road food" blog to save car enthusiasts from the ills of fast food.  There are so many great places to eat in this country, just like there are so many great places to visit.  Y'all are missing out!  I-40 just west of OKC....  there is a place in Okarchee called Eishen's Bar.  It's the best fried chicken ever, and you buy the entire bird.  You'll think okay one will do, nah you'll need two because you've never had fried chicken this good.  It's served BBQ style with all the bread, pickles and onions you can eat.  The pickles are homemade too and amazing.  They have plenty of tea, soda and cold beer depending on your needs too.  There are so many good places.... 

Are you taking I-10 through San Antonio?  Well there are so many places there, but I will tell you about one.  Beto's empanadas off loop 410 and San Pedro Rd!  This Beto is the best Beto in the state of TX too, hands down.  The empanadas are great, especially the green chile chicken one.  The real unsung star of the menu though, the burger!  Yes get the burger with poblano pepper crema sauce and enjoy a new experience. 

I do everything I can to avoid fast food on all trips.  I will be traveling to San Antonio on a new route next month.  I'm going to find something good or maybe a few places.  I ain't eatin' mass produced garbage.  I want something local, unique, tasty and made by local folks. 

WH:  Black coffee, double up scattered, smothered, peppered and extra crispy.  Guarantee you won't be the jankiest looking patron no matter what adventure you've been on.

In reply to AnthonyGS (Forum Supporter) :

Damn you for reminding me about Beto's. Now I'm going to be thinking about their empanadas all day. 

Totally agree on the local and tasty part. Got to back the locals as you travel this world. Chains are only out of desperation when I travel. 

If I'm road tripping, chances are I'm on vacation. I try and take my time getting to my destination (within reason), because I'm on vacation! It's also usually always with my girlfriend. She scopes out local joints on yelp/google and punches it in for me when we decide on something good (pro-tip if you go this way: just go with whatever her first choice is. If you think she's catching on, switch it up and go with her second or third choice. I promise it'll be easier if you do.)

We usually hit Jack In the Box in the mornings because I like their breakfast burrito and she likes the breakfast jack, but we stay away from fast food for lunch/dinner. Sometimes we hit mainstays such as Denny's or IHOP, but we try to go local if possible. My favorite if you're doing a Southern California to Las Vegas trip is Peggy Sue's.

Unrelated but I took my parents to Cracker Barrel for the first time ever in their lives on our road trip from San Diego to Zion National Park and it was a hoot because my dad got the (in)famous Cracker Barrel gravy E36 M3s.

bludroptop said:

I once did an entire Solo National Tour (thurs-Sun) eating exclusively at Wawa. 

CAme here to say WaWa is, imho, the alpha and omega of quick-stop road-trip foods.  Good bathrooms, gas, great subs, super fast service, and the bonus of I don't even have to talk to anyone while ordering-  Just put it in the kiosk, go pee, gas up, and come back in to your completed order. 

Haste makes Waste. 

I prefer mixed nuts and cheddar cheese to snack, plus infinute5coffee.

Rarely fast food....only Subway or Jersey Mike's Submarines.

Highly in favor of a local sit down with real food.

I don't know anything about F1 cars, but I'm  willing to bet that they don't use the cheapest gas they can find.  

My body deserves good gas, too!

And I thought this debate was between deer, raccoon, squirrel and deer

AnthonyGS (Forum Supporter) said:

Now it is readily apparent that someone should write a good "road food" blog to save car enthusiasts from the ills of fast food.  There are so many great places to eat in this country, just like there are so many great places to visit.  Y'all are missing out!  I-40 just west of OKC....  there is a place in Okarchee called Eishen's Bar.  It's the best fried chicken ever, and you buy the entire bird.  You'll think okay one will do, nah you'll need two because you've never had fried chicken this good.  It's served BBQ style with all the bread, pickles and onions you can eat.  The pickles are homemade too and amazing.  They have plenty of tea, soda and cold beer depending on your needs too.  There are so many good places.... 

Are you taking I-10 through San Antonio?  Well there are so many places there, but I will tell you about one.  Beto's empanadas off loop 410 and San Pedro Rd!  This Beto is the best Beto in the state of TX too, hands down.  The empanadas are great, especially the green chile chicken one.  The real unsung star of the menu though, the burger!  Yes get the burger with poblano pepper crema sauce and enjoy a new experience. 

I do everything I can to avoid fast food on all trips.  I will be traveling to San Antonio on a new route next month.  I'm going to find something good or maybe a few places.  I ain't eatin' mass produced garbage.  I want something local, unique, tasty and made by local folks. 

Rock Cafe in Stroud OK.
Rudy's BBQ in Austin TX
Middlesex Diner in Carlisle PA
Turoni's Pizza in Evansville IN
Windell's Restaurant in Dale IN
Old Spanish Trail in Bandera TX
Southside Cafe in Slidell LA
Millie's Cafe in Los Angeles
Collegetown Bagels or Gorgers in Ithaca NY
 

Going hungry. Driving on long highway road trips doesn't use much energy at all. Bring just water for your next all-day drive and discover how much fresher you are at your destination when you're not weighed down by a meal.

Peanut butter filled pretzels. A bag of these bought from whatever top-teir gas station i'm flling up at. Gotta make time-gotta make time-gotta make time.

I try to keep my fluid intake low, less restroom stops.

I find that most smaller towns will have a decent, sit down, family style Mexican restaurant. I call them "hot plate places" because the server will always tell you to be careful because the plate is hot. They are all pretty similar and while not "authentic" they perform the admiral task of getting me out of the seat and filling my belly with something hot and tasty.

Complimentary chips and salsa! A combo with an enchilada and a chile relleno is my go to.  I ain't futzing around with no fast food if this is an option.

If I'm on a road trip I'll likely bring some food with me because I'm cheap. But if I don't it's likely to be Wendy's. I know what to expect, I actually like it, and they have a drive through.

Gotta make time if I'm road tripping, no time for a sit down