When we do set out at the start of the day and have a destination in mind, one of our guides aside from the atlas has been the book Roadfood. This is a resource that anyone on a road trip should absolutely have. It’s a guide to over 700 of the best local eateries all across the country. These are places that maintain that local flavor both in their sense of place and sense of taste. At most of these places you can get a meal for under $10 and you can often pick them out at lunch time by the crowd waiting outside (the surest sign of some good eats). We’ve been able to check out 6 places so far on our travels, and haven’t been let down once. I already wrote a bit about our trip to Arthur Bryant’s in Kansas City, but we’ve also been to:
Homemade Ice Cream and Pie Kitchen–Lousville, KY
Plaza Cafe–Santa Fe, NM
The Frontier–Albuquerque, NM (twice!)
Nopalito–Las Cruces, NM
Nellie’s Cafe–Las Cruces, NM
Tacqueria Pico de Gallo–South Tucson, AZ (This is, according to the Roadfood authors, the best Mexican restaurant in the country. After two visits I can’t disagree with that, but I’m willing to put it to the test. El Farolito here we come!)
Sugar Bowl–Scottsdale, AZ (This is where Dennis the Menace would go for ice cream in the cartoon strip)
Every one of these places so far has been a local treasure.
Next up is a place that isn’t in Roadfood but I’ve read about elsewhere–Pizzeria Bianco in Phoenix. If you want to check out some good descriptions of these places and more in your area, check out http://www.roadfood.com/
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