Road warriors know one thing for certain. If you close your eyes, you can be anywhere. One off ramp of the freeway is the same as any other. An interstate interchange in Omaha is the same as one in Peoria. Which is the same as another in Birmingham. And so on.
When it comes to road sustenance, the familiar is easy. It is nice to know that a steak at Outback is just as good in Sioux Falls as it is in Jackson. A Big Mac serves it's purpose just as well in London as in Monterey. But at a certain point, one has to say, wait just a minute.
When the opportunity arises, I like to experiment. I have found that there are many alternatives to the same old same old, if we only look for them.
In Sioux Falls, SD, necessity occasionally dictates that I land for the night in the downtown Holiday Inn. In addition to the fact that it is far from the highway motels, the first thing that you notice is that there are no chain restaurants downtown. No golden arches to be seen, no boomerangs hanging over the entrance across the street. But, a little searching turns up value, sometimes.
A short walk from the downtown hotel, along clean, windswept streets, is a locally owned place called Mama's Ladas. This restaurant is the antithesis of a chain restaurant, in all of the best ways. To begin with, they offer enchiladas. Period. Luckily for me, I love enchiladas. The server has one question as she nears the table. "Chicken or beef?" and "Half or full?" Chicken, and full, of course. And they offer the absolute best sangria this side of Austin, with apologies to Jerry Jeff Walker.
There is something to be said for a place that makes only one thing. Some would say that they are crazy, that to specialize is to limit, and therefore to die. but those people have never been to Mama's.
On a recent May evening, I walked into the small downtown restaurant and was immediately made to feel welcome. The waitress was friendly, and the atmosphere was top notch. There are only about ten tables int he place, and the ancient brick walls are decorated with colorful art. The impressive sound system played an eclectic mix of everything from Sam Cooke to Sade. I heard an obscure Ray Charles version of "Busted" that made me very happy.
There are good restaurants and there are memorable restaurants, all across this country. It is far too easy to rely on only the Ruby Tuesdays of the world and bypass the locally owned gems tucked away on downtown streets. Finding these places is not easy, but well worth the effort. I continue to travel and search, with an occasional tale to tell.
When it comes to road sustenance, the familiar is easy. It is nice to know that a steak at Outback is just as good in Sioux Falls as it is in Jackson. A Big Mac serves it's purpose just as well in London as in Monterey. But at a certain point, one has to say, wait just a minute.
When the opportunity arises, I like to experiment. I have found that there are many alternatives to the same old same old, if we only look for them.
In Sioux Falls, SD, necessity occasionally dictates that I land for the night in the downtown Holiday Inn. In addition to the fact that it is far from the highway motels, the first thing that you notice is that there are no chain restaurants downtown. No golden arches to be seen, no boomerangs hanging over the entrance across the street. But, a little searching turns up value, sometimes.
A short walk from the downtown hotel, along clean, windswept streets, is a locally owned place called Mama's Ladas. This restaurant is the antithesis of a chain restaurant, in all of the best ways. To begin with, they offer enchiladas. Period. Luckily for me, I love enchiladas. The server has one question as she nears the table. "Chicken or beef?" and "Half or full?" Chicken, and full, of course. And they offer the absolute best sangria this side of Austin, with apologies to Jerry Jeff Walker.
There is something to be said for a place that makes only one thing. Some would say that they are crazy, that to specialize is to limit, and therefore to die. but those people have never been to Mama's.
On a recent May evening, I walked into the small downtown restaurant and was immediately made to feel welcome. The waitress was friendly, and the atmosphere was top notch. There are only about ten tables int he place, and the ancient brick walls are decorated with colorful art. The impressive sound system played an eclectic mix of everything from Sam Cooke to Sade. I heard an obscure Ray Charles version of "Busted" that made me very happy.
There are good restaurants and there are memorable restaurants, all across this country. It is far too easy to rely on only the Ruby Tuesdays of the world and bypass the locally owned gems tucked away on downtown streets. Finding these places is not easy, but well worth the effort. I continue to travel and search, with an occasional tale to tell.
