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Enjoy Delicious Budget Meals While Travelling
Know What to Eat and Where to Find It - Part II
Find the best restaurants and cafes in Canada and the U.S.
While travelling, to maximize the chances
of having the best food, try to seek out the independent cafes
and restaurants favoured by the locals. Only if there is not time,
use some of the better chain restaurants like the ones mentioned
below, instead of fast food places.
A superb guide to roadside cafes and restaurants
in the U.S. is Roadfood: The coast-to-coast
Guide to 500 of the Best Barbeque Joints, Lobster Shacks, Ice Cream
Parlors, Highway Diners, and Much More
by Gourmet Magazine restaurant critics Jane Stern and Michael
Stern. This inexpensive guidebook helps make your trips more enjoyable.
While visiting larger cities in Canada and the United States, you
can utilize various Zagat Survey restaurant
guidebooks to avoid disappointment. These are excellent.
On the other hand, no guidebook prepares
you for the myriad of places you might visit in Canada or the U.S., especially in rural areas.
When travelling by car, search out the small
towns well off interstate and other major highways.
In smaller towns, you often find a town square surrounded by stores
cathering to the local, not tourist, population. This is a prime
locale for an excellent place to eat. Ask someone to point the
way to the best choice.
At meal time, your selection should be
filled with local people. If not busy at meal time, try to find
a better place.
On the other hand, some small town centres are in decline, so avoid these if you see vacant
stores and disrepair. Find out where the locals are now shopping—perhaps in a town just down the road—and you may find a good family-run restaurant amongst all the
fast food places.
In general, it is much easier to discover
good and inexpensive restaurants in the southern and southwestern
U.S. and California.
Traditionally, these areas had access to
the largest variety of fresh food over the longest portion of the
year. Most everywhere else, including much of Canada, the best
budget food is usually ethnic food.
Prince Edward Island in Canada
is a notable exception, where even the most modest establishments
are likely to serve fine, freshly made food, including sometimes
fresh cooked veggies as a side to hamburgers!
Eating at the best chain
restaurants
As mentioned, Dr. Voyageur likes to seek
out the best independent dining spots favoured by locals. However,
sometimes you just do not have time, and will pick a chain place
that you trust.
Sadly, in Dr. Voyageur's experience, Canada does not have national non fast food chains that compare to the best U.S. ones, especially to those based in the southern U.S.
For the most part, local small ethnic restaurants are the way to dine best in Canada on a budget. With traditionally high levels of immigration, ethnic choices are easy to find, even in small towns.
Some of the better U.S. chains, in various
categories, include
the following. Of course, the focus is on inexpensive food.
- The Black Eye Pea, mostly in the Middle
Atlantic, southern, and southwestern states: Southern-style meals
with full service. Lots of vegetable choices, as is the southern
tradition. Moderate cost.
- Fresh Fields, Whole Foods, Wellsprings
Grocery: Not restaurants, but a natural food supermarket chain
going by different names that usually has a cafe and carry out
counter for picnics and snacks. Large selection.
- Furr's Cafeterias, Texas and the Southwest:
Very similar offerings to Luby's (see below), very slightly less
expensive than Luby's, less upscale dining rooms and food presentation.
In general (and this may be unfair as the two chains have so
many locations and Dr. Voyageur has just sampled some of them),
Furr's food is almost but not quite as good as Luby's.
All in all, however, Furr's is an excellent place to have a balanced
meal at a fair price, and most travellers will want to eat here
when they can. Dr. Voyageur loves Furr's pecan pie and its macaroni
and cheese. Some locations are all we care to eat, although the
portions are served to us on request.
- Luby's
Cafeterias Texas and other locations from Arizona
to Florida: Excellent made from scratch meals. Nice atmospheres.
Low prices. Easy to select balanced diet. Special price for reduced
size entries at many locations.
Be sure to visit these highly
recommended self-serve restaurants, which are not expensive.
- Old Country
Buffet, expanding from the Middle
West to everywhere: American food at its blandest--pepper shakers
provided at each table. Lots and lots of variety of everything
except spices. Often nice atmospheres. Very popular with senior
citizens, although most locations are patronized by all age groups.
Inexpensive.
At Old Country, one price includes all we care to eat, including
drinks and a variety of desserts. Its Internet site has menus.
High turnover and small portions cooked at one time tend to keep
offerings fresh. However, quality varies somewhat amongst locations,
and like all buffets and cafeterias, the food is best and freshest
when the restaurant is busiest at peak mealtimes. All in all,
a good choice while travelling, if, of course, we do not overeat.
In Colorado, Old Country Buffets are called Country Buffets.
Dr. Voyageur has not tried a related chain called HomeTown Buffet.
- Olive
Garden, everywhere: Often quite
good Italian-style meals—and even better lately.
Note the term Italian style, which implies modified to American
tastes. Nice atmospheres. Moderate prices.
One reader strongly
disagreed with this recommendation, and in fairness the quality
does vary by location. Some chefs have been sent to Italy to
upgrade their training; others have not.
- Outback
Steak Houses, expanding everywhere:
A so-called Australian-style moderate-cost, mostly steak restaurant.
Lipide city. Don't visit before your annual physical. Does not count toward our balanced meal requirement,
but instead counts as five fast food meals. Fun atmosphere. Very
popular. Moderate cost.
- Papa
John's Pizza: High quality fresh
ingredients. The best of the widespread chain pizzas. Mostly
takeout. Inexpensive to moderate cost.
- Sizzler Steak Houses: More popular at
lunch for its attractive salad and hot food bars than for its
steaks. Chicken and fish also featured. Vegetarians may be able
to dine well here using the salad bars. Often pleasant atmosphere.
Moderate cost.
- Piccadilly
Cafeterias, middle size and larger
cities in the South plus Maryland.
The wonderful Morrisons cafeteria chain has been absorbed into
Piccadilly Cafeterias by its new owner.
Dr. Voyageur has always gone out of his way to eat at Morrisons,
the King of the great cafeterias in in the South. Of all the
chain restaurants, this had been his favourite. Gone now is the
upscale service that made Morrisons the place to take your grandmother
on her birthday, but the southern-style food quality remains good at the several
former Morrisons Dr. Voyageur has tried.
Many fish choices. Lots of veggies, but vegetarians should note
southern style implies pork or bacon used to flavour green leafy
vegetables or sometimes green beans. In addition, lard may be used in pie crusts
and rolls. Ask, if this is a concern.
Inexpensive or moderate cost. Often
luncheon specials.
- Subway, everywhere: Overpriced sandwiches made from fresh
ingredients and freshly baked bread. Some significantly lower
in fat than other fast food because Subway does not fry food.
Almost always under $6.00. Watch for specials, sometimes half
off or two for the price of one. Blimpies, a chain not as wide-spread
as Subway, is quite similar.
- Wendy's, almost everywhere, although because of its late
start some locations may be less prominately located than those
of its competition: Truly the best of the national hamburger
chains by far. Lots of alternatives, including baked potato entries
for lacto-vegetarians. A few units may still have salad bars,
which sometimes are not very good, but the regular menu items
are almost always very good. Inexpensive.
Go To >> Part
I, Experiencing the best foods
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