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.
  

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