So, we returned home recently from a food tour of nearly half the US (a 20-state adventure). #justcallmeafoodie

 

First stop was Clanton’s in Vinita, OK for a mean cut-it-with-a-fork chicken fried steak.

Place was packed at 7:35p when we walked in and I was thinking, they will not be closing by 8p, but man, it was almost empty by 7:45! They know how to get people in and out, but you don’t feel rushed and the food is good and the wait staff experienced. This was our second experience with Clanton’s. They do a great breakfast too.

The Shaved Duck in St Louis was our debated stop – try a new place or repeat Sweetie Pie’s? But no regrets – I had the tri-tip sandwich with sautéed brussel sprouts. Excellent. Fred had a Bratburger and mashed potatoes with smoked onions. We’ll be trying brat burger meat now in place of brats for dinner.

 

We were really too full from the late lunch at The Shaved Duck, but stopped at The Steer-In in Indanapolis, Indiana anyway. (I didn’t want to miss any opportunities!) We split a pork loin sandwich. Busy place..lots of folks visit this little diner.

Whitehouse Chicken in Barberton, OH was the only disappointment. We took a listing off the 50 best chicken places in the US. It was Meh. Actually, I was talking when we walked in and the waitress carried 2 plates by me and I lost my words, but the food just didn’t live up to the look. Chicken was juicy, but left a lot to be desired on the coating (and Fred’s gravy tasted canned) and what’s fried chicken without great coating?

Buffalo, NY was The Blackthorn Restaurant & Pub. OMG! And we got to witness a birthday party for a VERY surprised New York sounding lady! Kailah was a great waitress who recommended one of their specialties to Fred: a prime rib and veggie salad that made him VERY happy. I had the Triple D special: beer cheddar potato soup, cheese stuffed tater tots (not your ordinary (aka bite size) tots), mini beef on deck (special bread) with horseradish and crab cake (OhMy!).

Campagna’s, “Artisanal Italian” in Malta, NY served a lovely solo salad and an Salumi e Formaggio Board of house made sausages like pancetta and boar meat sausage, picked cauliflower, cheeses (Gorgonzola, Parmesan and one we can’t remember), olives with mostarda and house made bread.

The next night we bought Vermont sharp cheddar cheese and Hard Salami for a light dinner – which we forgot in the hotel frig with Gig’s homemade sun dried tomato hummus. That was a bummer. But we remembered the maple cotton candy – or we would have been turning back!

The Townshend Dam Diner in Townshend, Vermont (no website..look them up on Yelp) where the bathroom was so small the toilet paper was mounted on the door because there wasn’t enough room beside the toilet. No lie. “Home cooked food for your money by a dam site!” Burger was good. …..One waitress was working the whole joint well. This was one of those, we’re-driving-by-and-we’re-hungry-places that turned out well. Great character. Don’t ask about all the green glass – they don’t know what the story is..or maybe just aren’t telling.

The Eveready Diner in Hyde Park (home of the Roosevelts (as in FDR and Eleanor) and Vassar College had unbelievably good mac ‘n cheese served in a HUGE bowl on the side. Fred had the meatloaf. I ordered wrong here. My fault – who eats a meatball sandwich when there are other good things – lots of things – on the menu?! It wasn’t bad…just some kind of brain twitch…I thought I ordered a meatloaf sandwich. and we had a milkshake to go that Fred didn’t share well.

Union Station, Harrisburg, PA was a place Gig, the google queen, found for us. (“Hey, find us a place to eat in Harrisburg, PA”.) Prime rib ciabatta with maybe the best Au Ju ever and Fred had the Germantown Bratburger and peach and blackberry skillet cake for dessert. He was a happy boy! I think we can make this cake.

Charleston Culinary Walking Tour: Cumberland Street Smokehouse – really this was a full meal and only the first stop of a 5 restaurant tour. The wings – not your ordinary wings – had this great crust – flash baked after smoking – and a white BBQ sauce (got to find a recipe for this!) to die for – really excellent collard greens, pulled pork sliders, pulled chicken & pulled pork, there was mac n cheese and beans too. French fries fried in duck fat which gave them a wonderful unique flavor. Around the corner to Poogan’s Smokehouse. This was another meal: mac n cheese with sugared bacon, pork sliders (and an apology about the duplication but nobody cared), OMG cornbread served with butter where juices from their smoked meat had been allowed to drip into the butter. Then, fried chicken you could cut with a fork with a sauce made from Texas Pete’s hot sauce, pimento cheese fritters (I don’t LIKE pimento cheese – at least not my grandmother’s pimento cheese (sorry MM) but could live on this!) … Then down the street to Carmella’s Cafe & Dessert Bar for a BLT with Jack Nicholson bread (they ship some to him weekly since the ’80s). I saved mine for later because there were still 2 more stops and I was already stuffed), across the street to Amen Street Fish and Raw Bar for white shrimp corn dogs. REALLY. Delicious white shrimp skewered and dipped in sweet corn dog batter. These were heavenly! And the last stop was Kaminsky’s Dessert Cafe for a Tollhouse Cookie Pie drizzled in caramel and chocolate with pecans with cream on the side. Glenn, the tour guide and one of the owners of Charleston Culinary Tours, knows his stuff and was entertaining and informative and fun. But he says, hope you didn’t eat breakfast, but really folks, you shouldn’t eat for at least 24 hours prior. So much great food. We’ll do another trip to Charleston just for the food!

   

Needless to say, the rest of the trip is kind of anti-climactic cause you’re just not hungry for a few days…but we didn’t let that deter us. We’re tougher than that!

We stopped at The Back Porch in Destin, FL for seafood…and a Passion Punch that had me worried Fred was going to have to carry me out the door and pour me back into the car. He had a Captain’s Platter – fried everything (I don’t know how he does that and has THE lowest cholesterol of any person I know!): scallops, crab cake, mani mahi, shrimp and oysters. I had a blackjack tuna and shrimp salad. This was not my favorite place – wait of about 15 minutes in late afternoon and VERY touristy. Not my cup of tea but very decent seafood which was the goal.

We took a risk in Louisiana @ Jasmine’s on the Bayou (Tripadvisor) that paid off plenty. This was our last “food stop” before Texas. The appetizers would have been plenty, but we’re gluttons…Jasmine’s Trio: Rocket Shrimp (oh my), Boudin Balls (to die for) and ….. . Fred had crawfish étouffée with beans and rice (really good). I ordered the Shrimp Creole with dirty rice, but I think I got the fried shrimp platter. But honestly, it didn’t matter the appetizers were so good and there just wasn’t any room left…except for the bread pudding advertised to “change your life”!

Ridiculously good (even for dinner in bed in Texas later) and it’s about 1/4 of a pie! No small portions here. Rory, our waiter, was fun. But honesty, we were nearly comatose from eating. But what a way to go!