Hungry Travels

A recap of our drive home from Philly on Sunday night:

7:10 pm-  Driving up I-95, mild hunger sets in.  No problem, there’ll be plenty of rest stops along the way.

7:45 pm-  Hmm, now I’m starting to get hungry.  I wonder where the next rest stop is.

8:00 pm- Amanda spots a sign for Chick-fil-A. “Ooh, Chick-fil-A!” she says.  “I didn’t know they had them up here!” (she’s from North Carolina).  “But they’re usually closed on Sundays.”

“How come?” I ask.
“Because they’re religious.”

8:30 pm- Another Chick-fil-A sign!  Maybe in Jersey they’re open on Sundays.  After all, this isn’t the Bible Belt.   We take the exit and I inspect the sign more closely: “Chick-fil-A.  CLOSED ON SUNDAYS”.   Aargh.  God doesn’t want me to have a chicken sandwich. 

8:45 pm-  My stomach starts to eat itself.  

9:00 pm-   We’re having obsessive food thoughts.   We start playing the food game, a simultaneously enjoyable and excruciating exercise.

“You know what would be awesome right now?  Lobster with ginger and scallion.”
“Ooooh… or saag paneer.”
“Miso black cod at Morimoto.”
“Shrimp po’ boy.”
…. “Ohhhhhhh.” 

9:05 pm- Critical decision— there’s a rest stop 2 miles up ahead.  But traffic’s building up on 95 and the exit for the Garden State Parkway is only 1 mile away.  Do we hit the rest stop and take a chance on traffic, or do we get off 95?   We get off.

9:15 pm-   I spot a sign for McDonald’s and Lukoil.   Slim pickings.  There’s got to be something in Paramus.  We keep driving. 

9:40 pm-  We’re drooling like bloodhounds.   Then finally, a rest stop with a Burger King up ahead!   It’s no Chick-fil-A, but beggars can’t be choosers.   Let’s eat!

9:45 pm-  We stumble to the counter like thirsty travelers finding an oasis in the desert.   The customer ahead of us alerts us to a problem— apparently, BK’s almost completely out of food, including burgers.   Whaaaat?  BURGER King is out of burgers?!   Is this the Twilight Zone?  I’m starting to feel like Michael Douglas in Falling Down when he goes nutty because the employees at Whammy Burger won’t serve him breakfast.  Our options are a fried chicken sandwich, a fried crispy chicken sandwich or a fried fish sandwich.   We both go with fried option A and I ask pitifully,  “Do you have any burgers left?”

Lady Behind Counter: “We have one.”
“One??”
“Yes, just one.” 
“I’ll take it!”

Of course, they probably found this burger under the french fryer, dusted it off and made a bet on which sucker would actually eat it.  I don’t care, it’s mine.   Amanda and I rapturously enjoy our chicken sandwiches.   Then trembling, I open the wrapper to view my beloved burger, adorned with pickles and ketchup.  Here it is folks, 9:50 pm, the last Burger King burger at the Montvale rest stop in New Jersey…

To a hungry man, it was a thing of beauty.  

Related posts

• The Cheesesteak Capital of the World (4)
• On Burgers and Rare Bar & Grill (1)
• Food and the Nostalgia Factor (0)
• Eats of Philadelphia (0)
• Burgers, Shakes & Fries, Oh My (0)

I’d planned on writing today about the virtues of the cheesesteak, but somehow I got gastronomically diverted this weekend.  That’s what happens when you wander around a city that has so many food choices.  Amanda and I were in Philly to check out the Frida Kahlo exhibit at the Philadelphia Museum of Art (which was amazing by the way, though not exactly the “feel good” exhibit of the year).   Since we’re both food lovers, we ambled over to Philly’s premiere food destination, Reading Terminal Market. 

If you like to eat, you might as well lie down and die right there, because it doesn’t get much better.  Produce, meats, seafood, cheeses, baked goods and an endless number of food vendors make up the maze of one the largest farmer’s markets in the country.  I was in too much of a daze to take pictures, but I did grab this one of some of the largest shrimp I’ve ever seen- random, I know, but they were just so freakin’ big.  The pic doesn’t do them justice:

For lunch we went simple and stopped at a Mediterranean stand for a thin crust pizza with caramelized onions, roasted red peppers and olives.  My reuben obsession also kicked in, so I snagged a turkey reuben for us to share.  Then I blacked out.  If the reuben at City Limits Diner was a D, this was an A-plus.  Piled high with an ungodly amount of fresh turkey (Amanda thinks it was over a 1/2 pound), with just the right amount of cheese, sauerkraut and Russian dressing that made it drippy, but not TOO drippy (we did take a pic of me eating it, but it was so unflattering that I refuse to include it).   The pickle was perfect too- we guess it might have come from one of the neighboring Amish pickle vendors.  What an awesome sandwich. Of course, when you’re so stuffed that you’re loosening your belt, there’s only one logical thing to do next…get ice cream.  Bassetts is a Philadelphia staple and the ice cream is sooo good- homemade and high in butterfat, it oozes creaminess. I ordered peach, Amanda got pistachio, and we waddled out of the market. 

Thankfully Philly’s an extremely walkable city, so you can burn off some calories while visiting the usual tourist destinations like the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall.  The rest of our weekend included coffee at La Colombe in Rittenhouse Square, dinner at the excellent Cuban hotspot Alma de Cuba (where coincidentally, Ashton Kutcher and Demi Moore had eaten just a few days before- thought you’d want to know that), lunch and Yuenglings at Mace’s Crossing Pub, and another coffee stop at Tuscany Café.   We were so busy that we just never got around to trying the ‘ol cheesesteak.   That’s okay, I have a feeling I’ll be back in Philly soon.   The turkey reuben’s calling my name.

(Note: This is Part 1 of the Philly posting- the second part involves a strange experience at Burger King.   Stay tuned.)

Related posts

• The Cheesesteak Capital of the World (4)
• There’s Something About Diners (1)
• The Burger Stands Alone (1)

I’m heading down to Philly for the weekend.  A cheesesteak is a must, but from where?  I’ve been told John’s Roast Pork makes the best.  Let me know what you think.  And if you have any restaurant suggestions, send ‘em my way.

Full eating report when I return…

Related posts

• Eats of Philadelphia (0)
• The Burger Stands Alone (1)