I got an e-mail the other day from a subscriber who ask the question, "Where do you eat when you are traveling." So here goes.
When traveling, most hotels serve some type of breakfast so more often than not I chose to have breakfast at my hotel before hitting the road for the day. While hotels breakfast vary not only from chain to chain but from hotel to hotel within the same chain, most offer some type of breakfast.
I mostly stay at two national chains when traveling, Choice Hotel, which feature Comfort and Sleep Inns and the Holiday Inn chain. And as I said the quality of breakfast varies greatly not only between the two chains but from properties within the chain.
Most Choice Hotels feature some type of breakfast ranging from just simple coffee, juice, with fruit pastries to something like a smaller mini buffet with eggs a meat, waffles along toast and muffins.
The Holiday Inn has the greatest difference between properties. Some of the Hotels feature the same kind of mini-buffet that you find at many of the Choice Hotels. But some of the Holiday Inn Hotels have a stand alone restaurant on the property. Most of the time there is no free breakfast area in these hotels and you can order from a menu in the restaurant.
One thing that I have found with many Holiday Inn's is if you are a member of their rewards programs (especially one of their higher loyalty levels) you will more often than not received a voucher for a free breakfast upon check in. Even if you don't received the free voucher, most of the time the restaurant will discount your meal if you show them your room key.
Most of the Holiday Inn meal discounts are good for breakfast only, but if the hotel also has a bar then you may get a voucher for a free drink in the evenings. The one thing that I have found with the stand alone restaurants is that they are independently owned and food and service varies greatly from restaurant to restaurant.
After breakfast at the Hotel, I hit the road if it is a travel day or I head out to explore the area. For lunch if its a travel day I either hit a fast food joint or if I end up in a small town I like to stop and ask a local for Lunch recommendations. I have received some amazing recommendations along with some that were totally awful. But like anything it is hit and miss and you have to take the good with the bad.
For dinner, I really like to explore the area that I am in and usually end up taking my dinner at a local restaurant that are once again recommended by locals or that I have found on sites like Trip Advisor or a place that I have seen on TV.
Another question the same subscriber ask was what are some of my favorite place that I have found in my travels. So here are some of my favorite spots that I have enjoyed during my adventures. They are in no particular order, but rest assured I enjoy them all.
THE BIG TEXAN STEAK RANCH - AMARILLO, TEXAS
No trip through the panhandle of Texas would be complete without a stop at the Big Texan in Amarillo. It was a staple of Old Route 66 and now sits right along Interstate 40. The Big Texan is known for the famous 72 ounce steak challenge. But even if you don't take the challenge, the smaller steaks are great. It is almost always crowded, especially for dinner, but they turn tables over very quickly and the longest that I have every had to wait is about 45 minutes. As for the food, I have never had a bad meal here. The steaks are great, served sizzling hot and are delicious. Another thing that I like about the Big Texan is the musicians that walk through the restaurant taking request and playing country music. Don't forget to tip. Whenever I find myself in or near Amarillo I always visit the Big Texan and I have never been disappointed.
MRS. WILKES DINING ROOM - SAVANNAH, GEORGIA
To say that I like this place would be a tremendous understatement. Mrs. Wilkes is a family style restaurant where 10-people are seated around a large table and the food is served family style in bowls and plates that are passed around the table. And when a bowl is empty it is quickly replaced by another. On my visit there were plates of three different meats, ribs, meat loaf and of course fried chicken. Along with the meats there were bowl after bowl of wonderful food including peas, mashed potatoes, okra, mac and cheese just to name a few. I enjoyed visiting with my table companions who were from California, Texas and Missouri. Great food and interesting conversation made for and enjoyable meal. Keep in mind that Mrs. Wilkes is only open Monday - Friday for Lunch between the hours of 11 a.m., and 2 p.m. Another thing is they do NOT take Credit Cards and only accept CASH. Mrs. Wilkes is so popular that most days people begin to line up well before the 11 a.m. opening time. But I can assure you, any wait is well worth it as the food is great and I really enjoyed eating with and meeting some interesting people.
CATTLEMEN'S STEAKHOUSE - OKLAHOMA CITY, OKLAHOMA.
I have been to Oklahoma City a few times and years ago a local told me that I simply had to try the Cattlemen's Steakhouse in the Historic Stockyards. I tried it and now every time I returned to Oklahoma City, the Cattlemen's is a required stop. No matter What you get it will be simply delicious. As I said I have been here several times and have sampled several things on the menu and my favorite is of course the Cattlemen's Top Sirloin. But if you want to try something other than beef I would recommend the Fried Catfish. I absolutely love the Cattlemen's but for the outstanding food and the great service provided by servers who absolutely go out of their way to make you feel welcome.
LOCKHART, TEXAS - Lockhart, Texas is known for BBQ and while there are a large number of BBQ places in the area I had a hard time picking just one. In the two days that I spent in the area I OD'ed on great Texas BBQ. Like I said I had a hard time picking just one but my two favorites were Blacks BBQ, and Kreuz Market. The BBQ at each of these is simply outstanding and I found that I had my favorites at each place. At Kreuz Markter I had the Jalapeno Cheese Sausage with the Mac and Cheese. The sausage with spicy and just hot enough to to get your attention but not over whelming. My second visit to Kreuz was for dinner on my second day and I had the Brisket the slaw and beans which again was outstanding. Like Kreuz I had two meals at Blacks and they were equally as good and enjoyable. At Blacks for Lunch I had the Brisket with green beans and mac and cheese. When I returned the next day I had the Beef Ribs with slaw and Pinto Beans. Needless to say everything was outstanding. If you want real Texas BBQ then Lockhart is the place to go. I would highly recommend Black BBQ and Kreuz Market. If I go back I want to try some of the others including Smitty's Market.
GOURDOUGH'S DONUTS - AUSTIN, TEXAS
While this is not a restaurant, those of you that know me know that I love donuts. And while I have had some amazing donuts in my travels, I have to say that my absolute favorite donut place is Gourdough on South First Street in Austin, Texas. Gourdough's on 1st street is actually in what appears to be a converted air stream travel trailer. They do serve more than donuts but I came for donuts and donut is what I got. During my time in Austin I visited Gourdough's several times, and ended up sampling a lot of their donut choices. I must say that everything was great but my favorites were Miss Shortcake and Son of a Peach. I also couldn't resist the Blue Balls and the Cherry Bombs donut holes. If you are in Austin, Gourdough's is my favorite place.
Those are just some of my absolute favorite restaurants that I have encountered during my adventures. It is by no means a complete list and as 2020 kicks in I hope to discover even more places that I can add to this list.
Speaking of 2020, I am looking at some very ambitious adventures and some of them are beginning to take shape and if everything falls in to place I will be hitting the road around the first of April and again in July. Stay tuned as details will be coming in the weeks ahead.
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