Hot Turkey Sandwich at Earl’s Drive-In

We arrived in Buffalo after a leisurely morning and having found a room for the night in a little town called Waterloo.  Before driving into Buffalo proper, we cut south for lunch at Earl’s Drive-In in Chaffee.  Earl’s is a bit old-school, but it is big and roomy.  We settled into a table without a wait and considered the lunch selection.  We went with our faithful standby, the BLT, and I ordered an open-face turkey sandwich which is one of my diner favorites.

BLT at Earl’s Drive-In

I’d say the BLT was the best part of the meal.  The turkey sandwich tasted about how it looks in the picture… fair (which also describes the service).  It was another of those situations where our server could care less that we drove all the way across the country because we saw them on DDD.

It appears that Earl’s Drive-In has since closed its doors for good, and that the owner, Earl Northrup, passed away earlier this year.  I’m sure Earl’s Drive-In will be missed by all their regulars. We didn’t get to meet Earl, but he loved music, and serving good food in his own restaurant, so that’s good enough for me. Continue reading →

Inside the Pilgrim Monument Looking Down
Provincetown, Massachusetts

We had a nice comfy night, a spot of breakfast the next morning and headed out for Cape Cod.  We enjoyed the scenery and drove up to Provincetown.  They have a museum and a Pilgrim Memorial Monument, both of which we enjoyed (even though it was pouring down rain).  Inside the monument (which is made of massive granite blocks) there are ramps instead of stairs.  The picture is from the top looking down. The granite is so hard and impressive that this monument looks like it will last forever.

We stopped in downtown Hyannis to do a little strolling, shopping, and maybe find some lunch.  We bought a few souvenirs, and chatted with some lovely ladies.  I was even treated with a drum shop called Jack’s (which I gave a good going over).  Poor Anna knows that when I go into a music store I may not come out for hours.  Some locals recommended a place in the next town that is renowned for their chicken pot pies (which sounded perfect to us as the weather was drizzly, rainy, overcast, and cold).  We managed to find the place, but they had just closed for the day.  We pushed on to Plymouth and checked out all the sights there.

We rolled on into Boston and eventually managed to find a room for the next three nights (in Framingham).  I struck out for the nearest place to find some dinner to go and found a Panera Bread.  We rode the train into downtown the next morning and treated ourselves to a Sticky Bun at Flour Bakery and Café (which beat Bobby Flay on Throwdown).

We walked around a bit, taking in the sights and the onslaught of traffic.  All that really mattered to me though was lunch.  Before I tell you what we had for lunch, I’ve got to share a moment with you. Continue reading →

It was my first time to New Jersey.  We got a great room in East Brunswick for three nights, and it would serve as our base for New York City over the coming weekend.

Hightstown Diner

On our first morning, we headed south to the Hightstown Diner for breakfast.  As we were heading into town, which was remarkably beautiful, we noticed a big yard sale and pulled over.  We gave it a good going over scouring for bargains and I found a copy of Julia Child’s 1989 book, The Way To Cook.  I picked it up for three bucks (even though I knew I would have to haul it about 6,000 miles to get it home.  I’ve got it now and it’s a nice addition to my library.  By the way, they had her kitchen on display at the Smithsonian and it was a real treat to check it out. We were just in Santa Barbara and went to her favorite taco stand, La Super Rica.  Of course, any excuse to check out a taqueria works for me.  In addition to watching Julia, I remember how much I loved to watch The Galloping Gourmet.  I was just a boy when it first came out, but I’ve been a foodie my whole life.  It’s no wonder I would grow up to watch the Food Network.

The Hightstown Diner was great.  The girls there were real friendly and the manager brought us over a free chocolate cookie, fresh out of the oven. Continue reading →

The Beer Garden is Open
at the Memphis Taproom

Although we checked into a motel on the south end of town, we decided to drive all the way through town and go to the Memphis Tap Room for dinner.  The place was busy and we got a booth inside (they have a large outdoor patio, but it was packed and getting cool).  The place was so busy, we were lucky that we didn’t have to wait for a table.  The outdoor patio is called the Beer Garden, and you’ve just got to love the sound of that. This is the place where the chef made crazy stuff with tofu and watermelon (he wasn’t there).  He seemed like a crazy character and probably a lot of fun to hang out with.  I ordered the fish and chips and Anna ordered Pasties, which are little pocket pies with meat and cheese.  The food was excellent, especially the fish, and the service was good.

Fish and Chips at the Memphis Taproom
Golden, Brown and Delicious

The locals there have it good to have such a great place to tip a few beers and get some killer food by a kick-ass chef.  They also have a nice bar.  If I got the lay of the land right, the Memphis Taproom is a neighborhood joint.  So beers to ya.

We managed to save a little room for dessert and headed over to The Dining Car Café. Continue reading →

Di Pasquale’s

Other than the DDD spots, we really didn’t have much planned for Baltimore.  Our first destination was Di Pasquale’s.  Jill turned us down an alley to get there and I thought for sure we would not be able to park the car.  Wrong.  We got to park right in front.  They have a nice store full of imported everything, a deli case, and seating in the back.  We ordered an Italian cold cut sandwich for later, and we split an order of the lasagna, which they had made on the show.  It was fabulous.  I was so glad that Anna was getting her appetite back because if would have been tragic to miss that lasagna.  The sandwich was great too, and the staff was accommodating.  They’re coming up on 100 years in business, so they must be doing something right.

Lasagna at Di Pasquale’s

We went to the historical district and visited the Oxford Club on West Monument Street.  It was my first time there, and I enjoyed the experience as well as the historical architecture.  Afterwards, we drove out to Fort McHenry, which is the site that inspired the Star Spangled Banner.  (Note: The picture of the lasagna doesn’t begin to do it justice.  This lasagna put Di Pasquale’s into Ken’s Top Tens for authentic Italian food done right.)

Butterscotch Pecan Cheesecake
at Broadway Diner

We headed out to the Broadway Diner for a snack.  They had an enormous bakery case and I told Anna just to order whatever she wanted.  She came back to the table and informed me that she ordered a slice of Butterscotch Pecan Cheesecake.  What’s not to love about that?  I didn’t have any idea what it was, but it became clear when our server brought it to the table.  Yes, this is buttercream frosting, on top of cake, which is on top of cheesecake, on top of pecan pie, on top of a graham cracker crust. Continue reading →