Bob Terwilliger wrote:
> Farm1 wrote about bringing a basket of provisions on a road trip:
>
>> It sure beats eating the kind or stuff available along the road
>
> I think that depends on exactly where you are. Would you do the same
> thing if you were driving through the countryside of France, Spain,
> or Italy? Here in Northern California, there is some *great* food to
> be had along the road if you're within about 75 miles of the coast
> (which includes "wine country"). There's still great food further
> inland, but you have to know where to find it, and it's not usually
> anywhere close to the major highways. Some posters here have lamented
> the absence of *any* decent restaurants within a two-hour drive of
> their houses. (IIRC one was in the Oklahoma panhandle and another was
> in Iowa.)

We actually got *really* good food when we were in Iowa. I can't remember
now what city we were in though. But I did feel sorry for the waitress who
didn't seem to make much money at her job, even though she was good at it.
She said she lived on a farm and at home they had to eat bologana and mayo
sandwiches most of the time. I did think that was a bit odd because it was
summer. We always had a large garden when I was growing up and my
grandparents had a farm and there was always a lot of fresh vegetables,
freshly churned butter and plenty of variety during the summer. But then I
don't know what kind of farm she lived on. They might have grown something
inedible like cotton or tobacco.

Oklahoma is a different matter. Been there many times but don't remember
eating in a restaurant while we were there. Then again, I do have relatives
there and when we were visiting, we always seemed to dine at someone's
house.