Finishing up -- sort of

I finally posted my Chicago adventure today. I thought I already had, but I found out today, after getting back in here, that I hadn't. So sorry to all of you who were waiting to hear about Chicago, I failed you. I have had some feedback -- disappointment that I didn't finish the blog (Joy, Pete) so this is for you! The truth is that the last leg of the journey home was so tough -- it was a continuation of the rain we dealt with all week. We didn't stop in Cleveland to go to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, nor did I get my giant corned beef sandwich. I just wanted to get home! I also hated typing on my daughter's MacBook or whatever the stupid thing is called. I really need a laptop of my own so that I can write about food as I'm watching shows about food!!


I also have a page on Facebook now, and would love for some of my friends to follow along. I do love food, and I love writing about food, but sometimes life gets in the way! I do want to continue the blog, because it seems there's always something about food going on, whether it's cooking experiences (wait until you hear about the S'mores Brownies), or going to a local restaurant, or even out of town trips. I also want to share the food adventures of other friends who travel! That's what it's all about, so if you want to follow my and my friends' food adventures, become a follower and I will try my best to inform and entertain you!


So this is a short post about the last leg of our journey, or what I can remember of it, from Chicago (I heart you, Chicago) to home. Rain, rain, rain!! It wasn't great. Suffice it to say that a chain called Eat 'n' Park, which intrigued me on the way out, was not very good. It was basically a really good place for old people. It was a revamped Big Boy, with some of the same menu items. I have liked some Big Boys (Tipp City, OH comes to mind), but this wasn't one of them. It took over half an hour to get our food (breakfast for dinner), the salad bar was nothing to brag about (by sight) and the whole thing was just generic. We had been hoping to eat at the same Texas Roadhouse Kevin and I visited on the way out, but the line was just tooooo long, so we ended up at the Eat 'n' Park and you know the rest. Lunch was at Steak 'n' Shake (the theme of the day was restaurants with 'n' in the name, apparently) in South Bend, Indiana and I actually had food with my shake, which was a first for me. Food wasn't great, shake, of course, was. And we just pushed on through the rain until we reached Fairport at about 10:00 at night.


So the trip didn't end with a bang. Let's face it, anything after Chicago is anti-climactic. But I do have to end this post with a rant. Why can't we in New York eat at some of the places we see advertised on TV or other places that are all across this great country? I see ads for Sonic, White Castle, Dairy Queen, CiCi's Pizza, Golden Corral all over TV, and I can't go to any of them! I'd love to go to a pizza buffet for five bucks and change! (CiCi's). I want a Sonic shake! I want my Dilly Bars!! What is up with that? If we can't go there, don't advertise to us!! Don't tease us that way!! There isn't a Dairy Queen anywhere around here! The closest Golden Corral is in Erie, PA! And don't even get me started on Steak 'n' Shake and Chick-fil-A! Why can't we New Yorkers partake??? I kept seeing signs for a place called Max and Erma's. I have no idea what that is, but someday I intend to find out. Apparently, I'll have to travel outside of NY to do it!


And . . . it's nearly impossible to get a Milky Way Dark west of the Rockies! You'll have take your own stash! It seems that they like things a lot sweeter out west in general, so dark chocolate isn't as popular there. I remember when I lived in Utah I would go into a bakery and ask for a plain donut and people would look at me like I had two heads. "Why would this doofus eat a donut that isn't covered with icing and sprinkles and filled with jam when she can have one?" they were clearly thinking. As proof, there were never any plain donuts available. They just didn't think that way!! Well, suffice it to say that some things are better out west (Brazilian grills) and some things are better here (bagels and dark chocolate).


Thus ends my cross-country adventures with food for a while, but hey, there are plenty of other places to visit in the good ol' USA, including good ol' Wappingers Falls, NY, where, I hear, they're getting a SONIC!


P.S. I just heard the Obama family went to lunch at a place called the Good Stuff Eatery in D.C. Not that I want to associate myself with the Obama family in any way, shape or form, but I do want you to know that we ate there last summer and it really was good stuff. Try the marshmallow shake, it's unbelievable.