Posted By bbinns on September 24, 2009
Plans change. That’s the beauty of driving. Instead of laying my weary head down in Des Moines and Kearney, NE the last two nights, as planned, Stella and I bunked down in Council Bluffs, and then Paxton. There were various reasons for the change of plan (which necessitated several on-the-fly reservation changes); one of them […]
Category: 09, NY to LA 09 | Write To Me
Tags: grass-fed ribeye, grass-fed steak, ole's big game steakhouse, roadtrip
Posted By bbinns on September 20, 2009
I imagine that Erie, Pennsylvania is not considered the Jewel in the Crown of the Great Lakes region, because to do so would imply something too terrible to contemplate. I’ve elected to spend my first night here purely because it is 400 miles from home. In searching—last minute, so unlike me—for a dining option, I […]
Category: 09, NY to LA 09 | Write To Me
Tags: erie, great lakes, lake erie, magic hour, roadtrip
Posted By bbinns on September 18, 2009
Catskill, NY to Erie, PA: 401 miles Two states: New York and Pennsylvania My heart is breaking. For the past few weeks, our hands have been like heat-seeking missiles, snaking out to find one another whenever the rest of us was close enough for access. Just like when the yellow pages required your fingers to […]
Category: 09, NY to LA 09, Stella | Write To Me
Tags: cleaving, erie, julie and julia, julie powell, roadtrip
Posted By bbinns on September 9, 2009
In less than two weeks, I will hop in my trusty Toyota, trundle down the rutted driveway of my Hudson Valley (New York) home, and drive to California. Driving three thousand miles across the country is fairly common for me, as long-time Roadfoodie readers know—this will be my tenth drive in five years. Driving solo—with […]
Category: In the East, NY to LA 09 | Write To Me
Tags: cross-country drive, dog, life-altering question, road food, roadtrip, search for meaning
Posted By bbinns on March 27, 2009
* Miles Driven from Marfa: 2611 * Days on the Road: Seven (on the last day, I rested by eating oysters in Washington DC) * Tanks of Gas: Seven (Average price per gallon: $1.79) * Pig’s Ears Eaten by Stella: Eight * Pounds Lost: Three (This phenomenon has been noted on all of the nine […]
Category: 09, Stella, The Pork Tour | Write To Me
Tags: cross-country drive, dog, driving, roadtrip, The Pork Tour
Posted By bbinns on March 25, 2009
Some time back, I’d heard that Ben Barker did a “crazy pork dish,” and thus my detour away from the direct route up to New York, and down to Durham for the final day of the Pork Tour. John Currence (Day 3)—actual originator of the crazy pork rumor—also told me that Ben is the chef […]
Category: 09, The Pork Tour | Write To Me
Tags: durham restaurants, heirloom pork, pork belly, roadtrip, The Pork Tour
Posted By bbinns on March 18, 2009
Driving north from Austin, heading for Waco, I cross the Brazos river. Just saying Brazos out loud: “I crossed the Brazos,” makes me feel like a cowboy. On the right just before the bridge is the Texas Ranger museum. It’s shiny and new and very big. I note, once again, that it’s real nice for […]
Category: 09, Stella, The Pork Tour | Write To Me
Tags: barbecue, bbq, companionship, dog, grieving, roadtrip, texas
Posted By bbinns on March 17, 2009
When I decided to commence the Pork Tour in Austin, I knew who to call for advice. My red-headed, Texan, pistol-of-a-girlfriend Coqui didn’t fall far from the tree. Her dad, Ronnie Dunn, has been searching out the best BBQ in and around Austin “since God was a chile.” In his off-BBQ hours, he’d butchered meat […]
Category: 09, The Pork Tour | Write To Me
Tags: Austin, barbecue, bbq, cross-country drive, roadtrip, texas, The Pork Tour
Posted By bbinns on February 26, 2009
Marfa, Texas. 0 miles. In addition to wrapping my chompers around some good grub, I like to wrap my head around the zeitgeist of a community I pass through. Roadfoodie.com reader Mel Green of Los Angeles, who owns a house in Lajitas (this is near Marfa, at least in Texas terms), advised me to watch […]
Category: 09, In the West | Write To Me
Tags: architecture, empirical thinking, marfa, roadtrip, Texan slang, texas architecture
Posted By bbinns on February 19, 2009
2.17.09 Marfa The view out of my side door might not strike everyone as romantic. From my bungalow, I can see a host of wood, stucco, and stone buildings in various states of decay, a paved road that quickly peters out into a dirt road, and lots and lots of wrinkled and antique galvanized metal […]
Category: 09, In the West, Stella | Write To Me
Tags: marfa, roadtrip, texas architecture