Where to eat in America?

[beequeen]

We'll be traveling through the US on I-80 in December and wonder if anyone can recommend places to eat, good local specialties/holiday foods to try.

[juantanamera]

Beequeen, please tell us more about where you'll be driving. I 80 goes from San Francisco to New York City, which are both great cities to dine in, but they're rather far apart. And please ignore the advice to eat at IHOP. It was, I hope, a joke.

[beequeen]

We will be driving nearly the entire expanse, entering in Vallejo and exiting in Youngstown, Ohio, traveling 4 days, weather permitting. So, the question is: in between California and Pennsylvania where might we find interesting, good, local food?

[glbtrtr]

Vallejo to Tahoe is the California section. Try the Humble Pie restaurant in Penngrove, outside Sonoma California. You can get more info on the San Francisco Chowhound board. http://humblepiepenngrove.googlepages...

[PolarBear]

For everything as you travel east of Reno NV, you'll need to post on the Southwest, Mid West, and Chicago Area boards respectively.

[glbtrtr]

Read what I said about IHOP. It is not a joke; it is a desperation call when one is floundering in chainfood land, which can be much of Interstate America. Santa Clarita comes to mind. And don't knock IHOP if you have not had their Swedish pancakes. None better, even in cutesy family owned Swedish restaurants.

[toodie jane]

The local IHOP bent over backwards on a busy Sunday morning to fetch up some great to-go b'fasts when hubby was in the hospital and missed breakfast there. It was fabulous! They thought of everything and were most kind!

[glbtrtr]

Since I-80 takes you from San Francisco through Sacramento and past Lake Tahoe before you reach Nevada - Reno, you might want to try the San Francisco group first to get the best dining suggestions for the start of your trip.

From that point on, you might find 1-80 through the rest of the state to be more limited in choices, but you will get 'food" and probably lots of it. Mainstream American dining portions are too often large in quantity and poor in quality.

You might also want to view the "chains" section of Chowhound and see what chain restaurants might be the best choice available when you stick to the interstate highways and not go on the more local roads. When there is nothing else around of local interest, I always fall back on the IHOP chain myself. Nothing like their Swedish pancakes and hearty breakfast specials for morning, noon or night road treats.

Are you coming from another country or are you used to American foods?

[beequeen]

We're Americans looking for advice; hoping to get something local, interesting, homemade.