Road trips are meant for exploring and finding great food that is new and interesting. That is just part of the adventure when you are a foodie. In this digital age, it has become easier than ever to find out-of-the-way local eateries, whether it’s a mom-and-pop diner or a skillfully crafted Asian-French fusion restaurant. Whatever experience you are after, here are a few tips to get you started on a gastronomical tour of the best restaurant experiences on the road.
There's An App For That
Like everything today, it all begins online. There are apps to help you find the type of restaurant you are looking for. Asian, organic, vegan, and farm-to-table are all listed.
- Maize: Organic, Local, and Healthy. This is an app that “brings together verified farm to table restaurants, co-ops, butcher shops, CSAs, cafés, and local food producers in one simple search.” This app is great for not just dining but restocking your RV fridge with healthy food. It also allows you to support local and sustainable farms.
- Open Table. This incredible app lists over 60,000 restaurants worldwide, allows you to see the menu, seating availability, and books your reservations. It also has a filter so you can zero in on what you are in the mood for – Greek? Turkish? Mediterranean? They will sort and rate them so you can choose! It even has a frequent user credit system.
- PAO App. This app is a hidden gem locator for whatever city you are in. It includes food, drinks, lodging, and local events. The search criteria can be as simple as ‘brick oven pizza’ or as specific as ‘woman-owned artisan bread bakery’. When you hit Go on any post, you will find user posts, location, phone, hours, and directions. Best of all, it’s free!
- Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives. There’s a reason this hit Food Network Show has been on the air for nearly two full decades. Known as Triple D, the host Guy Fieri visits small town diners, drive-ins, and dives where he discovers food being made the old-fashioned way. I went on a mission to visit as many as I could in my home state of NJ, and they have created an app that lets you access their show stops. They also have a website that lists all the cities and stops they’ve visited. This is a winner for those who love a chicken-fried steak with a twist.
Additional Tips and Tricks
A few other helpful road trip ideas for the culinary-inclined are:
Embrace big cities. That’s often where the good food is. Normal RV life wisdom will tell you to take the loop around a city, but hungry explorers will want to take the business loop and explore downtown. This is where you normally find non-chain dining experiences, the one-off restaurants that serve the business crowd and evening theatre and concert goers. They are usually walking distance from those venues, near parking garages, and have readily available Uber rides if you’re traveling from the campground.
Do your research. Search the web for the highest-rated restaurants in that town and read the menu online. Check out all the reviews. Find out if you need reservations or what day they may be closed. Also, consider lunch instead of dinner. It’s a cheaper way to find your favorite flavors, and you can do some people watching too!
Check out the Chamber of Commerce. They love to show off their town and promote local businesses. When you call, ask what restaurant is most popular with the locals. Chances are good that the food is excellent, there is possibly a local special happening, the ambience is understated, or there might be some locals playing darts or pool that will cut you in for a game.
Final Thoughts
Wherever you are traveling, food should be experienced— because it’s never just about the food. It’s about the memorable moments, such as a quirky waitress, unexpectedly good entertainment, or a table that gave you a bird’s eye view of incoming boats, that make these dining establishments so special. Catching a glimpse of others’ everyday lives is guaranteed to widen our own horizons.
