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Food


I recently submitted some traveling smarter tips for Darren of Travel Rants, including “eat at the shabbiest looking restaurant you run across, they tend to have the best food.

I received some responses in the comments from readers who disagreed.

Erica from Blissful Travel responded,

I probably wouldn’t eat at the shabbiest looking restaurant, but I’d much rather go to a place where there are more locals than tourists.

and Diane from In2Town added,

…you would never go to the cheapest eating places. You would speak to the locals and find out the best places to eat and my moto is, try everything while on holiday.

and both Mark H and Jack noted that it won’t be a long walk to find a unique places off the regular tourist path.

All valid and insightful points, but my question to you readers is - do you visit the shabbiest looking restaurants for the best food when you travel? I’d like to hear from you all in the comments - I know that many of you are visiting to vote for the sexiest story contest and this is a perfect time to add your first comment!

[photo by: dbz885]

One night during my recent trip to Harman’s North Folk Cottages I decided to take the advice I had read in the cabin journal and head over to Hermitage Inn Restaurant. The previous visitors to the cabin wrote that the steak was the best in town and wanted to see if it was.

The Hermitage, open since 1840, offers a wide variety of selections in its menu, which is a good thing since most else in town is fast food. There restaurant serves fish, chicken, and meats as well as several type of salad and soup. Make sure to ask for the specials, since there are interesting offerings there - the waitress forgot to mention it until after we had ordered.

The Steak: The filet (about $16) was tasteful, but over cooked - granted the servers ask everyone to cut in and check their meat first. Overcooking means that you’d have to send the steak back to the kitchen for a new one and wasting food isn’t very eco-friendly.

The Appetizer To Get: Mushroom caps. Broiled mushrooms stuffed with crab cakes, not very big (about $9).

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Spice up your next bland airplane meal by saving little condiment packets and adding spices from airport restaurants. Before you hop your next flight stop by any airport fast food joint and get all the ketchup, mustard, and salt you might need.

A savvy traveler will have pre-ordered their meal so you know what to expect and which condiments to bring. You may have a hard time getting these items during dinner on your next international flight. (These little packets are also below the TSA’s 3 oz. liquid ban.)

If you’re passing through Europe or some parts of Asia, stop by McDonald’s and try some curry ketchup, or cinnamon mustard. Not only are these flavors not available in the United States you’ll be charged extra for them outside of the airport.

[photo by: Boya?Sa3odeyah]

Another great travel essential, Pentensils transform most pen tops into knives, forks, and spoons. Although the Ultimate Spork seems better suited for the job - except it can’t write.

Zagat, known for its restaurant ratings and reviews, has put the airlines to the test. Both Virgin Atlantic and Midwest scored well in terms of food, comfort, and service in the US. Singapore scored highly for international carriers. The results are detailed and worth a slow skim. Check out both the international [pdf] and US domestic versions [pdf] which also contain airport information.

Dan writes a good place to plan your next meal out by viewing the actual menus is MenuPix. Travelers can use the site to see actual scan of menus across the US.

Similar to MenuPages, searches can be done by city, cuisine, and restaurant name. Aside from menus you can read user reviews and get pricing information. MenuPix registration (which is free), though not required, lets you save your favorite picks and submit new restaurants.

The Washington Post has compiled a list of the best places to eat at major airports across the United States.

Who knew that Atlanta had good pork BBQ, or that Houston is the place to pick up good seafood. The list is fairly detailed, giving specific restaurant recommendations for major and mid-major markets - including some of the cheapest US cities to visit.

Sift through restaurant listings for 8 major US cities on MenuPages. The best part about the site is you can use it to view the actual menu and print it out.

Create a profile and save it to your customized MenuPage. You can search by the type of food, where it’s located and the price as well. Users can post reviews and rate places based on the service, value and atmosphere.

I strongly recommend checking out some places to eat if you’re staying overnight on a layover. It’ll help you to eat healthier and maybe see some quick sites.

Browse through real-life photos of airplane meals taken by the folks that have eaten them on AirlineMeals.net.

See how absolutely gross appetizing your cuisine will look. AirlineMeals.net lists hundred of photos that you can search based on the airline, meal, and route.

Personally I like looking at what the crew meals have to offer (not much better) and how the food is prepared behind the scenes. Although I don’t think plane food is all that bad, you should always bring some cheap eats, snacks, and spices so you have healthy options at your disposal.

[via Consumerist]

Soon you will be able to heat food to oven temperatures in your carry on luggage.

The oven’s internal temperature can exceed 300 degrees without damaging the soft fabric, they claimed. The appliance was developed by scientists at the country’s government sponsored Taiwan Textile Research Institute. Researchers cooked toast for show visitors to demonstrate the prototype.

Still no details or estimates on price, though expect it to begin in the $300-600 range. The bag can be folded just as any other fabric and only weighs a few grams. An oven bag could help you fight traveler’s weight gain.

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