Make the most of your meals when hitting the road
Travel is much more enjoyable when you put some thought into what you’ll be eating
When embarking on a road trip, our eating options, in descending order, are local delicacies, a packed lunch and tourist food. Local delicacies, when available, are the best part of travel. Why would I have gone to New Orleans if not to eat sandwiches stuffed with fried oysters? If you’re driving from Toronto to New York City, it’s going to be worth stopping in Buffalo for beef on weck.
But sometimes, because we have concert tickets or we’re trying to beat traffic, our plans don’t allow for the detour. So we’re often stuck with tourist food — the fake Irish pubs that sprout up near any theatre or stadium, the highway truckstop combination Tim Hortons and Wendy’s — that leaves us feeling greasy and cheated. There’s nothing so frustrating, while you’re making good time on the highway, to stop and wait in line to buy overpriced food you wouldn’t eat if you had any other option.
We’re often stuck with tourist food that leaves us feeling greasy and cheated
The third choice is to bring your own meal. Cooked or catered, it’s going to be easier on the wallet, hips and psyche.
The picnic Breaking out a prepared meal makes you feel human. Even better if you can stop and eat outside.
If you’re headed to a play in Stratford, Ont., you can buy a picnic meal while booking tickets, to take and eat in the gorgeous Upper Queen’s Park.
But let’s say you’re driving three hours east, to Lake Ontario Park in Kingston. I like a picnic that doesn’t need to be kept on ice. And there is no better picnic meat than fried chicken. It doesn’t need to be reheated. It may even be better cold or at room temperature.
If you’re brining and frying chicken (I alternate between recipes from Ad Hoc and The Stockyards), that earns you a pass on cooking anything else. No need to bake cornbread or pie, or to buy a wicker basket or plates.
But here’s the necessary paraphernalia: napkins for degreasing your outsides, whisky and water (eliminating the need to put beer or soda on ice), fruit for degreasing your insides and a blanket for your butts. You can eat out of the containers and the only mess to dispose of is chicken bones and peach pits. The barbecue When cooking a thick steak, you want to start it at room temperature, so the outside doesn’t overcook by the time the centre is where you want it. This means taking it out of the fridge for at least 20 minutes, but no more than two hours, before cooking.
Well that’s your driving time to the Niagara area, where you’ll find public barbecues in McFarland Point Park, Queenston Heights park and Kingsbridge Park. All you need are some rib-eyes, corn, charcoal, salt, pepper, butter (plus, if you want to go Mexican, lime, chili and cotija cheese) and barbecue tongs.
The off-road With all due respect to the beauty of southern Ontario, the popularity of the Big Apple or Burger Pit on Hwy.11 notwithstanding, it’s not studded with local delicacies.
The better bet is to get off the highway. Every small town has a family restaurant where you are more likely to find a good meal and warm hospi- tality. Driving country roads in the summer also means fruit stands. These are always worth a stop.
Learn to appreciate the peduncle and calyx (the stem and green leaves at the top) so you can eat strawberries in one bite without needing to trim them.
Going off-road for fruit and lunch is best combined with getting gas. Leaving the loud, angry city for a day is such a welcome escape. It’s worth a little extra effort to dodge the loud, corporate food choices that seek to ensnare our appetites on the road. This is freelance food writer Corey Mintz’s first contribution to Toronto Star Wheels. His work appears frequently in other sections of the Star. To reach Wheels Editor Norris McDonald: nmcdonald@thestar.ca