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Eat Your Way Across the USA
Where can you find real Texas barbecue? Who serves the best oyster po' boys in Louisiana? Which Iowa diners are worth a detour? Where can you go in Montana for a blow-out splurge? Let intrepid culinary adventurers Jane and Michael Stern take the guesswork out of what and where to eat when traveling across America with this compendium of restaurants and eateries on and off the beaten path.
The Sterns provide amusingly detailed descriptions of unforgettable--and usually inexpensive--restaurants, highlighting the must-eats on every menu. This user-friendly guidebook is loaded with helpful, information-packed sidebars including how to spot a great small-town cafe and a treatise on tequila etiquette. With lists that range from a baker's dozen of small-town pie palaces and the best places to savor country ham to helpful maps and no-nonsense ratings, this is one book no business or pleasure traveler should be without--whether planning a trip across country or across town.
The Sterns provide amusingly detailed descriptions of unforgettable--and usually inexpensive--restaurants, highlighting the must-eats on every menu. This user-friendly guidebook is loaded with helpful, information-packed sidebars including how to spot a great small-town cafe and a treatise on tequila etiquette. With lists that range from a baker's dozen of small-town pie palaces and the best places to savor country ham to helpful maps and no-nonsense ratings, this is one book no business or pleasure traveler should be without--whether planning a trip across country or across town.
368 pages, Paperback
First published May 5, 1997
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
September 11, 2007
i read this book b/c author michael stern's short story on dinner with andy warhol's friends in the book death by pad thai is just about the funniest thing i've read in years. this all came about during the summer, when i was fortunate to score a restaurant columnist gig at my newspaper, despite not knowing much about cooking itself. so i figured i would immerse myself in food writing.
this book wasn't as entertaining as the warhol story but fun to read nonetheless. for those who yearn to know where to find the best regional fare in a the united states of applebees, this is a good place to start the search. while mario batali's new restaurant somewhere might be all the rage (go rutgers!) among those fortunate to score a reservation, the american studies major in me is a firm believer that when traveling it's equally as important to know where to find a po' boy sandwich or sheboygan brat if you're in the right place.
the middle sections of this book - organized by region, beginning in new england and moving west - dragged a little for this jersey girl, sort of like driving through the midwest itself. yeah listening to small-town folks gossip over breakfast at some quaint trucker refuge with greasy bellybuster this or that and pies with whichever seasonal berries is cute, but only for so long before i want to feel less landlocked and be back near an ocean, eating clam chowder or avocados depending on the coast.
oh wait - not everyone is in the habit of reading zagat guides like novels? in that case, in terms of this book's value as a guidebook, it would be most useful for people who often travel domestically, say for business, and need someone to point them in the direction of the best local diner as opposed to the chili's in the airport. for people who generally stay in the same region, it's kind of bulky. for example, i live in new jersey. there are six new jersey restaurants in the book. so for me to even keep it in my car seems kind of pointless, a. b/c one of the places is right across the street from my house so i wouldn't even drive to it, and b. b/c i could probably just remember or take note of the other five if i browsed through this book at the library. granted, i go to ny - which has more places listed - pretty regularly, but i usually take the train. specific city or regional restaurant guides are probably more successful in terms of sales because they are more useful for inspiring new dining experiences on a regular basis, since the average person is usually close to home.
this is turning out to be a negative-sounding review, but i truly do appreciate this book. it scores most of its points for saluting authentic americana and encouraging others to do the same.
this book wasn't as entertaining as the warhol story but fun to read nonetheless. for those who yearn to know where to find the best regional fare in a the united states of applebees, this is a good place to start the search. while mario batali's new restaurant somewhere might be all the rage (go rutgers!) among those fortunate to score a reservation, the american studies major in me is a firm believer that when traveling it's equally as important to know where to find a po' boy sandwich or sheboygan brat if you're in the right place.
the middle sections of this book - organized by region, beginning in new england and moving west - dragged a little for this jersey girl, sort of like driving through the midwest itself. yeah listening to small-town folks gossip over breakfast at some quaint trucker refuge with greasy bellybuster this or that and pies with whichever seasonal berries is cute, but only for so long before i want to feel less landlocked and be back near an ocean, eating clam chowder or avocados depending on the coast.
oh wait - not everyone is in the habit of reading zagat guides like novels? in that case, in terms of this book's value as a guidebook, it would be most useful for people who often travel domestically, say for business, and need someone to point them in the direction of the best local diner as opposed to the chili's in the airport. for people who generally stay in the same region, it's kind of bulky. for example, i live in new jersey. there are six new jersey restaurants in the book. so for me to even keep it in my car seems kind of pointless, a. b/c one of the places is right across the street from my house so i wouldn't even drive to it, and b. b/c i could probably just remember or take note of the other five if i browsed through this book at the library. granted, i go to ny - which has more places listed - pretty regularly, but i usually take the train. specific city or regional restaurant guides are probably more successful in terms of sales because they are more useful for inspiring new dining experiences on a regular basis, since the average person is usually close to home.
this is turning out to be a negative-sounding review, but i truly do appreciate this book. it scores most of its points for saluting authentic americana and encouraging others to do the same.
April 21, 2012
This is a book for people who like regional cooking and road trips, more or less in that order. My wife and I took a cross country trip from California to Pennsylvania and back, with this book at our side, and its restaurant/diner/take-out recommendations took us off the beaten track into culinary adventures we still talk about.
We found the Sterns about 90% reliable in their choices, with a few wonderful picks that more than made up the difference. As fans of regional BBQ, we were delighted by a variety out-of-the-way, down-home purveyors of this mouth-watering soul food, from Oklahoma to Arkansas to (even) South Dakota. Our favorite wide-spot-in-the-road place served up both meat and coleslaw on the same bun, with a side of beans; across the street were fresh-baked pies still warm from the oven.
Perhaps the most enjoyable discovery (thanks to the Sterns) was the dining room of the Inn at Pleasant Hill, near Harrodsburg, KY, where the lemon pie was beyond description, and after the meal, at sunset, we took a leisurely stroll around the tranquil grounds of what once was a large, thriving Shaker community.
The book has handy regional maps, for finding those towns you've never heard of, and the descriptions of each establishment are pretty accurate (I found only one place that was not what I expected). The listings were largely up-to-date; only one restaurant had moved, which I found out when I called for directions. (In fact, a cell phone is definitely a plus for finding some places.)
If you're looking for something near where you live, this book may disappoint you. It will probably list the places you already know (e.g., in Los Angeles, Du-Par's at Farmers Market and Phillipe's downtown). The West Coast, for that matter, seems somewhat under-represented. But if you're willing to get off the interstate far from home and take your chances, the book is an enjoyable adventure guide.
Two recommendations: Take along a books-on-tape copy of Kerouac's "On the Road" and a cooler for left-overs -- some places haven't heard of portion control.
We found the Sterns about 90% reliable in their choices, with a few wonderful picks that more than made up the difference. As fans of regional BBQ, we were delighted by a variety out-of-the-way, down-home purveyors of this mouth-watering soul food, from Oklahoma to Arkansas to (even) South Dakota. Our favorite wide-spot-in-the-road place served up both meat and coleslaw on the same bun, with a side of beans; across the street were fresh-baked pies still warm from the oven.
Perhaps the most enjoyable discovery (thanks to the Sterns) was the dining room of the Inn at Pleasant Hill, near Harrodsburg, KY, where the lemon pie was beyond description, and after the meal, at sunset, we took a leisurely stroll around the tranquil grounds of what once was a large, thriving Shaker community.
The book has handy regional maps, for finding those towns you've never heard of, and the descriptions of each establishment are pretty accurate (I found only one place that was not what I expected). The listings were largely up-to-date; only one restaurant had moved, which I found out when I called for directions. (In fact, a cell phone is definitely a plus for finding some places.)
If you're looking for something near where you live, this book may disappoint you. It will probably list the places you already know (e.g., in Los Angeles, Du-Par's at Farmers Market and Phillipe's downtown). The West Coast, for that matter, seems somewhat under-represented. But if you're willing to get off the interstate far from home and take your chances, the book is an enjoyable adventure guide.
Two recommendations: Take along a books-on-tape copy of Kerouac's "On the Road" and a cooler for left-overs -- some places haven't heard of portion control.
April 8, 2008
Perhaps (probably) a little outdated now, I still refer to this book when going to a new area to see if there are any recommended places to eat.
August 26, 2012
I love all the books by the Sterns.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews