Eating healthily while traveling is a challenge. Maybe if I traveled a lot I'd get the hang of it, but I find it tricky. My big weakness is diner breakfasts. I never miss them when I'm at home, but when I'm traveling I WANT my two eggs over easy, sausage patties, hash browns extra crispy, no bread, and an iced tea, unsweetened. That's my standard order. It's kind of a control so I can properly judge the diner. Ernie usually gets the same but sometimes punts with an omelet.
Our first morning we started driving and decided to stop along the way. We eventually made our way to Marble Hill, Missouri and got breakfast. We enjoyed it immensely because we were in just the mood for it, but honestly, it was pretty lousy. However, we didn't really realize that until the next day's breakfast because it was SO much better.
George's in Springfield, Missouri made a delightful breakfast for us. Since I didn't want bread they offered me tomatoes instead (I've been adding tomatoes back into my diet and it seems to be going ok). Those tomatoes might look a little pale, but damn, they tasted like TOMATOES!
The last day we stopped in Mexico, Missouri. The snow was already coming down heavy and they were playing country music, our waitress was charming, and it was delightful.
Other meals are iffy. Generally, we skip lunch, make do with a handful of nuts. After checking into our hotel we usually go out for a drink and get food to take back to the hotel room. In Springfield, we had a hard time finding a good bar. I'd had one picked out but we were tired and it seemed too far. In hindsight should have gone with that one. We went to one—I thought I'd clicked on a review that said 'low-key sports bar' but when we got there it was far from low-key. I double-checked and it turns out I clicked on what said 'vibrant bar scene.' Whoops. It was too loud to stay so we went next door. It was nearly as loud but we gave up and sat down. After one drink we left. Then it was completely dark so we hit the neon signs we wanted to photograph at night. We tried to find someplace near our hotel…stopped in at one place but it was like a brilliantly lit family restaurant. No. Finally, we ended up at a Houlihan's, which was fine, but normally we try to go with something local. At that point we were really tired, so after a glass of wine I rebelliously thought, "well, HELL, I'll just have the scallops, sure." We took it back to the hotel and it was incredibly good. Part of the reason perhaps? Well because it had fucking onion and garlic! I'm such an idiot, but lord it WAS good. The next day I felt kinda crappy. I get tired of ordering bad salads though so it was almost worth it.
We finished the night off with a perfectly ripe pear brought from home and a little chocolate.
The next night I can't even remember what ate and there is no photo documentation. We got it from the hotel bar. Oh, right, I remember. It was actually pretty bad. It was supposed to be a spinach salad but there was nary a piece of spinach in sight. "Eh, well. See? Diner breakfasts are just a safer bet.
Onward.