Posted by Todd Buckton on Mon, Nov 23, 2009
Here at RoadBlog we think the best thing about traveling on the road is finding little out of the way places with incredible food. You can learn so much about a place by eating where the locals eat. A bowl of chili is completely different in Oregon than it is in Cincinnati. For that matter so is a grilled cheese. National chain restaurants are fine if everything else is closed. But you're shortchanging yourself if you don't see what America has to offer in local food. With that in mind, here's the top 5 places RoadBlog looks for guidance before (and while) hitting the road:
1. Roadfood is the online extension of Jane and Michael Stern's remarkable run as print columnists primarily for the now-defunct Gourmet magazine. The food stays true to the region and typically is diner-style, hamburgers, hot dogs and breakfast joints. The reviews are inspired, fair and almost always spot on.
2. Chowhound was a nice, homegrown national food web guide of all types of cuisines, from fast and simple to fancy to incredible. They also specialized in local ingredients or packaged foods. So if you've never been to Philadelphia, Chowhound would give you the best place to get a Philly steak, or Sushi or what the locals eat for packaged lunchtime treats (the astounding, sublime Tastykake). It was a nice little website with a clunky interface. In 2006 they were bought by CNET and got all fancified. The interface got better and the ads have managed to keep out of the way of the content. Still a great site and a great source of info.
3. Ask a local. Follow your nose. Get into town and ask somebody at the gas station. Or stop into the hardware store and see what everybody does for lunch. You'll probably meet a character who will tell you a story or two and then turn you on to something incredible. RoadBlog has found lots of great food this way, but it's not foolproof. A particularly foul fish taco in Oceanside, CA recommended by a guy who looked like Gabby Hayes made us realize we should have stuck with Rubio's. Locals are also a great way to find great food on the web:
4. Local city websites with incredible content are springing up all over the country. For example, if you ever find yourself in the Chicagoland area, just check out LTH Forum. This outstanding site was started by a bunch of local foodies who were at a restaurant in Chinatown called Three Happiness. Great dim sum, open late, no pretensions, just good food. It has 8 tables, hence the "little", and Little Three Happiness Forum was born. But LTH Forum is not just Chinese. The LTH Forum foodies have turned over every culinary stone in the city to find the best gyros, tacos, pizza, late night Mexican, Ethiopian, you name it. It's a great compendium of food in a city with an eye-popping array of amazing foods.
5. Check out the local newspaper websites. RoadBlog keeps track of lots of news pertaining to healthcare, aviation, experiential and mobile event marketing on Google Reader. But nestled in amongst the news of the business is the news of the food. Just for good reading subscribe to the food blog of the Houston Press called "Eating Our Words". Houston, TX has a huge food vocabulary and the writers for this paper have their fingers firmly on the pulse of it. Streetside BBQ, Indian, recipes for pecan pie when the pecans are in season, you eat it and they cover it. I can't wait to get back to Houston. I know right where I'll go for Vietnamese.
So there you have it. Wherever you go on the road there's somebody ready to help you find that indigenous treat that's worth going out of the way for. Bon Appetit from RoadBlog.
Posted by Todd Buckton on Wed, Nov 04, 2009
Here's a great new resource I stumbled across recently for experiential marketers. It's great for folks on this side of the pond as it gives a different perspective on what's going on in the rest of the world.
For example, who knew famous automaker Ferrari was building an amusement park in Abu Dhabi that's set to open next year? A track is also being built at the park to run the inaugural F1 Grand Prix race. Not everything is happening in Peoria...
I found some good prospecting ideas as well by looking beyond the sea to see what our neighbors are doing.
Cool Ferrari F1 pit photo by chrissatchwell