Spring makes my mind wander to our own Roadfood experts Wanderingjew and The Travelin Man, who are gearing up for their College World Series & RF trip to the Midwest. But minor-league baseball makes my mind wander to the Frontier League’s Gateway Grizzlies just south of St. Louis, where the concession stand offers “Baseball’s Best Burger”: that’s a bacon cheeseburger nestled between two halves of a Krispy Kreme doughnut in lieu of a traditional bun. It’s a variation of greater Atlanta’s Luther Burger, which supposedly was invented by (or for?) soul singer Luther Vandross and popularized at Mulligan’s Bar in Decatur.

Mulligan’s has since closed, but East Atlanta’s Gravity Pub has resurrected both the Luther Burger and the Hamdog, a hot dog wrapped in ground beef then deep-fried, topped with chili, cheese, grilled onions, and served in a hoagie roll (this currently has no sports affiliation, to our knowledge). And let’s not forget Pittsburgh’s Roethlisburger, a gut-busting tribute to Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger. First made at Peppi’s on the North side of Steel City, this sandwich boasts ground beef, sausage, scrambled eggs, American cheese, and onions, all housed in a Portuguese roll.

In any case, we’re adding Peppi’s, the Grav, and GCS Ballpark in Sauget, IL to our short list for our next roadtrip. Hurray for sports-themed Roadfood!

For those individuals lucky enough to live in eternally-warm locales, ice cream is often a year-round staple. In New England, however, local ice cream is more often a seasonal indulgence constrained by days on the calendar such as Memorial and Labor Day. With the recent sprouting of the leaves on the trees, however, has come the season openings of some of our favorite local ice cream shacks and stands. As a result, the past two weeks have been a mad ice cream frenzy highlighted by a decadent Chocolate Lace and Rich Chocolate sundae at Dr. Mike’s in Bethel, a hefty helping of Toasted Almond (on the CT Meet and Greet) at Big Dipper in Prospect, and a double scoop of Maple Walnut and Grapenut at We-Li-Kit in Pomfret. Pictured above are before and during shots of our Dr. Mike's sundae with everything (meaning gobs of hot fudge and a small mountain of freshly whipped cream!).

A recent feature in the Washington Post led me to this website of the new Meatpaper magazine. It’s definitely not a recipe-filled compendium of sundry meat dishes. Instead, it flirts with ideas about meat, coupled with clever food art that challenges our view of carnivore-ness. In the piece titled “Sweat Sock: The Other White Meat,” the author asks a food stylist to arrange some rather non-traditional entrees to be photographed: a grilled tube sock, a charred stuffed animal, and a cooked thrift-store hardback novel. The article goes on to give professional tips on food photography, like using acrylic ice cubes when shooting beverages, or placing cardboard circles on top of hamburger patties to keep the top buns from drooping.

We doubt that we’ll ever resort to brushing canola oil on a steak from Cattlemen’s in Oklahoma City, or pouring glue instead of milk into a vanilla malt from Val’s Burgers in Hayward, California, just for that “money shot” photo…but we will remember to take food pictures with a sharper focus and underneath as much light as possible to minimize shadows.

With only one mere work week standing between us and the 2008 Connecticut Eat-and-Greet, we felt it would be a good time to re-extend an invitation to all lovers of good food. The gastronomic journey will begin at Dottie's Diner in Woodbury on Saturday, May 3rd at 11:00 a.m. (where we plan to rekindle our infatuation with their chicken pies and crunchy homemade donuts). From there, we will head to Big Dipper Ice Cream Factory in Prospect for Toasted Almond ice cream, Blackie's in Cheshire for peppery relish-slathered hot dogs, and Ted's in Meriden for their sinfully sloppy steamed cheeseburgers (see Michael Stern's photo above). And, if room still exists in the collective stomach at the end of our travels, our final stop will be in Manchester for a pair of tomato and white clam pies at Pepe's Pizzeria.

We look forward to seeing everyone on Saturday!

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In our travels, the one thing that can trump our indulging in Roadfood is a night at a drive-in theater with a tub of popcorn to share. A true American icon, the venerable drive-in now survives in remote locations. Numbering 4,000+ theaters at its peak in the 1960s, the rise of color TV, VCRs, and the multiplex has whittled that number to less than 400 around the country.

With spring now in full swing, we’ve been anticipating the opening of Mansfield Drive-In Theater, 20 minutes south of us in Mansfield, CT. Even with a lagging economy, Mansfield’s ticket prices have not risen: a mere $9/person gets you a double feature on three screens. And the concessions are wonderful: hot dogs, burgers, chicken tenders, fries, ice cream, nachos, and clam fritters—an oddity outside of New England. We think that Mansfield’s popcorn (no butter, please) is the best around, perfectly crunchy with just enough salt.

We’re not fanatical about ribs, but we do indulge in the presence of quality. In BBQ-starved NE Connecticut, a beacon of hope opened last month in our town: No Name Café in Stafford Springs. Their menu claims that they regularly sell out of ribs, so we decided to take the challenge, and pictured above is our half-rack plate. The verdict: very gristly, very little meat, and the sauce wasn’t spicy enough for our tastes. The bland sides didn’t help, either. Yet people go crazy for them! Next time, we’ll stick with No Name’s wonderful steamed cheeseburgers and admirable pulled pork.

As the Democratic candidates wind up their extended stay in the state of Pennsylvania, Senator Barack Obama took time off from campaigning to serve as a guest on Monday's episode of The Daily Show. Although most things out of Jon Stewart's mouth are very tongue-in-cheek, his Roadfood recommendation of Primanti Brothers at the end of the interview was one thing that was entirely sincere. Sure, he lacks the culinary vocabulary of Jane and Michael Stern, but we'd still be willing to make a trip to Pittsburgh for food that is "crazy good!"

As die-hard fans of the Yankee Doodle Coffee Shop in New Haven, Connecticut, we were crushed when we received news of their unexpected closing on January 29th of this year. However, within days, a fund-raising group had been formed (Save the Doodle: www.thedoodle.com) and the word on the street was that the 12-stool diner would likely re-open in a new location around the corner. When we recently turned to the 'net to see if there was any new news about the re-opening, we came across this video of the Lancraft Fife and Drums Corps of North Haven playing Yankee Doodle (which happens to be the state song of Connecticut!) in front of...well...the Doodle. The performance was part of an effort to raise awareness about the Save the Doodle campaign (Warning: this is definitely amateur photography. If movies like the Blair Witch Project and Cloverfield make you queasy, you may want to close your eyes and just give it a listen!)

“Did you hear that couple talking about you?” Amy said to me as we were leaving Teo’s in Pittsfield, MA. We were researching Teo’s famed mini hot dogs for a future review, and apparently there was quite an excited conversation going on behind my back as I was taking food photos. “What’s he taking pictures of the food for?!? His food’s gonna be cold by the time he finishes!” This went on for a few minutes, Amy explained, but I was oblivious to it. I didn’t hear them talking about me at all, because I was ‘in the zone,’ wanting desperately to prevail over the restaurant’s rather challenging lighting. This happens to us frequently, though usually we get strange stares from neighboring customers and, occasionally, a tentative question, like “Are you a reporter?” or our favorite, “Want me to take your picture with that plate?”