Cinnamon Rolls With a Side of Bluegrass Gospel

Johnson’s Corner is a full-service truckstop located in Loveland, CO, famous for its enormous cinnamon rolls  and rib-sticking meals.  It’s open 24/7 and hasn’t closed since their opening in 1952.  Besides the popular restaurant, Johnson’s Corner features a truckers’ store where drivers can rent books on tape, take showers, drop off FedEx packages, and hit the Internet.  There’s also a convenience store, a service station, and a chapel.  It’s that chapel that we’re most interested in here, because in addition to regular services and prayer meetings, it’s also the home of the National Bluegrass Gospel Jam.

The Gospel Jam takes place the second Saturday of each month from noon until 4 p.m., and it’s free.  Audience participation is encouraged.  Says Ron Camerrer, the founder of the Jam, in a Longmont Times-Call story by Magdalena Wegrzyn, “We don’t say a prayer or anything like that upfront. We just start playing and participating.”  If you enjoy bluegrass, grab your mandolin and sit in next month, March 13.  We’d suggest you attack a Johnson’s Corner cinnamon roll after the session, however, so as not to gum up your fingering.  If you don’t play, go to listen and sing along. 

See the Roadfood.com review of Johnson’s Corner here.

NoLIta Resistance to Planned Shake Shack

A group of NoLIta residents is fighting plans for the fourth Shake Shake to open at the corner of Mulberry and Prince streets, across from St. Patrick’s Old Cathedral.  Most of the objection seems to center on the potential for crowds, trash, noise, and strolling alcoholic beverages.  Plans for the new Shake Shack include an open-air rooftop deck.  Rebecca Marx writes about the struggle in The Village Voice’s food blog.  Pictured above is the original Shake Shack in Madison Square Park.  Check out Roadfood.com’s review of that Shake Shack here.  FYI: NoLIta is a neighborhood in New York City, meaning North of Little Italy.

Sara, Ruth and I

The picture above is Red’s Rite Spot on Maynard Street in Ann Arbor, Michigan, about 40 years ago. My apartment windows are on either side of the 1hr CLEANING sign, so you can understand that even though I formally did not study greasy spoons when I was a student at the University of Michigan, I did absorb a full measure of hash-house soul wafting up all day, every day. Red’s is long-gone and the city’s tallest building, a condo complex, now stands on this spot, but I got to reminiscing about my A2 days thanks to a story by author Colleen Newvine in the alumni magazine about Ruth Reichl, Sara Moulton and me. We all attended the U of M, all wound up at Gourmet magazine, and all got canned when Gourmet died last October. Colleen’s story talks about our future plans. Since it was written, Jane and I have joined up with Saveur magazine, which we believe is going to be a stupendous venue for Roadfood stories. More about that to come!

Roadfood Favorites in Best of New England

Yankee Magazine just published their Readers’ Choice for Best of New England 2010 results, and the list is chock full of Roadfood favorites: Massachusetts boasts Kelly’s Roast Beef for lobster rolls, the Clam Box and Woodman’s of Essex for fried clams, and Durgin-Park for baked beans; Connecticut chimes in with We-Li-Kit for ice cream and Rein’s in the deli category; and Maine dominates the counter culture with Maine Diner and Moody’s Diner. Unsurprisingly, the top lobster roll in New England goes to Red’s Eats of Wiscasset, Maine, and our photo above attests to its succulence. And, true to form, New Englanders also voted Dunkin’ Donuts as Best Coffee Shop—but to be fair, there was no separate donut category.

50 American Classics

Hot dogs at Coney Island’s Nathan’s (Roadfood.com review).  Beignets outdoors at Cafe du Monde (Roadfood.com review) in the French Market.  Arthur Bryant’s KC barbecue (Roadfood.com review).  Philippe’s famous French Dip (Roadfood.com review).  These and 46 more eateries are on the list of iconic American restaurants compiled by the trade publication Nation’s Restaurant News.  All of these restaurants were founded pre-1960, and all “have survived and thrived in good times and bad, and have captured, and held, the attention of diners everywhere.”  We’ll add that the majority can also be found on Roadfood.com (29 by our quick count, and that doesn’t include the half-dozen or so that appeared only in print versions of Roadfood)!  Jane and Michael Stern’s Roadfood book is even quoted in the Pepe’s Pizza story (Roadfood.com review).

NRN provides links to slide shows of all 50 restaurants, and greater depth stories on 11 of them.  To see the stories on the other 39, unfortunately, you’ll have to pay (a lot).

Oprah’s Favorite E-Food

We’ve been dwelling lately on the subject of food-by-mail, and Oprah’s O Magazine continues the theme this month with a story by Celia Barbour featuring some favorite e-food sources.  There’s Anson Mills for heritage grains (and a place often mentioned by top chefs when discussing grits and cornmeal), Murray’s Cheese (we’ve ordered from them with great success), Kalustyan’s for Middle Eastern and Indian specialties and spices (another one of our favorites), and La Tienda for Spanish groceries (we’ve enjoyed some wonderful true Spanish chorizo from La Tienda).  They also mention the source of our “house” thick-sliced bacon, Nueske’s.

You’ll find sources for cured meats, heirloom beans, lamb straight from the ranch, Thai ingredients, Italian ingredients, fresh fish, baked goods, and much more.  A few Roadfood favorites are also included: Zingerman’s (Roadfood.com review) for all sorts of specialty foods, the Grand Traverse Pie Company (Roadfood.com review) for great pies and local cherry products, and Frog Hollow Farm (Roadfood.com review) for top-quality stone fruits.  You can read the whole story here, and check out the entire list of mail-order websites here.

“I Friggin’ Love Their Meat Pies”

Those are the eloquent and carefully chosen words of, no, not  William Shakespeare, but a one Max Tucker, owner of a Natchitoches tattoo parlor, in describing the signature item served at Lasyone’s Meat Pie Restaurant, also of Natchitoches, LA.  He is quoted in a story about Lasyone’s by Howard Riell in the trade publication Nation’s Restaurant News.  We agree with Mr. Tucker, and would add that their crawfish pies just might be even better.

It’s an interesting profile and we learn quite a bit about Lasyone’s.  For instance, the meat pies weigh four ounces, and they sell over 400 of them a day.  And they will be marketing an appetizer-sized version to other restaurants in the near future.  And they are struggling to mass-produce the pies; seems it’s tricky getting a mass-produced crust just right.  Read it all right here.  And also check out the Roadfood.com review of Lasyone’s.

The South’s Best

The best barbecue in North Carolina can be found at Lexington Barbecue (Roadfood.com review).  That’s a Lexington BBQ sandwich pictured above.  The best barbecue in South Carolina is to be eaten at Little Pigs Barbecue in Columbia.  The finest crab cakes in Maryland are enjoyed at The Crab Claw (Roadfood.com review) of St. Michaels.  Who says?  The readers of Southern Living magazine.  This month’s issue features the best places in the South, as voted on by their readers.  Let’s get ready to rumble!  (Actually, we’re not familiar with Little Pigs, but the other two choices are certainly reasonable.)  The other Southern best places focus on non-edible highlights, such as the Best Lake in Alabama (Guntersville) and the Best Dance Hall in Texas (Gruene Hall).

The Last Roadfood Calendar Can Be Yours

Bruce Bilmes, who creates the Roadfood calendars, has exactly one 2010 calendar remaining. If you don't have one, or if you do have one and need another as the perfect gift for the foodie in your life, here is your one and only opportunity to get the last one. Post a response here, in the form of a comment, and the winner will be drawn at random from all comments one week from today, January 29, 2010. Only one comment per person, please! (The photo above is the pulchritudinous Miss March: Doe’s Eat Place tamales and chili.)

Sunday Morning at Hob Nob Hill

John Brizzolara of the San Diego Reader writes about life and the passage of time, as he visits San Diego’s oldest restaurant in the same location, Hob Nob Hill.  All the action takes place not in the dining room but among the folks waiting for tables.  As he says, “this is no restaurant review. I do not even get to coffee this particular morning.”  It’s worth your time.

The photo above is from the Roadfood.com review of Hob Nob.