Posted by Bruce Bilmes and Sue Boyle
, January 06, 2009 13:35
We recently polled Roadfood.com readers, asking them about the most Roadfood-worthy chains, and In-N-Out Burger just edged out Waffle House. A close third place: the assertion that chains and Roadfood are mutually exclusive. It’s a debate that will probably always occupy those interested in Roadfood. Can a chain ever really be Roadfood? Does the size of the chain matter? Does it matter if they are independently owned or corporate owned? Etc., etc. … There is no general answer; you have to make the call for yourself.
Incidentally, the chains in the poll were chosen because Jane and Michael Stern have, at one time or another, written favorably about them, which is not to say that they currently approve of all, or any, of these chains. Well, maybe that’s not quite true: they currently have reviews on this site for In-N-Out Burger, Burgerville, Graeter’s, Maid-Rite, and Original Pancake House. Our position: we reject chains on both principle (Roadfood is a celebration of the local cook as folk artist) and experience (the food and/or atmosphere is usually crappy). But… we’re not dogmatic about it. If something strikes us as Roadfood, then we’re not going to let labels and rules get in the way. We resist chains as Roadfood, but we don’t flat-out reject them.
Our experiences with the chains in the poll: we’ve found Original Pancake House to be very variable in quality, both from branch to branch and dish to dish, but at its best it can be wonderful; we like Steak ‘N’ Shake, especially the shakes, perhaps because there are none near where we live, but they are definitely closer to fast food than Roadfood; Graeter’s is terrific; In-N-Out Burger is decent fast food but we’ve never understood the fuss; Runza serves a unique regional dish that we enjoy, but it’s certainly not the best version of the dish, and the rest of the menu is ordinary; and we are very fond of Rubio’s fish tacos. Never been to the others (but we really like the way Waffle Houses look; there just have always been better options when we were near one).
