Roadfood

The final day of our trip restored some of my faith in Jane and Michael Sterns' guide to roadside eating. All three meals were at Roadfood sites and none of them involved hamburgers, barbecue or fried chicken.

We had breakfast in Ann Arbor at Zingerman's, a quaint little deli downtown that has become a major mail-order house for gourmet food. Granted you don't need the Sterns to tell you that Zingerman's is worth a visit, it was nonetheless among their listings for Ann Arbor. I had bacon and eggs and toast -- a decisive rebuke to the over-fussy efforts at B&Bs and proof that simple, high-quality ingredients with little adornment make for the best meals.

For lunch, we made a short detour to the New Sandusky Fish Co. in Sandusky, Ohio. It also gave us the chance to check off a fourth Great Lake, Lake Erie, for our roadtrip. I had targeted this Stern recommendation for lunch on our trip out, but the timing was off. The timing this time was not great since it came after our ample breakfast at Zingerman's, but the yellow perch sandwich we shared was really worth the detour. The amazingly fresh lake water fish had a lovely sweetness. Fried in a light batter on a roll with tartar sauce, it made a simple and satisfying lunch.

Although Hancock, Maryland is getting very close to home, we opted for an early dinner at the Park-n-Dine diner recommended in Roadfood. As promised, the restaurant offered a variety of tempting home-cooked Sunday dinners. I opted for the pot roast, which, though not as good as the one my mother used to make, was quite tasty and satisfying. The pie, however, was a huge disappointment. As Andrea said, if the Sterns don't specifically recommend it in their description -- which they didn't -- it's probably not worth ordering.

I still think the Roadfood focus is too narrow, but it is certainly reliable within those parameters.