Rock 'n' Roger's, Salem. OR

Driving south on Oregon I-5 at lunchtime, I approached Salem and decided to eat at the Burger Basket again. Guess I forgot which exit to take and I ended up on Market Street and quickly spied Rock 'n' Roger's.

It has a more authentic feel than some other 50's style diners like Johnny Rockets, because it's not as slick and has a local feel. Before Ray Kroc bought out the McDonald brothers, all those places were local.

I had their basic burger and it was excellent -- better than the place I had been looking for! Very fresh toppings, and plentiful: sliced onion, shredded lettuce, tomato and special sauce. The fries were hand cut and very reminiscent of In'n'Out. I didn't have a shake, but I think they are popular -- the blender was going the whole time I was there.

Here's my burger plate and Coke:

Schnitzel Schnandwich

Driving through Coos Bay, Oregon, hungry at lunchtime, we were fearful of not finding anyplace we wanted to stop at. Then Sarah spotted this sign:


Perfect! It was the Blue Heron Bistro. She had the bratwurst sandwich and I went for the Schnitzel Schnandwich. It was delicious, and the warm German potato salad was fantastic. One great feature of their menu is 6 ounce beers. I rarely have a beer at lunch, but the short beer was the ideal accompaniment. I had a Spaten Optimator, a dark bock beer.

Well, I would not feel so all alone...

Burger Basket, Salem, OR

After an exhilarating but tiring hike through Silver Falls State Park in Oregon, my daughter and I headed into Salem for a late lunch.

We happened upon the Burger Basket, which claims to have the best burgers in the world. It was just what we were looking for -- something local and quick.

I don't agree that they have the best burgers, but they were very good, hand-formed patties. The place is filled with retro signs and the like. The onion rings and fries were unfortunately of the machine made frozen variety, but good enough, and the slaw was very nice. While it wasn't outstanding, it was a fun place and the burgers were "real food". I would stop there again.

The Magic Is In the Hole

Sarah pauses mid-donut.

That's the slogan of Voodoo Doughnuts in Portland, Oregon.

I was there recently with my daughter who grew up in Portland, Maine and now lives in Eugene. This is a strikingly weird donut shop, but the stuff is really really good!

The Roadfood review has some great pix.

Here I am enjoying their famous maple bacon donut. It sounds and looks, well, gross, but it is sublime!


And here's the segment Anthony Bourdain did:

In a Swirl Over Fried Clams

Amazingly, I read about Sea Swirl in Mystic Connecticut on the Roadfood site just days before I would be in that neck of the woods this summer.

True to Michael Stern's words, I had the best fried clams of my life there. I lived in Maine for nearly twenty years, so that's saying a lot! The clam bellies were light and sweet, the fries and cole slaw just fine. True to the location's legacy as a Carvel stand, they also sell soft-serve ice cream, so a complete dinner can be had there.

What's Missing?

Here's the complete food menu for a California Pizza Kitchen stand at LAX:

Egg Rolls

Steven Shaw writes in Saveur about egg rolls he enjoyed growing up in New York.

"Though these pudgy, cabbage-stuffed snacks didn't actually originate in China...they're the authentic cuisine of my boyhood."

And, boy, can I relate! Chinese food for me growing up was egg rolls, spare ribs, wonton soup, egg foo yung, chicken chow mein, and at the fancy House of Chan downtown, pressed duck.

It's been years since I had a good egg roll. It seems that most Chinese joints just don't know how to make them anymore. Perhaps as the quality and authenticity of Chinese food in America has improved, the made-up stuff has been left aside.

After many years of seaching, I've finally found great egg foo yung at a local take-out place here in Denver. But their egg rolls are not inspired.

The best egg rolls I ever had were from a take-out place on Church Avenue in Brooklyn in the mid-70s. I think it was called Star Kitchen. The egg rolls were large and oily, but in a good way, crisp with a flavorful filling. I would dip alternately in mustard and duck sauce, but never mixed the two. They looked like the one in the picture - click on it to enlarge it and make your mouth water!

Next time I'm in New York, I'll try to get to Empire Szechuan (that Shaw writes about) and try theirs.

2nd Avenue Deli is Back!

Great news last month: A bit more than a year after the demise of the original, the 2nd Avenue Deli has re-opened. It's now close to midtown. Unforch, I have no NY trips planned for this year but maybe I'll figure out a way to get there.

It's run by the nephew of the founder, Abe Lebewohl, and judging from this interview, I'd say the spirit and quality of the old place will live on.

Eric & Micah Eat Cheesesteaks

My friend Micah Engber and I have enjoyed many a good meal together. We found ourselves in Philadelphia earlier this fall. I mentioned that I had never had a cheesesteak sandwich in Philadelphia, so Micah said he'd take me to both Geno's and Pat's, the two most famous purveyors of cheesesteak, across the street from each other. Pat's claims to have invented the sandwich.

Aficionados will claim one is better than the other, or that there are better purveyors in Philly than these pioneers.

We decided to do an apples to apples comparison. At each place we had a basic sandwich with just steak, onions and cheese. We chose Whiz at both stands, although it appeared more like melted American cheese than something shot from a pressurized can.

We enjoyed both, but discerned no difference between them. heresy, I know. Micah's Mom, Harriett, joined us and took these photos.


From Micah:

Both use rib eye (Delmonico) steak, sliced thin for their cheese steaks. Geno's never claimed to be the creator of the sandwich, they just claim to make a better sandwich then Pat's.

They each use different styles of grill keeping. While Geno's keeps there grill immaculately clean, and free from grease, Pat's keeps their grill covered with grease from the previous sandwiches. Both claim that it makes for a better taste. Both are also supposed to be open 24/7 -365.

The other big rivalry is between Pat's King of Steaks and Rick's Philly Steaks. I heard the story on FoodTV but took this part from Wikepedia to save time in toying it all out.

"Pat's King of Steaks is the original shop opened by Pasquale "Pat" Olivieri and his brother, Harry. Harry's grandson, Frank, owns Pat's. Pat's grandson, Rick, owns Rick's Original Philly Steaks at Reading Terminal Market.

Pat's son, Herbert (Rick's father), expanded the business by opening franchises of Pat's King of Steaks. In the 1980's, the Olivieris split up the business. Harry and Frank Sr. kept the original location, Herbert ("King" Pat's son) opened Olivieri's Prince of Steaks in Reading Terminal Market. Herbert's son Rick renamed it "Rick's" in the mid-1990s, still using the crown logo and mentioning his grandfather, Pat Olivieri.

In October 2006, Pat's sued Rick's, alleging trademark infringement, trademark dilution and unfair competition, based on the use of the crown logo and the name "Pat Olivieri"."

I've made cheesesteaks at home.

My method is to thinly slice a relatively inexpensive cut of steak such as round and fry the slices in a cast iron pan, seasoning liberally with kosher salt. I use 1/4 pound per person.

Separately, I saute sliced (not chopped) onions and green peppers until soft. Quantity is based on how you wish to balance the vegetables with the meat and cheese.

For cheese, I use yellow American -- the actual cheese, not cheese food or process cheese food, and melt it in the microwave. I use two slices per sandwich.

The roll is always a supermarket brand soft sub roll.

I've made these as part of a party spread and cut each roll into three or four pieces.

A great tarted up steak sandwich is the Number 9 at D'Angelo, a sandwich chain in New England. I once had one when dining with a girlfriend. As chunks of food fell out of the sandwich and juices ran down my chin she said, "You're making a spectacle of yourself!" Indeed I did.