road trip and food

Long overdue reviews! We went on the road -again.   As usual, it's all about food for me,  so here goes;

We stopped at Andersen's for their famous pea soup.  I am not a big fan, but everyone says you have to try it. So I can cross that off my list.  It was just ok.  The BLT was weird,the "toasted bread" was cold  The potato salad was just .. icky.

The next morning we went to the Black Bear Diner in Hayward.  We each got something called the "Grizzly sampler" or something like that.  It was two eggs,  waffle or french toast an a slice of ham.  I got a waffle and Chris got french toast, but when the plate came, the "slice" was more like a "sliver"  we called the waitress over, and she brought him another similarly sized piece.

I am not a big fan of "Casino Food" and the stuff at Cache Creek lived down to my expectations.   Chris got a turkey burger that was so bad, he didn't eat it.  Now I have two rules about restaurant food;  One-  If it tastes bad, DON'T eat it. Years ago, my then-husband and I went to a local British food place, where the mulligatawny soup was SO salty I decided to pass on it.  He ate MY bowl and his.  He got food poisoning so bad he was hospitalized.  Hence the rule.  Two-  DON'T order anything else. I am leery of what the kitchen staff might do with a second order if I reject the first!

When we left Cache Creek, we wound up in Woodland and went to Perry's Cozy Diner.  Totally an old-style diner that reminded me of places I used to go as a kid (not the Faux retro places, but honest-to-goodness 60's decor)  I wasn't too hungry but got the broasted chicken.  Chris got a BIG salad.  The chicken was really good BUT the corn bread was nuclear-baked (microwaved) and the potatoes were straight out of a box.  UGH.  Good thing I wasn't too hungry!  We got Anna some fried zucchini, which she said was great. The server was terrific and we went back for breakfast the next morning, which was first-rate.  Friendly service, it's on the same property as the Best Western, which was REALLY nice.  We got a "deluxe room" which was large and comfortable.

I love it when the hotel has coffee IN the rooms and has free breakfast.  Both places we stayed had both and it makes life so much easier as I am NO GOOD TO ANYONE before I have my jolt of morning joe.  Breakfast fare at these places can be dicey, but I have learned to make "informed" choices and get a real meal later.  It's nice when they have cereal and bagels.  Both places had a "Make your own waffle" station  I didn't feel like standing there, as I was getting something for the three of us to take back to the room.

We went on to Thunder Valley and avoided the casino food.  We wound up for dinner at a local pizza joint called "Mary's Pizza shack"  I wasn't expecting much but WOW, the food was terrific!   We got a lot of food and the prices were reasonable. 

By the time we got to Black Oak, I was tired of casinos and we were a bit tapped out of the cash I had set aside to play with, so we went to the restaurant. We didn't go for the buffet and I am glad because they had really good burgers with tasty slaw on the side.  They had an apple pie that was wonderful.  The food was AMAZING.  I even treated myself to a drink which was pretty darn good too.  It was nice that Anna had a bit of luck at the casino and we left the place happy!

It was a nice trip and a nice visit.  I love traveling with Chris and Anna, they are always a lot of fun to be around; low-key companions.