We are trying a new series on the blog called Looks and Leaps List, where all 9 writers share a brief perspective on a specific topic – similar to the joint post on our vacation in Hilton Head. We will kick things off with: Travel Dining. This is a subject near and dear to our hearts, as we all think delicious food, interesting restaurants, and memorable meals are an important part of travel. We’ve joked that our family crest should be a knife and fork. What have been your favorite travel dining experiences? Read on to find out some of ours:

Joe: I like the “unexpected” when it turns out to be one of the best meals you have on the trip. My wife Cindy and I have had so many great times picking places with no prior experience or recommendation that we are no longer concerned with planning most of our meals before the trip. Here are three great examples: in the middle of nowhere in Utah on our drive from Bryce National Park to Arches National Park we picked a fabulous place for breakfast. The place we saw by the side of the road called the Kiva KoffeeHouse was worth passing and turning around for, was off the beaten path, and provided spectacular views of the mountains.

Kiva Koffeehouse in Utah

We had delightful home cooked meals to order that had a gourmet twist. Another example is when we were on another rode trip from Flagstaff to Sedona AZ where we saw a restaurant on the road called the Junipine Resort and Cafe.

Great breakfast at the Junipine

It was a small hotel but had a sign on the road that said they served breakfast until 10. It was 9 and we were hungry so we were more than willing to take a chance. The food was awesome and once again the quality and preparation was unexpected based on the outside appearance. The 3rd example (but these are certainly not the only ones I could mention) happened recently on our trip through New Mexico. The burrito hut in Los Alamos called the Chili Works  had the most wonderful breakfast burrito I’ve ever eaten (see my New Mexico post). I have so many of these examples that we have enjoyed over the years that I am convinced that finding these types of places is easier than one might think. Finding these places as you go also gives you a satisfaction of experiencing these places without any preconceived expectations. I think it improves the overall travel experience as well as providing memorable moments. Take a chance, enhance your dining pleasure, and enjoy telling the story when you get back home!

Cindy: Like the rest of the family, I enjoy eating too. It is one of the many things I look forward to on a trip. I like to pretend that food has no calories on vacation, so I can enjoy without guilt. Oh well, it’s fun to indulge on special times.

One of those special times, is a girls (mom, my two sisters, and me) shopping/eating trip to Gatlinburg, TN and we do both very well!  We arrive in Gatlinburg around lunch time (good timing) and we head to our favorite place to eat there: “The Pancake Pantry”.  We have been visiting this establishment for years and we always find the food consistently delicious, beautifully prepared, and the premises are very clean. For lunch, I order an unusual sandwich called the “Blue Ribbon”. It is a burger with a special sauce, melted cheese, green pepper ring, bacon crumble and banana slices! Yes, I said banana! Like the menu says: it is an unexpected delicious blend of flavors. One of my sisters has the silver dollar pancakes for lunch (and she will have them again for breakfast) as they serve breakfast all day and she says they are the best! They are open 7am to 3pm daily. Much of the same staff have been there for years. Lots of them are related to each other and all very friendly. I like how everyone gets their own individual bill. Full and satisfied, we are ready to hit the stores, but for the next two mornings that we are in Gatlinburg, we will start off our shopping day with breakfast at the “Pancake Pantry”. The menu is so awesome. It is fun to read and so hard to decide what to try. (I’ve even suggested to the waitress a sample plate with a few different crepes to try). They have some of the most amazing and tasty entrees. Their crepes are so delicious. The powder sugar and whipped topping makes it just a great treat. Some of my favorites are: Banana Pineapple Triumph, (Mom’s favorite), Apricot Lemon Delight, Wildberry Crepes, Parisienne Pancakes and Swedish Pancakes (although they are called pancakes, they are crepes). My one sister loves the waffles. They offer about 8 different ones. The pecan waffle comes with a cup of warm syrup loaded with big pecans and they are very generous with the whip butter and powder sugar. We’ve tried the Crisp Bacon Waffle and their bacon is excellent too. They also have a selection of omelettes, eggs, ham and sausage. Between the four of us, we’ve tried a lot of different items, but my favorite will always be the crepes! I’m looking forward to another trip with the girls this spring to satisfy my “Pancake Pantry” craving! Wonder which crepe entree I will have?

Banana pineapple triumph

Sunny: I also love out of the way, surprising, local places. It so fun and exciting to try new places, especially ones you have researched. However, I am going to have to make a case for what many may call “The Tourist Traps.” You know what I’m talking about: The Rainforest Café, Bubba Gumps, Hard Rock Café, Margaritaville, etc.  Are they overpriced? Maybe. Crowded? Definitely. Cheesy? I would say that’s a matter of opinion. But here’s the thing…going to the Rainforest Café with kids is the best (note MJ’s recommendation below). They are in awe of the place. They get a special sippy cup with an Icee beverage in it. They get to eat their favorite foods including a dessert in the shape of a volcano with sparklers shooting out of it. It’s fun! And it’s totally worth it to do at least once. We’ve had good meals at these places and not so good meals at these places, but you know what? We’ve also had good meals at local spots and not so good meals at local spots. So,  embrace your inner basic girl! Let your tourist flag fly! It’s vacation! Eat where you like, like where you eat 🙂

Jimmy: I think you can find the best food in South Carolina.  One of my all-time favorite restaurants is Hominy Grill in Charleston.  You have to get the Charleston Nasty Biscuit, but when we visited in 2008, it was lovingly called “The Big Nasty.”  The biscuit has fried chicken, shredded cheese, and sausage gravy.  Good to start a day of sight-seeing.  Nearby Charleston, on Isle of Palms, I had a ribeye served with gorgonzola grits.  You have to have the grits when you go to South Carolina.  In Hilton Head, don’t miss the Southern Coney.  Best pancakes I’ve ever had anywhere!  Get the banana pancakes.

MJ: This restaurant is called the Rainforest Café. I love their pizza and hamburgers. It is really fun. They have lots of cute animals on the shelves. If you ever go there and sit by the elephants or the chimpanzees you will be really amazed. They are super funny and I never knew they had monkeys swinging from the vines! It looks like a real rainforest. They have slushies if your kids ever go there. It is awesome! You will love this place. You can find them in Disney, or Minnesota, or random places. You’ll love it. I promise.

JA: My memorable travel dining experience was at Grayson’s Landing Restaurant at Rough River Dam State Park in Kentucky. I have lots of things I like at that restaurant and I hope the next time my family goes to that park, we eat there. I liked the frog legs there and if anyone out there thinks that’s gross, it tastes like a chicken leg, no joke. It was the first time I tried frog legs. Once you are done with your entree, there is a dessert buffet also so you can help yourself. Try to get the Boston Cream Pie. It was as good as I thought it would be and chocolate is one of my favorite desserts. That place was very memorable and I hope my family can travel there once more. I liked that place as much as I like Star Wars (a lot).

April: When the knife and fork are suggested as part of your family crest, you shouldn’t be surprised when you inherit the family sweet tooth. And like mom said, you don’t want to pass up the opportunity to eat something delicious while traveling in the name of counting calories. That’s probably why the first thing I thought of for this assignment was all the delicious desserts I’ve eaten while traveling. Childhood vacations to the beach with donuts for breakfast and soft serve ice cream at the end of the day laid the groundwork for the philosophy that your vacation will go by quickly, so try all the desserts. When I look back through my travel journals, it’s noteworthy that the foods most likely to earn a spot on the page are sweets – from the gelato in Italy, the poire belle helene and chocolate mousse in France (a whole page of the journal devoted to these), to the Mickey Mouse ice cream bars in Disney world, the desserts are clearly worth mentioning and remembering. Hope your food and travel memories are sweet too.

Jack: One of my favorite dining experiences was on trip to Tuscany to visit wine country. We had an appointment for a tour and dinner at a well known Brunello producer. We arrived at what looked like a nicely appointed private residence with an old wine press on the porch and a couple of out buildings, situated in the beautiful Tuscan countryside. Our host for the evening seemed surprised by our interest in seeing nuts and bolts of the winery, so after a cursory tour of the facilities and cellar we sat down in the dining room for dinner. We were served fettucine bolognese and wild boar in red wine sauce in a lovely room with sweeping views of the manicured Tuscan landscapes. Dinner was accompanied by a selection of vintages from the cellar below. As our evening progressed I was struck by the restrained elegance of the home and furnishings, allowing the bounty of the Tuscan countryside to take center stage.

Wendy: My favorite travel dining experiences often fall into 3 categories: Research, Recommendations, and (probably most frequently) Luck. Jack and I were so psyched to visit the famous wine mecca/fine dining restaurant Monvinic in Barcelona. We had read about this amazing place and thank Mom and Dad (Cindy and Joe) for treating us during our Spain trip. When you don’t have a specific spot in mind, local bartenders can be a great resource, such as the friendly Dane who told us about the fabulous, trendy Madklubben during our Copenhagen trip. Of course, just trying your luck can lead to the right restuarant at the right time, like the amazing Polo Bar (open 24 hours!) during our London visit. And I really have to note a 4th category: Travel Dining Tradition. Walking to random tapas bars in Madrid, quests to CeCe’s donuts in Panama City as a kid, or Jack and my ongoing obsession with stopping by Bella Italia Pork Store every time we’re in New Jersey. Or the blissfulness of going to directly from the airport to Waffle House for unlimited coffee, smothered hashbrowns and pecan waffles with your family after spending 2 months in Europe in college.

Now it’s your turn! Tell us about your favorite travel dining experiences in the comments below!