mmm-yoso!!! is a diary about food we group of friends eat. Cathy and her Mister have been eating their way across America for last week or so. OK…in actuality, she is home and posting . The first four posts were sent pretty much in real time, from the road. These last three have been done with slightly less frenziness. She has slept in her own bed…and will again…as soon as she hits "send"…
OK. Almost done…starting this post early with photos from our last trip and hope the same wonderful, tacky sights, or more, are viewable from the car.
Dinosaur City. Some sort of recreational huge mass of land, on both sides of the Interstate 40. There are tons of these statues closer to the road, to lure you in…
About 6 miles east of Dinosaur City is this "Pseudo Dinosaur City" ()I think it is called"Stewart's" or something like that)which sold an inordinate number of fossils and dusty geodes and old, dusty things two years ago. I loved this place…they were trying to sell the business off then…
Yep, still there. America. 
A meal in Arizona- Blake's Lotaburger…eh. 
I got a Lotaburger, no cheese and The Mister got the grilled turkey sandwich and we got a cherry shake. Nothing special. Just food. We have not ever stopped at a Lotaburger, and will give it one more try next year. There are quite a few locations in Arizona and they seem popular. Perhaps we were spoiled by Blimpy's and Culvers… …now Whataburger, in Texas…that is good…but we didn't stop there this trip. Next year, though…
The last evening meal while traveling-(end of Day Six, if you are keeping track) 
Yes! The Big Texan!!! From about 200 miles away (~4 hours of driving), the signage starts…"Free 72 ounce Steak!" 
Of course, there is an asterisk…You have to consume this entire meal in ONE HOUR, on a stage, 
while people watch (and take photographs). If you don't finish it, it costs $72…and a major bellyache for the next day or two or three…
Or, you can order from the GIANT sized menu (dollar bill at top used for size reference). 
I got the 18 ounce boneless rib eye ($21.59), cooked rare/medium rare, along with a side of mashed(that had brown gravy on the bottom and white gravy on top). The steak is marinated perfectly and need nothing added. 
The Mister got the rack of spare ribs ($16.99) with a side of mac and cheese. The ribs are a full rack, meaty, the sauce has a nice kick. Spicy heat with a touch of garlic.
But, you really get two sides and The Mister chose his other side as a salad with a *really good* blue cheese dressing and mine was (and always is) sliced tomatoes with raw red onions. Of course, there are also yeasty rolls are always light, warm and perfect…and apparently not photographed.
Other than that, we merely stopped at a bunch of Starbucks locations on the trip…and have 18 receipts to prove it.. 
and stopped to take a photo of The Blue Hare….
So, that was our annual vacation, across America. Three days driving there, three days being there and three days driving back.
I hope all of you enjoyed it as much as we did! We'll do it all again next year.
That steak look so beautiful and perfectly cook. Thanks to you I had burgers for 2 days straight for dinner. My wife is getting tired of it;-) Fuji’s Famous Burger Avo Teri Burger, not bad wish there was more meat. TK Burger – nice charbroil taste with twice fried fries, bread was really good. Well anyways keep up the posting.
Did you ever consider eating all that stuff might impact your long-term health?
OMG, T-Rex. Run! Ruuuuuun! =)
Hello, Bill!… and welcome to my world of cravings. The steak was perfect. We brought half of it home and it still was wonderful.
Welcome to our blog, ehpnbh. Of course, our long term health is considered and the blog is just a peek into what we eat, not a daily diary. Thelast few posts by me have been “highlights” of where we stopped and what we ate. It was a vacation after all. We carried healthy snacks-fruits, vegetables, raw or unsalted nuts, lots of water as well as sandwiches on whole grain bread and also stopped for salads and fresh fruit along the drive. We do eat fried foods and red meat at home, but not daily, instead, in moderation. Next time, leave a real e-mail address and I can give you more details.
We drove really fast, CP…really fast. It was fun. There were more interesting sights and I may do a post about them, as a filler…
Man, 72 oz’s worth of steak with sides. That’s awesome! Wish you had a better picture of that ginormous meal.
Did the guy in the photo finish?
Woowee, those steak and ribs look awesome! Great series, Cathy! I think Food Network should have you do an “Eating Across America” series. Can I be a roadie for you???
What fun you had! I remember stopping at the Dinosaur place as a kid when we took a cross country road trip. We also stopped at the Jolly Green Giant Statue/factory, corn palace, doll palace and other interesting places.
One of these days I’ll convince my hubby to take a long road trip! Maybe when our unborn reach the age I was when I made the first of three cross country treks! π
I really enjoyed the post! π
If I was at Big Texan I would of definitely try the 72 ounce steak π I can polish off a 2 pounder without any sides.
Hi, Dan. We got there late in the day and the steak, which is displayed raw, was way discolored so I deliberately did not use flash. The guy eating did not even finish half in his hour up there. He waaay slowed down at the 30 minute mark.
It is ironic, Carol, that Alton Brown and that blonde Dave guy have been eating their way across America on Food TV this past summer, since I was so intending to do it last year, before their shows were in the works…but the broken wrist stopped me. Still, I know I do the more obscure places, like the Foot High pies, and fragels…
Very cool, MJ. I think everyone should experience America this way. Gives you more appreciation. My only advice is to either get a lot of Books on Tape or satellite radio. To not know what is going on in the world for days made me crazy in prior years.
I thought about ordering the 72 ouncer as just a meal to share, Bill. Don’t want to be pressured into eating it all at once if I don’t want to.
Now, a two pounder, no sides…you and I can have a contest! I easily eat a 2/3 lb medium rare burger at Fuddruckers and am still hungry…
Let’s see, where to start.
Hampton Inn’s have a hot bar now. Eggs (powder compound mixed with water-they taste bad if the water is bad BTW), Biscuits & gravy.
The Holiday Inn I stayed at near the Bally office in Fife, Washington (Tacoma area) did have the DIY waffle-o-matic but interestingly enough, it had a unique plexiglas box that surrounded most of the unit to prevent you from burns from touching the exterior. A real idiot could of course still touch the griddle surface and start screaming though!
Braum’s, Great ice cream. I highly recommend the Deluxe sundaes or banana splits. Did you look in the store section. Great variety of fresh stuff besides ice cream.
Culvers: get the Turtle Sundae if you can.
Steak & Shake. Try the side-by-side two flavor shakes. Their vegtable soup is very good and consistent chain-wide.
Glad you had a safe trip. Any imprompteau meetings with Officer Friendly?
We tried Hampton Inns first everywhere and none allowed pets, and we had little Staples the dog, remember?
Did not consider the eggs being made that way, but I suppose that would be economical
I am fascinated with those waffle machines. Should break out the one mom gave us for Christmas three years ago.
Hit the Braum’s in Springfield, MO and it looked like snow ahead, so did not consider a banana split, although, you know I would have loved it π Of course we looked through the store…assume the “special soda” flavor is Dr. Pepper-esque, based on color of box.
Turtle Sunday at Culver’s next time I visit. Yes. Nuts and ice cream. Perfect.
S&S- I was torn between chili and soup and salad and we sort of hadn’t had much in the way of vegetables on the trip, so the chili and salad won over the soup, this time anyhow…
Oh, yes Officer Friendly surprised us in Amarillo. Pretty blue lights. He merely warned after extremely polite questions of where Santee was located, did we realize we were speeding and calling in of the drivers license number with an almost immediate response: Could hear the nice Lady Dispatcher responding with the name matching the license number over the speaker within 30 seconds. No need for Homeland Security: just use the Texas State Police.