Truck Stops

I agree that I should be embarrassed by the amount of expertise I possess in certain areas -- truck stop food being one of them. But, hey. You are what you are....

This knowledge was gained by the years J., son #3, and I spent pulling a 5th wheel around this great country while J. was a contractor. Being a contractor meant he worked wherever, for whoever, for as long as it took to get the job done. During those years we ate at our fair share of truck stops. And, surprisingly, the food was pretty durn good.

Those of you unfamiliar with life on the road may not know that modern day truck stops can be a surprising piece of work -- Internet access, private showers, tv/reading rooms, some even offer family areas with shower/dressing room/kiddie play area. Now I have never showered at a truck stop, but as far as I could see, these areas looked bright and clean.

All the above spiel is to justify tell you all about where J. and I stopped to eat Saturday on the way home from Alabama. Yes, we spent a week in Bama working on that darn house! But that's beside the point. (As is almost everything else in this post.) You see, the last few years going to and from AL, we have been stopping at a place called Red Hot. It was a truck stop many years ago, but now it is a restaurant with pretty good southern-style food. The same cooks have worked there for many years turning out good old-fashioned veggies, cobblers, burgers -- you name it. And their breakfasts! Hunny hush.

(In the spirit of full disclosure -- Red Hot was bought a year or so ago and its new name is now Checker Board. But....we still refer to it as Red Hot.)

Well....Saturday we were all prepared for our Red Hot-pit stop. As we left B'ham. we started talking about what we were going to eat. I was going to get a veggie plate. J. is always tempted by their burgers, but can never decide until he looks at the menu. By the time we got to Meridian, Mississippi (home to Red Hot) our tummies were ready and grumbling. And, of course, wouldn't you know it, Red Hot was closed. WTF!

That's how we ended up at Queen City Truck Stop's Magnolia Restaurant. If we have the truck we usually fuel up at Queen City because they generally have the best prices. The restaurant is always bustling but we've never tried it. So, we wondered, should we or shouldn't we -- eat there. Now I've gotta tell you, if we didn't know a little about truck stops (blush!) we probably would never have stepped foot inside the door. But, being seasoned roadies, we decided to give it a try. And I'm glad we did.

There seemed to be about as many locals eating there as truckers and passers-through (like us). The sweet tea was good and strong (as was the coffee), the service was competent, friendly and polite, and the food arrived quickly, was warm, spicy, and filling, and the rolls were homemade and melt in your mouth. The chef could even be seen in the back -- complete with his big ol white chef's hat. (Okay, truth be told, I think I only had one slice of banana in my banana pudding, but....)

What really impressed me was the the fact that most of the menu offerings were healthy and the portions were just the correct sizes (according to WeightWatchers). Not bad for a truck stop in the middle of Mississippi.