What's your guilty pleasure restaurant on the road?

[Dr Frankenstein]

Golden Corral is very much one of my friends' guilty pleasures when we're in the U.S. As a result, I've followed him into that place more than I should have.

[Rothman]

We had a Golden Correl about the same distance away as well, but it has since closed down. 

For some inexplicable reason, the Golden Corral in Colonie, NY is immensely popular, even taking into account the Adirondack tour buses that stop there.

Then again, the local Olive Garden is also overrun, despite there being decent Italian restaurants in the area.

A friend of mine thinks that people that live in the Capital Region don't have taste buds.

[triplemultiplex]

I don't consider Culver's a guilty pleasure; I consider it the best fast-ish food option available.

Golden Corral; that one is definitely a guilty pleasure.  "All you can eat."  Challenge accepted! I damn sure get my money's worth.  The key is to not touch any bread, potatoes or rice if you can.  Then I spend two hours feeling like absolute shit and regret my abysmal choice to go to Golden Corral in the first place.

One last guilty pleasure that I am weening myself off of.  The heat lamp grill at Kwik Trip, Casey's General Store, Maverick, Allsup's, etc...(depending on where I am)  Too many times I did not just walk past that reheated garbage, sad to say.  I always feel guilty about those purchases.

[intelati49]

Lambert's...Home of the Throwed Rolls. Only 3 locations:  Sikeston, MO., Ozark, MO (Springfield), & Foley, AL.

http://www.throwedrolls.com

F yes... My family tries to make a trip to the Ozark location for each of our birthdays. Wonderful place.

[hbelkins]

I took this thread's intent to mean, "places you eat when you're traveling and those places aren't native to your home location." Which is why I replied with Sheetz as my answer.

There are two Golden Corrals within an hour of me, so I can't really consider it a guilty pleasure. Many may not remember when GC was a steakhouse that had an expanded salad bar/hot food bar. Sometime in the 90s, they made the decision to become a full buffet restaurant.

[Pete from Boston]

My other "guilty" pleasure is either Gold Star or Skyline Chili, as I mentioned in the other very similar thread.  Not too terribly guilty, since at least chili isn't fried, but any meal on a bowl of spaghetti adds a bonus multiplier of calories (no, I cannot order it without the spaghetti, you soulless heathen).

Honestly, the most overeating I usually dive into is at mom-n-pop places where they toss in a fool's paradise of sides and things to an otherwise large meal, and it's all delicious, and they're too nice to waste their delicious food, and my girlfriend rudely didn't finish all hers so I might as well go ahead and...

[cjk374]

I took this thread's intent to mean, "places you eat when you're traveling and those places aren't native to your home location." Which is why I replied with Sheetz as my answer.

There are two Golden Corrals within an hour of me, so I can't really consider it a guilty pleasure. Many may not remember when GC was a steakhouse that had an expanded salad bar/hot food bar. Sometime in the 90s, they made the decision to become a full buffet restaurant.

I actually forgot about that. Now I remember.

Bojangles: ate at the one in Albertville, AL. IT SUCKED!!! I will not go back to any Bojangles.

Golden Coral has its moments. I can eat there, but not a guilty pleasure.

Spaghetti with chili? Never thought of that. If I am ever near Skyline or Gold Star I will try it.

[Mr_Northside]

A place called USA Steak Buffet (particularly, the location in Cambridge, OH) was the annual stop for our trips down to Louisville for our 7-year run ('03-'09) of Lebowskifest trips.
It advertised all-you-can-eat steak, and it was simultaneously as great and awful as we'd hoped.

In the last couple years, I had thought about trying to convince people to try some Skyline chili on the way back, but no one else felt like it (possibly cause they didn't think chili would go too well with their hangover), so I have yet to try it.

[kkt]

A&W root beer floats, but only in Canada, not in the states.

[DandyDan]

There's lots of places, but Buffalo Wild Wings is probably top of the pack.  And wherever there is Caribou Coffee, I am there.

[Jim]

Spaghetti with chili? Never thought of that. If I am ever near Skyline or Gold Star I will try it.

I thought it sounded like a bad idea, but I tried it 10+ years ago on a recommendation from a Cincinnati native when I said I was going to be traveling through that area.  I've been back many times since (Skyline has a location in Naples, FL, I try to hit once per visit down there), and make my own at home using the chili seasoning packets they sell at Skyline.

[iBallasticwolf2]

Spaghetti with chili? Never thought of that. If I am ever near Skyline or Gold Star I will try it.

I thought it sounded like a bad idea, but I tried it 10+ years ago on a recommendation from a Cincinnati native when I said I was going to be traveling through that area.  I've been back many times since (Skyline has a location in Naples, FL, I try to hit once per visit down there), and make my own at home using the chili seasoning packets they sell at Skyline.

Skyline is wonderful. Too bad it is mostly only in the Cincinnati Area.

[Takumi]

There's lots of places, but Buffalo Wild Wings is probably top of the pack.  And wherever there is Caribou Coffee, I am there.

I tried Caribou Coffee today when I was at Richmond Airport picking up a friend. From what I could tell I prefer it to Starbucks.

[vtk]

At Skyline I'll make a meal of cheddar bread.  If they're out of bread, which has happened to me at least twice, I'll have cheddar on spaghetti.  Both options are delicious.

[renegade]

My other "guilty" pleasure is either Gold Star or Skyline Chili, as I mentioned in the other very similar thread.  Not too terribly guilty, since at least chili isn't fried, but any meal on a bowl of spaghetti adds a bonus multiplier of calories (no, I cannot order it without the spaghetti, you soulless heathen).

Honestly, the most overeating I usually dive into is at mom-n-pop places where they toss in a fool's paradise of sides and things to an otherwise large meal, and it's all delicious, and they're too nice to waste their delicious food, and my girlfriend rudely didn't finish all hers so I might as well go ahead and...

Or Dixie Chili, or Blue Ash Chili.  Depends on which part of town I'm in.

Any mom-n-pop Italian place over a dump like "Olive Garden."  That shit isn't Italian.  Not even close.

[02 Park Ave]

The Golden Corral in West Berlin NJ has closed.

[jeffandnicole]

The Golden Corral in West Berlin NJ has closed.

And on page 2 of this topic, I referred to the one in Audubon on 168, which closed earlier this year.

Last I saw, one on 130 in Cinnaminson is still open. 

Having said that, I think I'll be going almost anywhere else.  If I'm gonna hit a buffet, I'll rather hit the AC ones where at least I get shrimp and crab legs!

[1995hoo]

There's lots of places, but Buffalo Wild Wings is probably top of the pack.  And wherever there is Caribou Coffee, I am there.

I tried Caribou Coffee today when I was at Richmond Airport picking up a friend. From what I could tell I prefer it to Starbucks.

We used to have Caribou Coffee shops in the DC area, but they've all been changed to Peet's. One thing I prefer about pretty much any coffee shop other than Starbucks is that you can just order "small," "medium," "large," etc., without them trying to "correct" you to use some silly jargon. I don't go to Starbucks that often, I don't know what their terminology is, and I don't really care–it seems to me if I ask for "whatever the largest size black iced coffee is," it's pretty clear what I want.

[noelbotevera]

There's lots of places, but Buffalo Wild Wings is probably top of the pack.  And wherever there is Caribou Coffee, I am there.

I tried Caribou Coffee today when I was at Richmond Airport picking up a friend. From what I could tell I prefer it to Starbucks.

We used to have Caribou Coffee shops in the DC area, but they've all been changed to Peet's. One thing I prefer about pretty much any coffee shop other than Starbucks is that you can just order "small," "medium," "large," etc., without them trying to "correct" you to use some silly jargon. I don't go to Starbucks that often, I don't know what their terminology is, and I don't really care–it seems to me if I ask for "whatever the largest size black iced coffee is," it's pretty clear what I want.

I forgot the name, but if I could recall it was Caribou Coffee. It was outside the Metro Center station.

[DandyDan]

There's lots of places, but Buffalo Wild Wings is probably top of the pack.  And wherever there is Caribou Coffee, I am there.

I tried Caribou Coffee today when I was at Richmond Airport picking up a friend. From what I could tell I prefer it to Starbucks.

We used to have Caribou Coffee shops in the DC area, but they've all been changed to Peet's. One thing I prefer about pretty much any coffee shop other than Starbucks is that you can just order "small," "medium," "large," etc., without them trying to "correct" you to use some silly jargon. I don't go to Starbucks that often, I don't know what their terminology is, and I don't really care–it seems to me if I ask for "whatever the largest size black iced coffee is," it's pretty clear what I want.

They will even do that at the ones in Target stores, or HyVee stores, or wherever else they have them.

As for Caribou Coffee, sometimes that's my only reason to make the trek to Council Bluffs, which has one at the sapp brothers truck stop.

[1995hoo]

There's lots of places, but Buffalo Wild Wings is probably top of the pack.  And wherever there is Caribou Coffee, I am there.

I tried Caribou Coffee today when I was at Richmond Airport picking up a friend. From what I could tell I prefer it to Starbucks.

We used to have Caribou Coffee shops in the DC area, but they've all been changed to Peet's. One thing I prefer about pretty much any coffee shop other than Starbucks is that you can just order "small," "medium," "large," etc., without them trying to "correct" you to use some silly jargon. I don't go to Starbucks that often, I don't know what their terminology is, and I don't really care–it seems to me if I ask for "whatever the largest size black iced coffee is," it's pretty clear what I want.

I forgot the name, but if I could recall it was Caribou Coffee. It was outside the Metro Center station.

I used to work across the street from the Metro Center exit at 13th and G and there was indeed a Caribou there next to the Metro entrance. It's been several years since I worked there and I have not gone past there recently to confirm whether it was converted, but the local news said all DC-area Caribou stores were to become Peet's. I don't remember when that report ran nor what the timetable for the changeover was to be.

[cl94]

Yeah, I'd consider "guilty pleasures" to be stuff I can't get without driving a good 1-2 hours. I listed Sheetz, White Castle, and Krispy Kreme on the other thread. I'll add Nathan's Famous and Shake Shack. Will go well out of my way for either and I'm looking forward to TRB just so I can get back to the Shack.

[GCrites]

My other "guilty" pleasure is either Gold Star or Skyline Chili, as I mentioned in the other very similar thread.  Not too terribly guilty, since at least chili isn't fried, but any meal on a bowl of spaghetti adds a bonus multiplier of calories (no, I cannot order it without the spaghetti, you soulless heathen).

Gold Star recently started putting calorie counts on their menu boards and I have to say I was a bit shocked by the numbers. But you get that spaghetti involved and a bunch of bread and oyster crackers you'll build the calories for sure.

[JMoses24]

Last time I was there, it took over an hour to get a milkshake, and that was at one o'clock in the morning.

I think that's your problem right there. In my experience, fast food service is the absolute worst at odd hours like overnight and between shifts. I've typically gotten better service and better products when the stores are busy.

As SnS is typically one of very few places one can dine in after midnight, it can actually be busiest around that time, especially on a Friday or Saturday night.

Around here, SnS has very high employee turnover, and expectations for service are not high, but in my experience the service is adequate more often than not.

Steak N' Shake service can be hit or miss, but so can other places.

As for me, I don't think it's possible to go wrong with McDonald's. I have made a point, however, to modify what I eat when I go there.

[JMoses24]

Spaghetti with chili? Never thought of that. If I am ever near Skyline or Gold Star I will try it.

I thought it sounded like a bad idea, but I tried it 10+ years ago on a recommendation from a Cincinnati native when I said I was going to be traveling through that area.  I've been back many times since (Skyline has a location in Naples, FL, I try to hit once per visit down there), and make my own at home using the chili seasoning packets they sell at Skyline.

And two other places that are a guilty pleasure locally (no, I wasn't the guy Pete spoke to). But Gold Star and Skyline are excellence.