Backcountry Forum
Backpacking & Hiking Gear

Backcountry Forum
Our long-time Sponsor - the leading source for ultralite/lightweight outdoor gear
 
 
 

Amazon.com
Backpacking Forums
---- Our Gear Store ----
The Lightweight Gear Store
 
 WINTER CAMPING 

Shelters
Bivy Bags
Sleeping Bags
Sleeping Pads
Snow Sports
Winter Kitchen

 SNOWSPORTS 

Snowshoes
Avalanche Gear
Skins
Hats, Gloves, & Gaiters
Accessories

 ULTRA-LIGHT 

Ultralight Backpacks
Ultralight Bivy Sacks
Ultralight Shelters
Ultralight Tarps
Ultralight Tents
Ultralight Raingear
Ultralight Stoves & Cookware
Ultralight Down Sleeping Bags
Ultralight Synthetic Sleep Bags
Ultralight Apparel


the Titanium Page
WM Extremelite Sleeping Bags

 CAMPING & HIKING 

Backpacks
Tents
Sleeping Bags
Hydration
Kitchen
Accessories

 CLIMBING 

Ropes & Cordage
Protection & Hardware
Carabiners & Quickdraws
Climbing Packs & Bags
Big Wall
Rescue & Industrial

 MEN'S APPAREL 

Jackets
Shirts
Baselayer
Headwear
Gloves
Accessories

 WOMEN'S APPAREL 

Jackets
Shirts
Baselayer
Headwear
Gloves
Accessories

 FOOTWEAR 

Men's Footwear
Women's Footwear

 CLEARANCE 

Backpacks
Mens Apparel
Womens Apparel
Climbing
Footwear
Accessories

 BRANDS 

Black Diamond
Granite Gear
La Sportiva
Osprey
Smartwool

 WAYS TO SHOP 

Sale
Clearance
Top Brands
All Brands

 Backpacking Equipment 

Shelters
BackPacks
Sleeping Bags
Water Treatment
Kitchen
Hydration
Climbing


 Backcountry Gear Clearance

Topic Options
Rate This Topic
#170356 - 10/10/12 06:14 PM where not to eat?
balzaccom Offline
member

Registered: 04/06/09
Posts: 2232
Loc: Napa, CA
If you've ever taken a long backpacking trip, you've probably dreamt about food--especially the meal you are going to eat once you get back to civilization. Pizza, hamburgers, steak, cold beer, salad....they all seem to find a place on the menu, once you get started on the idea. Shoot, we know people who have spent most of the last night of a trip talking around the campfire about what they are going to eat the following day at the nearest restaurant.

And speaking of restaurants, there are a few that have quite a reputation among backpackers as well. The gas station at Lee Vining, the Old Priest Grade Inn, Pizza in Yosemite Valley all have their advocates. We've come to really like Patty's Gourmet Cafe between Sonora and Columbia.

But there is one restaurant that stands out in a completely different way. We have eaten there at least five times in the last ten years, and every single time it has been worse than disappointing. Sometimes the service has been absolutely rude and incompetent--waiting forever for a table in an empty dining room. The last time we had perfectly nice service, and absolutely dreadful food--cold food without even a hint of sauce or seasoning. And the amazing thing is that this restaurant is pretty much the only show in town in a National Park. You'd think they'd want to do better.

It's the restaurant at Grant Grove Village in SEKI. We can only wonder what amazing arrangements have been made to make sure that it has been so bad for so long.

Anyone else have a least favorite place to eat? Let us know, so we can avoid it!
_________________________
Check our our website: http://www.backpackthesierra.com/

Or just read a good mystery novel set in the Sierra; https://www.amazon.com/Danger-Falling-Rocks-Paul-Wagner/dp/0984884963

Top
#170380 - 10/11/12 10:50 AM Re: where not to eat? [Re: balzaccom]
finallyME Offline
member

Registered: 09/24/07
Posts: 2710
Loc: Utah
McDonalds.
_________________________
I've taken a vow of poverty. To annoy me, send money.

Top
#170382 - 10/11/12 10:52 AM Re: where not to eat? [Re: finallyME]
lori Offline
member

Registered: 01/22/08
Posts: 2801
Originally Posted By finallyME
McDonalds.


+1.

sick
_________________________
"In the beginner's mind there are many possibilities. In the expert's mind there are few." Shunryu Suzuki

http://hikeandbackpack.com

Top
#170386 - 10/11/12 11:42 AM Re: where not to eat? [Re: balzaccom]
wandering_daisy Offline
member

Registered: 01/11/06
Posts: 2865
Loc: California
I tend to NOT like resturants in general- from McDonalds to fancy ones. I now just wait until I get to a town with a grocery store and either get a deli sandwich or buy fresh fruit, yogurt and a quart of milk. If I have extra trail food left over I will just munch on that until I get home. It is an exercise in delayed gratification!

Top
#170405 - 10/11/12 02:45 PM Re: where not to eat? [Re: balzaccom]
Rick_D Offline
member

Registered: 01/06/02
Posts: 2939
Loc: NorCal
Denny's.

Few years ago we backpacked NE Yosemite/SE Emigrant, leaving from Cherry Lake. Beginning on day three or four, it became smoky, then really smoky, then ash began sifting down from the heavens during the next day or so. Lacking any good information we decided to bug out a day early. When we got to the highway, night was falling and we were directed by fire crews to leave the highway and take FS roads, through which we wound for hours before reconnecting to the highway, farther down the hill.

By then, all the little towns were closed down and we made it to the valley without finding anything to eat. Being midnight or so, Denny's, it was.

I should have known to order breakfast--the sole thing they're halfway competent at--but that was so far off my food-fantasy radar I simply couldn't, instead ordering a "steak." Beer? Nope.

I'd have been better off roasting my shoe over the campstove, or, we had that day's food left in our packs. But I swear, I will take that meal's disappointment to my grave.

"Here are your calories. Eat them."
_________________________
--Rick

Top
#170414 - 10/11/12 04:38 PM Re: where not to eat? [Re: Rick_D]
Barefoot Friar Offline
member

Registered: 01/23/09
Posts: 176
Loc: Houston, Alabama
Yeah, I agree. I've learned my lesson: No sirloin, ever, unless I've marinated and grilled it myself -- and even then, I try to avoid it. And nothing cooked warmer than medium, because beyond that and they give you the worst piece of shoe leather in the place.

That said, breakfast-for-dinner is always on my radar.
_________________________
"Stand in the ways and see, and ask for the old paths, where the good way is, and walk in it; then you will find rest for your souls."

Top
#170426 - 10/11/12 06:33 PM Re: where not to eat? [Re: Barefoot Friar]
Glenn Roberts Online   content
Moderator

Registered: 12/23/08
Posts: 2208
Loc: Southwest Ohio
In Ohio, we have Bob Evans, and Bobby-E has mush. Good mush. Really good mush. Add a side of crispy bacon, and you have a breakfast-for-dinner.

About a year ago, they took mush off the menu. I must not have been the only one to send them a "What are you smoking and will you share?" email, telling them I had no remaining reason for going to their restaurants, because a few months later it was back on the menu, via a little sticker.

Top
#170427 - 10/11/12 06:39 PM Re: where not to eat? [Re: lori]
Glenn Roberts Online   content
Moderator

Registered: 12/23/08
Posts: 2208
Loc: Southwest Ohio
Just outside the Red River Gorge in Kentucky, we drove past a restaurant (?) named "Hot Food." It was a 10x10 shack, with firewood stacked on one end of the 3-car parking lot, and used tires on the other end. We never saw any cars parked there, obviously never were tempted to stop there, and could never find anyone who could tell us whether the name referred to the serving temperature or the method of acquisition.

Better believe McDonald's was looking pretty good then! wink

Top
#170429 - 10/11/12 08:19 PM Re: where not to eat? [Re: Glenn Roberts]
jbylake Offline
member

Registered: 09/15/12
Posts: 202
Loc: Northern KY USA
I'm sorry, I lost you at "cold beer", what was the question again?..

J.

Top
#170437 - 10/11/12 09:44 PM Re: where not to eat? [Re: jbylake]
OregonMouse Online   content
member

Registered: 02/03/06
Posts: 6799
Loc: Gateway to Columbia Gorge
lol

Out here we have a number of brewpubs in towns close to trailheads where the beer and the steak (or at least a nice juicy burger) are available. I don't dare do the beer if I'm driving home, though--one beer after a full day or more hiking in the fresh air pretty much knocks me out!

Wherever I eat, it has to have a deck or patio so my hiking buddy Hysson (in my avatar) can be with me.


Edited by OregonMouse (10/11/12 09:46 PM)
_________________________
May your trails be crooked, winding, lonesome, dangerous, leading to the most amazing view--E. Abbey

Top
#170449 - 10/12/12 01:11 PM Re: where not to eat? [Re: OregonMouse]
rionada Offline
member

Registered: 04/19/02
Posts: 493
Loc: Hervey Bay, QLD Australia
Somewhat graphic details follow:

There's a place in southern Colorado called "Dos Rios" I stopped in there on a drive back to Albuquerque a few years back. I had the combo plate as I recall. Within an hour I began to feel... not right. And within 2 hours I has holed up in a gas station bathroom - sitting on the throne with my face in the gas station trash can - hallucinating! (that's not a euphemism - I was so sick I was actually having an out of body experience). It's the only time in my life when death seemed preferable to the condition that I was in. After 2 or 3 hours - I'm really not sure - I was able to crawl back to my truck and finish the drive home where it took me a week to regain my strength. You know what Dos Rios means right!?... "two rivers" - while I was in the gas station bathroom - that place really lived up to it's name.
_________________________
i really don't think that applies to me.

Top
#170460 - 10/12/12 04:46 PM Re: where not to eat? [Re: lori]
Samoset Offline
member

Registered: 07/04/08
Posts: 429
Loc: Newnan ,GA
Originally Posted By lori
Originally Posted By finallyME
McDonalds.


+1.

sick


+1

Especially if its inside the local Wal-Mart
_________________________
Some peopole live life day by day. Try step by step.

Top
#170497 - 10/13/12 12:20 PM Re: where not to eat? [Re: Samoset]
Rick_D Offline
member

Registered: 01/06/02
Posts: 2939
Loc: NorCal
Great, not I'm gonna have nightmares. shocked

[burp]
Originally Posted By Samoset
Originally Posted By lori
Originally Posted By finallyME
McDonalds.


+1.

sick


+1

Especially if its inside the local Wal-Mart
_________________________
--Rick

Top
#170516 - 10/13/12 09:24 PM Re: where not to eat? [Re: balzaccom]
sarbar Offline
member

Registered: 07/15/05
Posts: 1453
Loc: WA
Maybe it is me, but I have found most places in NP's are pretty sad overall. Although a few have been OK..

On the other hand, I won't eat at most of the places in Ashford, Wa (the town right before the main entrance to Rainier). There are two good places, the rest are highly questionable. And the Longmire Inn in the park? Expect sllloooooowwwww service and cold food.
_________________________
Freezer Bag Cooking, Trail Cooking, Recipes, Gear and Beyond:
www.trailcooking.com

Top
#170555 - 10/14/12 09:39 PM Re: where not to eat? [Re: sarbar]
TomD Offline
Moderator

Registered: 10/30/03
Posts: 4963
Loc: Marina del Rey,CA
Sarbar-ever have Sunday brunch at the Awahnee in Yosemite? Expensive, but amazing view and good food. Very upper class setting. Another good place in Yosemite is the restaurant in the Lodge. Also not cheap, but less than dinner at the Awahnee as far as I know. Not your average NP fare which is similar in many places because the same concessionaire runs many of them- Delaware North Corp.
_________________________
Don't get me started, you know how I get.

Top
#170559 - 10/14/12 10:04 PM Re: where not to eat? [Re: TomD]
kevonionia Offline
member

Registered: 04/17/06
Posts: 1322
Loc: Dallas, TX
Tom:

After a few days in a tent one fall in Grand Tetons Nat'l Park, we went for breakfast at the Jenny Lake Lodge Dining Room , and "upper-class" would certainly fit that venue. But we were more like "out-classed," smelling of campfire smoke and our sleeping-bag hair in disarray. That pinched nose look on the waiter was for real.

The Prix-fixe breakfast was $22 a person and what I remember most about the meal were the small plates on the table that had carefully arranged pats of butter each in the shape of little mooses. shocked


"Sorry folks, but the moose says the place is expensive."

In our case, the moose BUTTER should have told us.
_________________________
- kevon

(avatar: raptor, Lake Dillon)


Top
#170561 - 10/14/12 11:37 PM Re: where not to eat? [Re: TomD]
Rick_D Offline
member

Registered: 01/06/02
Posts: 2939
Loc: NorCal
In a life filled with regrets, among my tippytop is never "winning" the Bracebridge Dinner lottery when Ansel Adams was alive. I could have plunged my car into the Merced canyon on the drive home afterwards and died a happy man, had I only had that experience.

Originally Posted By TomD
Sarbar-ever have Sunday brunch at the Awahnee in Yosemite? Expensive, but amazing view and good food. Very upper class setting. Another good place in Yosemite is the restaurant in the Lodge. Also not cheap, but less than dinner at the Awahnee as far as I know. Not your average NP fare which is similar in many places because the same concessionaire runs many of them- Delaware North Corp.
_________________________
--Rick

Top
#170584 - 10/15/12 12:39 PM Re: where not to eat? [Re: Rick_D]
Steadman Offline
member

Registered: 09/17/09
Posts: 514
Loc: Virginia
I finally convinced my kids this weekend, after an overnighter on the AT, that local diners were better than McDonalds.

The only thing better than convincing them that diners were better than McDonalds was teaching them that they could have a milkshake if they bought McNuggets and Frys in bulk and split them up rather than getting a happy meal.

Top
#170691 - 10/17/12 10:37 PM Re: where not to eat? [Re: Steadman]
Just-a-Guy Offline
newbie

Registered: 08/03/12
Posts: 3
About a mile off the AT in CT just north of the Algo Shelter, you can hit the town of Kent by going south/east on 341. Lots of shops and restaurants. I don't like to bad-mouth places, but I would say avoid the Millstone Cafe there. I found it not very friendly (hostile might be a better word). There's a diner a block or so north that is nice. Grocery store another couple blocks north, and a pub called the Fife & Drum, which is also ok.

Top
#170693 - 10/17/12 11:07 PM Re: where not to eat? [Re: Just-a-Guy]
OregonMouse Online   content
member

Registered: 02/03/06
Posts: 6799
Loc: Gateway to Columbia Gorge
One exception to the thumbs down on McDonalds: In the Pacific NW, they carry Tillamook ice cream, so I can get a chocolate chip mint cone on the way home! They also have cleaner rest rooms than most places. Otherwise, forgeddaboutit!

My 12-year-old grandson wants to stop at any place that has the word "pizza" on its sign. I believe he learned to read that word at age 4!


Edited by OregonMouse (10/17/12 11:09 PM)
_________________________
May your trails be crooked, winding, lonesome, dangerous, leading to the most amazing view--E. Abbey

Top
#170783 - 10/22/12 03:07 AM Re: where not to eat? [Re: kevonionia]
TomD Offline
Moderator

Registered: 10/30/03
Posts: 4963
Loc: Marina del Rey,CA
I love it! Now that is eating in style. The great thing about the Awahnee is the room. The windows are these huge walls of glass with a view of the Valley and the mountains that can't be beat.
_________________________
Don't get me started, you know how I get.

Top

Shout Box

Highest Quality Lightweight Down Sleeping Bags
 
Western Mountaineering Sleeping Bags
 
Lite Gear Talk - Featured Topics
Backcountry Discussion - Featured Topics
Make Your Own Gear - Featured Topics
Featured Photos
Spiderco Chaparral Pocketknife
David & Goliath
Also Testing
Trip Report with Photos
Seven Devils, Idaho
Oat Hill Mine Trail 2012
Dark Canyon - Utah
Who's Online
0 registered (), 180 Guests and 0 Spiders online.
Key: Admin, Global Mod, Mod
Newest Members
Noodles, McCrary, DanyBacky, Rashy Willia, WanderBison
13240 Registered Users
Forum Links
Disclaimer
Policies
Site Links
Backpacking.net
Lightweight Gear Store
Backpacking Book Store
Lightweight Zone
Hiking Essentials

Our long-time Sponsor, BackcountryGear.com - The leading source for ultralite/lightweight outdoor gear:

Backcountry Forum
 

Affiliate Disclaimer: This forum is an affiliate of BackcountryGear.com, Amazon.com, R.E.I. and others. The product links herein are linked to their sites. If you follow these links to make a purchase, we may get a small commission. This is our only source of support for these forums. Thanks.!
 
 

Since 1996 - the Original Backcountry Forum
Copyright © The Lightweight Backpacker & BackcountryForum