Trucker Food
This summer we traveled to my hometown of Howe, Idaho (population: 23!) to celebrate Mom and Dad’s 50th anniversary. It’s been a few years since we’ve done this trek with all of the kids, and it takes some serious planning to avoid an en-route mutiny halfway across the blazing Nevada desert.
I first notice that I’m not the Bay Area anymore as we merge onto I-80 East, which is the road we’ll be on for the next 600 miles. It seems every mile brings a higher concentration of big tractor-trailers, all driving faster than us, and all switching lanes with the skill and frequency of a New York City taxi driver. After a scenic drive through the Sierra Mountains and over Donner Pass, the highway drops down from the mountains towards Reno, and the first glimpse of the next ten hours of our life comes in to view. And it’s pure simplicity: a four lane interstate stretching into the shimmering distance. Sigh.
Outside of Reno is the suburb of Sparks, NV that marks the first of our meals for this sojourn. The Alamo Truck Stop, which has been a mainstay of Chris’s Idaho commute for over 20 years! Order the fried chicken and the plate comes back with an entire fried chicken piled onto some potatoes. I like the Chicken Fried Steak – three HUGE pieces of steak, potatoes, gravy, veggies, biscuits, and two years off the end of your life!
Groaning our way back into the car, we make it Winnemucca, exactly half way for this trip, and catch a glimpse of our morning dining destination, the café at the Red Lion Hotel, complete with a few slots, some blackjack tables, a bartender who let’s us carry bottles of Heineken back to our room (thank you!), cigarette smoke, and the biggest plates of eggs you’ve ever seen. Don’t miss out on the Eggs Benedict – this place actually makes a killer hollandaise, in more ways than one.
Ahh, we’re heading north on US-93 out of Wells, NV where we decided NOT to try the Four-Way Casino Café, which I know from past experience has mighty fine trucker food. We opted instead for a few snacks and set our sites on Twin Falls, home to Mormon-owned Artic Circle hamburger chain, my favorite anywhere, better even than In-n-Out! The special sauce just makes this place.
Fast forward a week and we retrace our steps along the hot, desert highways, and I arrive home fully 10 pounds heavier than when I left.
– Chris