Part of the appeal of traveling for me is being able to go to local restaurants and tasting local favorites. In South Carolina I can count on having chicken and dumplings. In Pennsylvania, a glass of Birch Beer with my weinerschnitzel is vonderful gut! Unfortunately, this time around, I didn't have the time to search out these local restaurants and wound up at a few spots that were recommended by hotel front desk keepers - what is the official term for these folks??
Suffice it to say that the food I had this time around was terrible. In Lewisburg, I had dinner at a favorite Italian eatery that was so terrible, I wondered how the proprietor/owner wasn't embarrassed. The restaurant hadn't been decorated since the late 80's or early ninety's. You know the look - all gray and mauve with chrome finishes. Plastic flowers decorated the windows. The food was bad. I had the seafood linguini and couldn't tell the shrimp from the scallops...scary!! And the sauce hadn't been finished properly...too bitter and also lacking in flavor. Locals swore it was THE place to eat. I did eat at a Thai place that was wonderful! Siam Restaurant serves food that is authentic, flavorful and fresh. The food is spicy - even their "mild" is too hot so make sure you tell them to skip the "spice".
In South Carolina I wound up The Clock - maybe the one near Florence. There are several apparently, but I don't recall the city I was in. I don't think it matters as they probably all serve the same type of food. I looked at the menu (dirty and greasy) and decided on a burger...how could one ruin a burger right??? I did get a burger looking thing, but it certainly did not taste like a burger. It was salty and had the texture of meat but I have no idea what it was. I did have them put mushrooms, swiss cheese and bacon on it, and lettuce and tomatoes and that should have helped, yes?? NOT. The vegies and cheese tasted the SAME. Close your eyes and put a piece of paper in your mouth, THAT's what this burger tasted like. I gagged and couldn't finish it. Now, most of you don't know me, but I am one of those folks that will and can eat ANYTHING. For some reason, I just couldn't stomach this "burger". It was so fake.
I also ate at a Chinese Buffet that was horrible, but really, I can't complain cause its, like...its a Chinese Buffet for god's sake. So that experience I will not complain about.
So after three bad meals and countless trips to the water closet, I decided to eat in the last two nights and picked up frozen entrees at the Walmart and ate in my room.
America, you know you're eating bad food when:
- you can't tell what's in the food (no particular flavors stand out)
- you can't distinguish the lettuce from the tomato by taste or texture (yikes!!)
- the cheese sticks to the roof of your mouth and you need a shovel to get it down
- frozen entrees taste and smell better than the slop you are getting at the restaurant.
- your stomach keeps trying to return the food to your plate and
- you spend more time than usual in the bathroom after you've eaten it.
