Those of us on the west coast know that if there are good diners out here, they are few and far between, so you probably have to get your diner fix if and when you take a trip back east. This brilliant set of Diner Plates lets you bring the diner straight into your home, albeit minus the charming waitresses who call you "Hun" and endless steaming mugs of watery coffee. The plates have sharp photographs of a retro-looking diner on them, giving you the impression that you are looking through a tiny window. There is a semi-matching set of plates that feature roadside signs available, too, so by combining them, you can have an entire road trip without leaving your driveway. It won't quite be road food, but you could come pretty close.

The New York Times dining section hit the road this week, though they didn't stray too far from their home base. Out on the west coast, a road trip tends to involve at least several hundred miles and more than a day of driving - not a mere two hours. A trek from New York to New Jersey or Connecticut just doesn't have the same impact (nor does Long Island), but at least they tracked down some good eats:

• Clam chowder from the Jersey shore
• Organic produce in Litchfield County, Connecticut.
• Wineries and new restaurants on the North Fork of Long Island

More parents are turning to custom-made and/or organic baby food over the jarred varieties that grace store shelves, even if they have to get it FedExed to them while traveling.

Discovering the taste of tomatoes at a tasting designed to pinpoint their unique flavors, much like a wine tasting.

Frank Bruni ate at Blue Hill and gave it 3 stars.

Mark Bittman, the minimalist, makes grilled tuna burgers.

Summer means hot, sunny days and, if you live near the coast, day trips to the beach. You spend the morning prepping food and snacks, toss them into a cooler with lots of ice and hit the road. Most of the beaches out here - the good ones, anyway - don't offer a lot in the way of vendors, so except for the occasional hot dog stand or ice cream truck, you're on your own for beach-friendly sustenance. Fortunately, there are many good choices and here are a few that surfaced in our minds when we started to think about heading out for some fun in the sun (Besides, I had so much fun with the egg puns, that I couldn't resist...).

• Sandwiches - Portable and versatile, you'll be able to find something everyone likes, but keep them in a cooler unless you're sticking to peanut butter and jelly
• Sunchips - Multigrain chips that are less greasy, and more flavorful, than regular chips

I mentioned this story briefly in the roundup of this week's NY Times dining section, but didn't elaborate there because it really deserves its own post. Frank Bruni, the food critic known for his love of the finer foods in life, hit the road in a rented Ford Taurus and ate his way through 42 fast food restaurants, mostly in the southern half of the country. His goal was to find out the best fast food chains in the country, "from familiar national chains, relatively unfamiliar regional chains and tiny local chains [he] had never encountered." He stopped in at places like McDonald's, Dairy Queen, Chick-fil-a and Whataburger, eating burgers, fries andother fried foods in pursuit of his goal.

Jane and Michael Stern, the pair behind the Roadfood website and Roadfood, the ultimate in-car food resource, have just released Two for the Road. It's part cookbook, part culinary travel guide and all great storytelling. The book chronicles their adventures - most of which happen over food, of course - all across the country, traveling more than 3 million miles across tiny dirt roads and busy highways. They have a fantastic eye for detail, from the tie of the man who sold them their first car to the mouthwatering perfection of hash browns at a diner in a town that is a speck on a pastel-colored state map. On top of the wonderful, fun-to-read text, ending each of the chapters are recipes that they have collected on their travels, so you can make some of the best "road foods" at home after you read about them - if you're not in the car and on the road yourself before you finish the book.

Road trips are the best way to go outside of your comfort zone and dig up some new eats. It's hard to be choosy when there is only one dining option for 50 miles, but how do you know which one of the last 50 diners is the best one for lunch? And is fast food really your only dinner option? Because the Michelin guide is too conservative to take on the whole United States, New York Times writer Christine Muhlke decided to do it herself. With her boyfriend and a 1978 Porsche 911 Targa, they hit the road to eat burgers and fries and to see what local chefs are doing across the country.

Aiming for good food at the rather extreme price points, Muhlke compiled lists of low priced and expensive eats from magazines, chefs, friends and the Zagat guide before hitting the road. On the low side, highlights included a stop at the Cheeseboard Collective in Berkeley, CA and Shotgun Bubba’s BBQ in California, MO. Pricey favorites also popped up at every stop, from Metropolitan in Salt Lake City, UT to 40 Sardines in Kansas City, KS.

The short list won't make it into book form any time soon, but it's still a nice resource if you're traveling.

I far prefer to stop at a Starbucks than a fast food restaurant when I am on a long drive because, most of the time, I will pack my own snacks are simply want to get a drink. I'd rather have the extra caffeine of a coffee versus a soda and prefer the far-better taste of freshly prepared coffee than the "coffee" that comes out of a dispenser at the gas station convenience store. Starbucks also generally tend to have well-maintained bathrooms, which I appreciate.  But unless I really need to stretch my legs, I will find myself pulling up to the drive-thru window at many highway-side Starbucks. Driving thru takes about the same amount of time as going inside the store, with the added benefit that you do not have to get up. This is especially useful when it is cold outside and you don't want to put on several layers to walk a few hundred feet to the door.

There are not many people who don’t have a budget when they travel, whether they want to save on travel itself, activities or accommodations. Most often it is the food budget that gets cut, since people tend to assume that they can simply eat cheap fast food rather than dining in “real” restaurants. And this, in large part, is very true. After all, you get a lot of food for a little money at fast food restaurants and you are not required to tip the servers. In addition, you get in and out very quickly, which gives you more time to pursue other activities. But fast food isn’t the only way that you can save money on vacation, and it certainly isn’t the best tasting.

If you are traveling by car, the best way to save some money is by bringing some of your own food. Save space for a small cooler somewhere in the car. You can stock it with water or soft drinks, which you might otherwise purchase at a convenience store or rest stop. You can cover the cost of a few lunches by packing a loaf of bread and jars of peanut butter and jelly, all of which will keep for several days, at least. Making your own lunch will give you extra flexibility with your dinner budget, too.