"road" news and stories

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.

We hear a lot about road food, traveling the country in search of good eats, but since we can't eat all the time, foodies might have to get a fix at a different sort of roadside stop. These food-related stops along the highway don't have the same pull as, perhaps, a diner that serves fantastic pancakes or perfect falling-off-the-bone ribs in special sauce, but they often have a lot of history - interesting and just plain weird - attached to them. CNN's picks for roadside food stops include the Mustard Museum, a collection of nearly 5,000 types and bottles of mustard in Wisconsin, Lenny the Chocolate Moose, a life-sized 1,700-lb moose, and the Corn Palace in South Dakota. Travelers can also visit the Salt Museum in upstate New York to view the remains of a salt processing plant and hamburger lovers can pay tribute to their favorite food with a pilgrimage to the Home of the Hamburger the birthplace of the food, also in Wisconsin.

We also like the Museum of Burnt Foods, the Pez Museum and, to include one that actually has some appeal beyond pure weirdness, the Sake Museum.

Source