Tag Archives: Fast food

Skyline Chili

Posted on by
4

Skyline Chili has been a Cincinnati tradition since 1949 when Greek immigrant Nicholas Lambrinides opened his first diner location. His family continues to run the business that has grown into a successful chain, using their founder’s original recipes.

Before I proceed, it is fair to note that I don’t like the food all that well but lots of people do. So when we were in the market for a quick lunch between stops and there was a Skyline nearby, it seemed like a good opportunity to introduce my fella to this local tradition.

Neither of us are big meat eaters. He eats fish and some chicken. I identify somewhere between vegetarian and pescatarian but I’m rarely excited to eat seafood. Skyljne does have a few meatless options on their menu including a burrito and their traditional chili dishes made with beans rather than meat.

Skyline is famous for its Cincinnati chili which is chili served over spaghetti. Add cheese to make it a three way, beans or onions to make a four way, or all of those ingredients to have a five way.

You can also get a hot dog with chili, mustard, onions and a giant mound of chili. Since their chili is a combination of savory and sweet, it’s a little hard to describe other than to say it’s distinct. You know you’re eating Skyline.

Personally, I think the best thing they offer is their brand of oyster crackers and a I always want to ask if I can buy some for the road. Don’t ask. They’re simply better.

As an aside, Skyline has been in the news lately for a controversial decision. For 75 years, Skyline served Coca Cola products. They switched to Pepsi this year and people are losing their minds. I feel bad for their marketing department.

Skyline has about 160 locations around Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana and, for some reason, Florida. If you come to Cincinnati, you’ll find plenty of it including at the pro sporting events. I’m not sure how you would define Skyline. Fast casual, I suppose because the food is made quickly like fast food but you seat yourself and wait for a server to take your order.

Visit their website to view their menu and to find a location!

Quick Meal On The Road

Posted on by
2

When we left Durango and started our journey north toward the Denver airport, we needed to find a quick dinner. Fast food options were slim and we really wanted out of the car since we had spent most of the day in a train, bus or car.

So I nosed around online while Johnna drove and located a Chinese restaurant that was along our path.

The place was nice but empty so we were seated quickly and drinks came fast too. We ordered some Cheese Rangoon to split as well as entrees. The Rangoon came within perhaps three minutes and our entrees came a few minutes after that.

Here’s my piping hot Veggie Delight which was, well, delightful.

I tell you that to tell you this. Just ten hours before that, we opted for a fast food breakfast from the McDonalds in downtown Durango. It is located between the train depot and their large parking lot so it made sense to grab something here. I ordered an Egg McMuffin without the meat, a hash brown and Diet Coke (Yes, yes. Breakfast of champions, I know but it’s a guilty pleasure for me so don’t judge) and Johnna got some kind of sandwich, apple pie and coffee.

For these culinary masterpieces, we waited well more than ten minutes. It took longer to get “fast food” that seemed overpriced to me than it did to get drinks, appetizer and entrees from a sit down place.

Obviously, it doesn’t always work out this way but I’m seriously losing my appetite for fast food and so very happy to support the small mom and pop businesses that make up the backbone off American towns.

So, thanks and best wishes to the Shanghai Chinese Restaurant of Pagosa Springs, Colorado! You guys rock!

What do you think? Are you ready to break the fast food habit?

Healthy Eating On The Go

Posted on by
6

Eating healthy on the go is tough. Eating healthy and plant based on the go is nearly impossible.

A lot of times I just need something to grab and go, preferably to eat in the car. These choices are deplorable. Yet, when there’s time to sit down for a meal, the choices are almost as bad.

Everything is double meat, loaded down with cheese, packed with sodium and deep fried. It’s all bread and pasta and sad little iceberg lettuce salads that are also smothered in cheese and croutons.

Yuck.

I’ve come to accept that true plant based healthy eating isn’t easy and often impossible in the outside world. A packed lunch can remedy the problem some days but isn’t always feasible.

I have figured out that Meijer is a great source for healthful food. They offer a nice selection of fresh salads and cups of cut up fruits. Some salads have meat while others like their Mediterranean, garden salad or nuts and berry salad are meat free. And yeah, it’s a lot of fruit if the salad contains fruit but it’s better than going hungry!

About $5 for a salad and $2-3 for a cup of fresh fruit and it’s more nutritious than the Impossible Whopper at BK which is the usual alternative.

The above picture shows a salad I had for dinner in Michigan last month and a container of fruit I had bought for breakfast.

When I do have the opportunity to eat in a restaurant at a table with a knife and fork like a real human, it’s fun to enjoy a treat that I normally don’t have. Pizza comes to mind. So does diner grub like grilled cheese or pancakes. I have adopted a sort of go big or go home mentality when it comes to these dining experiences – enjoy the grilled cheese and fries in the great old diner atmosphere but go back to normal eating the next meal.

It’s not a great plan but it works.

So I’m dying to know- what are your healthy eating on the go tips? Bonus points if you have vegan ideas!

Eating Healthy On The Road

Posted on by
2

Saturday around Winchester (2)

I transitioned into a mostly plant based diet this fall. In layman’s terms – I’m vegan. This has been for health reasons although I have long avoided meat for moral reasons as well.

My diet now consists of mostly fruits and vegetables, whole grains, plant based proteins and some healthy fats. No meat, dairy, eggs or oils. And I do my best to not make a lot of unhealthy foods using healthy ingredients.

This works great when I’m at home or can pack my lunch. In restaurants, life is hard. A lot of restaurants, including fast food giant Burger King, are offering plant based burgers now but you can’t live off burgers alone and these products aren’t what you might consider health food.

So, when eating out, my goal is to eat as healthy as I can within the rules I live by at home. As much as possible. 

This road trip was my first as a vegan and was helpful in shaping my goals and standards for future travel.

The first goal was to find a hotel that offered a fridge. I opted for a newly remodeled Motel 6 where the tile floors and removal of all unnecessary wood and fabric made me rest easier about protecting myself from bed bugs and other nasties. Motel 6 is a very basic, affordable chain with no bells and whistles. While they don’t provide breakfast, they do provide a fridge and microwave.

So I packed a small blender, a plate, reusable straw, kitchen towels and utensils. When I got to town, a stop at the local Aldi for supply acquisition – frozen fruit and almond milk for smoothies, peanut butter, bread, bananas and bottled water – cost about $15. With no toaster at hand, I just heated my bread to simulate the peanut butter with toast that I have with a smoothie most mornings.

I also packed some apples, homemade granola and a few protein bars in case I was in a pinch while traveling.

I had mexican one day and found a small pizza shop that made me a veggie pizza with gluten free crust and no cheese. They offered vegan cheese but that just sounds like heavily processed crap and maybe something that doesn’t fit with my healthy eating goals. So I passed.

There was a veggie burger at a cool old diner in West Virginia too.

The day of the Flying Circus Air Show, I stopped at Subway for picnic food at the airport – a veggie sub on bread that isn’t vegan but I needed something more substantial than a salad to get through this day.  I also went to Chipotle for a bowl that night.

And I cheated for a few meals. After leaving Winchester on Monday, the road took me south to Luray Caverns and west to a town in Maryland before landing in Clarksburg, West Virginia for the night. I arrived after dark and ended up at a mall looking for a few things. By then, I was hungry, tired and in no mood to go hunting healthy food. Traffic was bad in Clarksburg so I wasn’t going exploring at that point either. I ended up with food court pizza and salad. The next morning, I had a cheat meal that was planned – pumpkin pancakes and scrambled eggs.

In all, it was more fast food than I would normally like but I was on the go a lot and didn’t want to waste time waiting in restaurants.

I tell you that to tell you this.

None of these meals made me feel good. I woke up each morning grateful for my healthy breakfast and looking forward to cooking fresh food when I got home. The sodium in most of those meals was ridiculous and made my fingers swell – always a bad sign.

Could I have tracked down healthier options? Probably. Although, I had researched Winchester options prior to the trip and the best alternative would’ve been going to the grocery store for wrap ingredients or getting veggies to have with peanut butter sandwiches. But I wasn’t interested in making that kind of effort on this particular trip. I just needed to eat something so that I could keep going. There were adventures to be had!

As I become more entrenched in this way of eating, priorities may shift on future vacations. For now, I’m happy with doing the best I can with what I have to work with while road tripping. And also – I will blatantly break the rules and be plain old vegetarian in any and all cool old diners. I don’t care. Sometimes you have to make small sacrifices to do something you love! And I do like my cool, old diners! 

 Have tips? I would love to hear them!