The Local Flavor

There is a myth, perpetrated by The Food Network, that the world is just full to bursting with little culinary gems in out of the way places. They would have you believe that as you travel, that dive around the corner has, I don't know, the best chili fries in the western hemisphere or something.

This is a myth.

Now, while the experts of The Food Network may go miles and miles and find spectacular offerings, the sad truth is that this is actually pretty uncommon.

I have often heard the statement, with dubious logical backing, that "it's the only place in town, it MUST be good."

That is madness. If it's the only place in town, it means it doesn't have to be good. They have no competition. These places usually are serving you poorly prepared food in a crappy environment on paper plates.

On the road, we've actually started preferring chains to local places. Chains enforce a minimum standard of quality that's usually a couple notches higher than the local place.

That being said, here's the way to find the good ones.

1) Ask the locals. The locals always know if they've got a hidden gem. Hankinson, ND had two restaurants: The Hot Cakes Bed and Breakfast or The Dakota Drive-in. When asked, the locals knew for certain which one was better. The Hot Cakes served an amazing breakfast menu and everyone knew it. The Dakota, well, it was ok. And that's what everyone would tell you. If a local isn't bragging about it, it's not worth even the experiment.

2) Know what to order. Most local places have a specialty, the thing that everyone knows to go looking for. There was another place in North Dakota, Steele, I think, that everything on its menu was crap except the excellent fried pickles. Usually, the waitress knows the specialty. If she doesn't, go back to rule #1.

3) Give up on healthy. If you are in a local establishment in the Midwest, The Mountain Time Zone, or south of the Mason-Dixon line, never, ever, ever order the salad. You will receive white to transparent iceberg lettuce with ranch dressing on it. I am being dead serious when I say that McDonald's has a better salad than the average local place.

4) Exception: This rule does not apply to any city with a population over 50,000. At that point, the local competition is fierce enough and the chains have enough presence that the local spots have to be good or they get forced out. Most major metropolitan areas have excellent local eating scenes. They also usually have a website devoted to finding them.

5) When in Doubt, Get the Hamburger. Hamburgers are extremely difficult to mess up, and for most of these places, it's their staple. That makes the hamburger the safest choice on the road.

That's it for tonight, I just wanted to get my "veteran traveler" testimonial out there for the next time I hear someone talk about trying "the local flavor."