I went along on a similar trip earlier this year. I assume you're taking I-80/90 to I-76?

There's an awful lot of good information here: Chicago to DC With LTHForum As My Travel Agent.

You might consider an Amish breakfast, only a couple hours out of Chicago: The Whitest Meal of My Life.

I would absolutely make the slight detour for great chicken: Barberton Chicken…worth the detour?

Spending a night in either Cleveland or Pittsburgh would make a lot of sense. Or maybe both? If you choose Cleveland be sure it's a day that both the West Side Market and Farkas Pastry are open.

Rene G wrote:I went along on a similar trip earlier this year. I assume you're taking I-80/90 to I-76?

Thats's the route we're planning on taking towards D.C. but we may mix it up on the way home. Thanks for all the suggestions...Mrs. Luvstoeat is furiously writing everything down and plotting the course! We'll let everyone know how it goes.

Rene G wrote:I
I would absolutely make the slight detour for great chicken: Barberton Chicken…worth the detour?

I hate to say this, but I had Barbeton chicken last night, Belgrade Gardens, and it was awful, really awful. I was quite tempted to try the Dicksonian trick of seeing if it would improve over time, but I just could not contemplate putting the chicken (which frankly was a bit smelly to begin with) in the car for the ride home. Who knows what happens night to night, time to time, but my family and I did not like it .

I'll do a little summary post of my experiences after I get my sea-legs back. In the meantime, thanks to Sazerac, the RB's, JeffB, the G's, Mike and Rene, Sula, and the other Pittsburgh posters who made finding food over the last several days an easy task.

I'd like to say I loved it all, but my opinion of a french fry filled sammich is not that different than the one expressed up this thread.

Vital Information wrote:I hate to say this, but I had Barbeton chicken last night, Belgrade Gardens, and it was awful, really awful. I was quite tempted to try the Dicksonian trick of seeing if it would improve over time, but I just could not contemplate putting the chicken (which frankly was a bit smelly to begin with) in the car for the ride home. Who knows what happens night to night, time to time, but my family and I did not like it .

I'm sorry to hear your Barberton chicken experience wasn't a happy one. I wonder if you hit Belgrade Gardens on an off day or simply don't like the Barberton approach.

I made my second visit to Belgrade Gardens last fall and liked it quite a bit. The chicken didn't seem quite as crispy as the first time and the fries were definitely not as thoroughly crisped. I wonder if the lard was a smidge cooler. Still, it was a very enjoyable meal.

If you decide to give Belgrade another chance, be sure to try the chicken soup, really something special. Or maybe just skip the Barberton chicken altogether and have a Galley Boy at Swensons, a 1934 burger drive-in in nearby Akron.

Really, you can't walk out of Ruby and Ketchy's without at least someone at the table trying the blackberry pie (preferably a la mode)

By the way, it's literally right off the Cheat Lake exit (#10) on 68, as easy an access as many rest stops. Can't say I loved everything on the menu, but as old school as it gets.

Ruby & Ketchy's
2232 Cheat Road
Morgantown, WV

Next time I will! We're heading back that way (you'll notice this was what, five years ago?)

So new suggestions for the route welcomed...

Just returned from a trip to DC. Visited Chinatown Express with a small group on a Tuesday evening. It does not does not look like much from the outside or the inside. It is located in an oddly retrofitted old rowhouse, with closely spaced tables crammed into two or three dining rooms. Decor (such that it is) is straight out of the '80s.

However, ignore the decor, because, at street level, you will usually find a chef making handmade noodles or dumplings in the window. Here is a video that I found online:



As pictured in the video, a chef was present and making noodles in the window when we arrived. By the time we left, he had been replaced by two members of the kitchen crew who were making dumplings.

One member of our party is of Chinese descent, so the hostess automatically handed Chinese language menus to her when we were seated, and turned to her for our order. She ordered a few items from the Chinese language menu, which I think were:

steamed pork bao - lovely small round dumplings, pleated at the top to close the dumpling, with a mildly seasoned ground pork filling. Personally, I thought the seasonings could have been more assertive. Then the hostess demonstrated how these were intended to be eaten. She mixed a spoonful of a minced ginger and scallions (from a condiment jar which was among the condiments present on each table) with the more familiar scallion and soy sauce. It was just what was needed to enhance the flavor of the dumplings.

dumpling assortment - these looked like potstickers, but were either steamed or boiled rather than fried. The ones that I samples were filled with either scallions and shrimp, vegetables, or ground pork. These were also enhanced by the minced ginger and scallion condiment.

pan fried noodles - this was ordered as a vegetarian dish and was served with extremely fresh and slightly crispy broccoli, carrots, bok choy, sprouts and tofu. This was one of our table's favorite dishes of the night. The noodles were soft and slightly chewy. They had been gently pan fried until they were golden but not crispy.

The remaining items were from the English language menu:

Mongolian beef - although I did not try this dish, I noted that it was also served with the same fresh crispy broccoli and scallions.

We also had a spicy stir fried chicken and vegetable dish - I never did figure out the name. While it was too spicy for the others at my table, I liked it just fine . It was served with essentially the same vegetable mix as the pan fried noodles but with a slightly fiery, yet slightly sweet sauce. I'm sorry I can't provide more details. If I can find out more from my friend who ordered the dish, I'll update this post.

If you visit Chinatown Express, I'd encourage you to make sure you receive a copy of the single page Chinese language menu. It included photographs of most dishes with a two or three word English name. It would be easy enough to figure out what you want from the photos.

Chinatown Express
746 6th St NW
(between N G Pl & N H St)
Washington, DC 20001
(202) 638-0424

Bumping this one too though our itinerary is a little different (Chi to Long Island, Atlantic City, DC, Cleveland back to home).

Especially interested in a tolerable dinner spot in AC since I hear there's NONE LOL and also that long stretch from DC back to Cleveland, PLEASE someone tell me there's a place worth stopping. Can't afford too long a detour that day because it's our longest driving day.

Thanks anyone!

Mike G wrote:


For food on the way back, we pulled into another JeffB recommendation, perhaps the most improbable of all: Mister B's. Basically it was a beer store, and that was certainly what they did the most business in while I stood there, but on the menu was what Jeff called lamb on the rod, they just called it lamb, rather cryptically offering it in three sizes-- single, double, or-- I kid you not-- Power 21. (No, not a Lotto game, I guess it means 21 pieces.) I went for double:



You would never guess that a place mainly selling Bud 12-packs would produce perfectly tender roasted lamb, with garlic sauce (hidden under Syrian bread in the photo) and, incidentally, excellent skin-on fresh cut fries. But it did, and thanks to JeffB, I had (and fed it to my wife as she drove). It beat the hell out of Roy Rogers or Burger King, I can say that. Thanks to everybody for the great tips, and if you're ever in New Castle, PA, take a tip from me and go for the Power 21. It's a long way back to Chicago wishing you had.

my favorite thing at Mr. B's (though the lamb on the rod was decent) was the homemade hot sauce - brought a pint or so of it home - some tapatiosih flavors with little chunky bits of love in there - watched them scooping it out of a big pot in the kitchen. Not sold in containers or anything but if you ask for some to take with you, you can negotiate a price.

Mr. B's for GNR! Seriously, multiple LTH heroes have tried this most obscure LTH reco? (I shouldn't be surprised, given I've tracked down specific street cart vendors in small Mexican towns based on mentions here, but still.)