Roadfood Roundup

Ten days into our road trip finds us in Minneapolis. Along the way, we have been trying to be frugal about our eating habits, pulling from our store of Trader Joe's supplies of granola, milk & fruit for breakfast, PB&J or tuna wraps for lunch, and various pasta-based concoctions for dinner. We have eaten "out" some, including greasy hashbrowns and watery coffee in Chamberlain, South Dakota and salt- (and flavor-) free mashed potatoes with lukewarm gravy in Austin, Nevada.

There have been a couple of highlights I thought I'd mention — in very rough, road-writing form!

Sweet Basil, Vail, Colorado
All we knew going into this lunch stop was that we were hungry and that we had to give our car a break from maxing out at 60 on the steep mountain climb which ultimately topped out at 11,000 feet. Sweet Basil was our pleasant surprise in this tony ski town, offering all their lunches at a $9.95 off-season special.

The food, delivering on the menu's promise of cooking that let fresh, high quality ingredients shine, included two-bite duck confit tacos with mole that quickly disappeared off the plate to make room for a perfect pulled pork sandwich and delicate trout. It probably didn't hurt that I had my first glass of wine since crossing the parched Nevada and Utah deserts, a tart and lovely 2004 Trimbach Pinot Blanc. Good service was the clincher here, making this place a deal even at full price.

Jay's Bistro, Ft. Collins, Colorado
My friend Lisa's promise of lobster mac 'n' cheese was enough to sell me on this place. We accompanied it with creamy shrimp bisque, buffalo carpaccio, and a bountiful ahi poke plate that were all capably rendered, even if some of the meat was too cold. Service was competent, if a bit stepford-ish. We hit the town on homecoming night, so the place was full of primping, pimply teenagers in suits and dresses, which made for fun people-watching.

Links
Sweet Basil
Jay's Bistro