Food
Best diners on Route 66: pie, chili and onion burgers
Half the pleasure of the road is lunch. Here is where our road captains eat, from Chicago breakfasts to green chile in New Mexico.
You can eat badly on Route 66 if you stay near the interstate exits. You can also eat very well, in places that have fed travelers for 80 years or more. These are some of the stops we plan around.
Eating on Route 66 in Illinois
Lou Mitchell's on Jackson Boulevard in Chicago has served breakfast since 1923 and still hands out small boxes of Milk Duds to guests. Dell Rhea's Chicken Basket in Willowbrook has fried chicken in a building from 1946. In Springfield, the Cozy Dog Drive In claims to have put the hot dog on a stick in cornmeal batter. In Litchfield, the Ariston Cafe is one of the oldest family-run restaurants on the road.
Frozen custard and cashew chicken in Missouri
Ted Drewes Frozen Custard on Chippewa Street in St. Louis is a summer ritual; order a concrete, so thick it is served upside down. Springfield is the home of cashew chicken, and you will find it everywhere.
Pie is a lunch food on the road. Order it before you are full.
Onion burgers and soda in Oklahoma
El Reno is famous for its fried onion burger, onions pressed into the patty on the griddle, born during the Depression to stretch the meat. The Rock Cafe in Stroud has been open since 1939. And in Arcadia, POPS sells hundreds of kinds of soda under a 66-foot steel bottle.
Steak and ugly crust pie in Texas
The Big Texan in Amarillo is known for its 72-ounce steak challenge; you do not have to try it. Further west, the MidPoint Cafe in Adrian, halfway between Chicago and Los Angeles, serves what it calls ugly crust pie. It is excellent.
Green chile in New Mexico, and beyond
From Tucumcari west you will be asked red or green, meaning chile. Say Christmas to get both. In Albuquerque look for a green chile cheeseburger, and in Seligman, Arizona, stop at Delgadillo's Snow Cap, where the jokes are older than the menu.
Diner habits that help on the road
- Eat the big meal at lunch. Many small-town cafes close by 2 pm or at 8 pm.
- Pie is a lunch food on the road. Order it before you are full.
- Pay in cash at the smallest places if you can; card fees hurt them.
Photo: Neon Motel Road. All photo credits.
