23 Supper Rides; Part Two

As mentioned before, supper rides are set up to allow for good friends to interact over great and sometimes not so great meals. We are constantly on the lookout for new and different dishes. Some of the best meals we had were accidentally stumbled upon in some of the most out of the way places. Take one of the best for example, Dollar Bill’s fine little cafe in Wapanucka, Oklahoma.

We were headed for Denison, Texas to attend an all mule rodeo using the lightly traveled back roads of south central Oklahoma. We prefer this route over the super slab as it gives us a chance to experience life at a slower pace. It had been some time since we had put on the morning feed bag and we were way overdue for a fuel stop combined with a potty break and something good to eat.

We entered the neat little town of Wapanuka shortly after the dinner hour. As we topped off our tanks, we asked about a good place to eat. We were told we had already found it! Just walk around the corner of the station and go to Dollar Bill’s cafe and buffet line. Best food in Wapanucka, the fellow said. Yeah? Well, Wapanucka is a small place, but in the final analysis, how bad could a hamburger be messed up?

Boy, were we in for a surprise!!! The first thing we saw were tender and flakey cat head biscuits with red eye gravy and generous chunks of sausage. Following immediately on the serving line were real southern fried chicken, roast beef, meat loaf, catfish, real mashed potatoes, green beans, corn, a crisp salad, and a great selection of pies and cobblers that would make an aesthetic weep with joy. It was all very, very good! We could not have planned a better place to eat.

Another time, another trip, another place. We were on our way to Portland, Maine to catch the Blue Nose Ferry over to Nova Scotia and were taking the Lighthouse Tour along the rocky New England Coastline. This was highly scenic, but very slow going. Finally, we had to abandon the scenic route and hit the main road. Dinner time was late and gettin’ later. We came through a populated area and started looking for a place to eat; anyplace, even a McDonalds would do. Did I mention we were gettin’ desperate? I should have.

About this time we got stuck in a traffic jam due to an accident up ahead. As we crawled along, Judy noticed a place just ahead with a big parking lot. She radioed back to the rest of the gang that she was going to pull in here. Surely we could find some place to eat up here in this roadside shopping center. The parking lot she pulled in to was the exclusive designated parking lot for customers of ...ready now? The Original Road Kill Cafe!!

Laughing at our great good fortunate, we dismounted and went in for a dining experience that we still remember fondly. Maybe it was because we were real hungry or maybe it was really that good. Regardless, we still remember it.

This type of experience happened so often on our travels we came to expect it. But if we tried to wing it, or force the issue, it never turned out the same way. The food was good, expensive, but very good, and the waitresses were very sassy in a most enjoyable way.

But I’m getting away from the story about strange and exotic dishes we have found. The narrative continues...

Elsewhere in our travels we have run across varous and sundry delicious items...Howlers are jalapeño peppers, hollowed out and filled with cream cheese and a small bit of steak, turkey, chicken, or pork. To fix these at home, coat the peppers with a good onion ring batter, fill the insides, deep fry till they float, and eat hot!

For another tasty treat, take these same jalapeño peppers, fill ’em with cream cheese, put a Lil’ Smoky sausage in the center, wrap the whole mess in a strip of bacon, top it all off with a small chunk of pineapple and grill it outside for 30 to 40 minutes over low heat.

Caution! If you must go to the bathroom after handling these peppers, wash your hands very well before going. Failure to do so will cause serious heat to collect in your delicate nether regions and you will spend several long, unpleasant minutes tearing up the sod in your neighbor’s yards.

Continuing on with the recipes, may I now highly recommend pasties? These were discovered on yet another trip to Michigan. Every restaurant sports a sign advertising "pasties" so, of course, we had to try 'em. What are pasties, you ask? Pasties are nice little meat pies filled with onions, rutabagas, turnips, celery, chicken, beef, turkey, pork or whatever else you may like. Baked like pies, they stay hot a long time and are mighty tasty! These were brought here by the Finnish immigrants in the late 1800‘s. The Michigan miner's wives baked these dishes in the wee early morning hours, They were packed in the miner's lunch buckets and they stayed warm clear up until lunch time. A hearty meal...you won't need dessert after eatin' one of these things.

A final taste treat was discovered by Carol Sue one night at a dinner buffet at Michelle’s cafe in Osage City, Kansas. She observed the chocolate pudding had a rather tart taste. She was puzzled by the strange taste for a while but a second trip through the line revealed the cause. Right behind the pudding, was the source of the unusual taste; whole dill pickles soaking in brine! When a diner speared a pickle and transported it across the serving line to his plate, the brine dripped off the pickle and landed right in the middle of the chocolate pudding! Strange taste? Not to me, I. thought the taste was...interesting.

As you can see, motorcycle riders never go hungry if they can help it; but, WARNING! Serious gastric disturbances may result! And speaking of serious gastric disturbances...